Will ‘Rugrats’ Return To Nick?: Nickelodeon VP Confirms Possibility Of ’90s Kids’ Show Remade Into A TV Movie


“Will Rugrats return to Nickelodeon?” That is the million-dollar question thrown at Nick’s senior vice president for original movies during the New York Comic Con.

Fortunately, Michael Sammaciccia was gracious enough to answer.

During the event, Nickelodeon revealed its plans to revive some of the greatest kids’ shows aired during the 1990s including Hey Arnold!, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and Rocko’s Modern Life which brings to light whether or not Rugrats will be in the same situation.

When asked about Rugrats, Sammaciccia said that it was possible for the popular ’90s Nickelodeon show to make a comeback the same as all other past shows in the channel.

“What’s happening with [Legends of the Hidden Temple] is that it’s allowing Nickelodeon to look at the rich library they have, and not just Rugrats. All of them are being considered.”

While reruns are possible, there is also a great possibility that the studio would revive Rugrats the same way it plans to re-introduce other ’90s Nick shows — by recreating them in a TV movie.

[Image by Nickelodeon]

In fact, Entertainment Weekly dedicated an entire week’s worth of posts in August for Nickelodeon to commemorate the Nicktoons’ 25th anniversary where they revealed statements from the cartoon’s creator Vanessa Coffey.

According to Coffey, the creators of the famous Nickelodeon shows are all willing to create reboots for Doug, Rugrats, or The Ren & Stimpy Show.

“Absolutely. We’re talking 25 years later about these shows for a reason. And it’s not because they were different, but because they were good. They are good. I’d love to see all three of them come back.”

Speaking to EW, Rugrats co-creator Paul Germain said that he is positive it could happen if Nickelodeon approves.

“It’s completely up to them, but I think it could be interesting,” he said, recalling how the show progressed following his leave after the first 65 episodes.

“A lot of the direction that they took the show in after I left in 1993 – the second 65 episodes and then the All Grown Up series – I thought those episodes were poor. I thought they lost the spirit of it.”

[Image by Nickelodeon]

In addition, Germain strongly believes that it would be better to recreate the entire thing to the way it was in the beginning.

“I think the way to go [for a reboot] would be to take it back to where it was. I don’t know if we could really do that, but that’s what I would like to see. I think it’s possible.”

However, some are concerned that Rugrats and the other children’s shows that mostly gained popularity in Nickelodeon during the ’90s have a very different setup that might not work for today’s generation.

Contrary to Germain’s opinion, Arlene Klasky, another co-creator for Rugrats, believes that the show should acknowledge the passing of time and incorporate modernization and technology in the ’90s Nickelodeon show.

“Life has changed 25 years later, so the technology has changed. Kids’ worlds have changed. Now kids are in kindergarten learning how to code,” she explained.

“I mean, that’s amazing. Imagine [the Rugrats] going to pre-school and they’re coding and what could possibly come out of some kind of crazy thing they invented or did something viral. I think [a reboot] would need to mirror our time now.”

She also noted that should a Rugrats reboot be launched, it should be written in a way that holds relevance that give ’90s kids a sense of nostalgia at the same time, providing the new generation with the same Rugrats soul that is specifically tailored for them.

Meanwhile, Germain maintains his opinion that Rugrats should serve as a time-capsule of what has been instead of re-creating it into the modern times where technology makes it difficult to write a drama out of it.

“Cell phones can be interesting, but technology has a funny way of making it very difficult to write around because people are always in constant communication with each other in a way that works against drama. It takes a really fun writers’ obstacle away and makes it too easy,” he added.

Rugrats is an American TV animated series which showcases babies’ and toddlers’ points of view of the world. It premiered on August 11, 1991, and launched an entire revolution of tots taking a stand on some of the most common experiences in life incorporated with their imagination.

[Featured Image by Nickelodeon]

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