Nickelodeon Greenlights New Pilots

Nickelodeon has greenlit the production of two animated series and four live-action pilots, the network announced Thursday.

Nickelodeon has ordered 26 episodes of animated series Bad Seeds (pictured), which follows the adventures and friendship of a loveable bird and two of the the wildest kids in the forest; and Pig Goat Banana Cricket -- which depicts the friendship of four unlikely roommates – according to Russell Hicks, President, Content Development and Production for Nickelodeon. Bad Seeds is written, created and directed by SpongeBob SquarePants's C. H. Greenblatt. Pig Goat Banana Cricket is created by Dave Cooper and J. Ryan and executive produced by David Sacks who co-writes with J. Ryan.

The live-action pilots include Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Don (working title), which follows the  adventures of 13-year-old quadruplets; Twang, about a family that relocates from Hollywood to run a diner in Tennessee; Smart Alec, a comedic look at the world of kid geniuses; and an Untitled Cheerleader Project, about a perky Texas cheerleader who’s life takes an unexpected twist.

In addition, Nickelodeon has greenlit two digital series -- Welcome to the Wayne and Junior Eye -- for its Nick App, which has more than four million installs to date, said network officials.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.