Nickelodeon Orders 'Dora the Explorer' Spinoff, Partners with AwesomenessTV

Nickelodeon on Tuesday unveiled a robust lineup of animated and live-action series including a Dora the Explorer spinoff aimed at preschoolers and a family comedy from the writer-producer of the Reba during its annual upfront presentation to advertisers. The new slate -- more than a dozen shows in all aimed at kids from post-millennials to tweens -- will join a lineup that includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, picked up for a third season, and the previously announced Rabbids and Monsters vs. Aliens. The network also announced a new live afternoon daypart, Nick Studio 10, and a partnership with Brian Robbins’ AwesomenessTV online site.

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Certainly executives at the Viacom-owned network are banking the new slate will position the channel for continued growth after an unexpected ratings slump in 2011. Currently, Nickelodeon is averaging close to 3 million viewers a day among the network's target demographic of viewers ages 2 to 11, an increase of 12 percent compared to February 2012. 

STORY: Nickelodeon Orders Superhero Family Comedy 'The Thundermans' to Series

The programing announcement also comes on the heels of the launch earlier this month of Nick’s first app, which was years in the making and has notched close to 400,000 downloads. During the presentation at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall in Manhattan, Nickelodeon Group president Cyma Zarghami is expected to tout the network’s new multi-platform development process which is aimed at seeding new content formats for today’s platform agnostic young consumers.

The presentation also will feature an appearance by Josh Duhamel, who hosts thr upcoming Kids’ Choice Awards, and rock group OneRepublic, who are scheduled to perform their single,"If I Lose Myself.”

Programming highlights include live-action comedies The Haunted Hathaways, created by Reba’s Robert Peacock and revolving around a family who finds that their new house in New Orleans is already occupied by a family of ghosts; and The Thundermans, from Big Time Rush producer Jed Spingarn, about superhero twins with a deep sibling rivalry; Wallykazam!, the network’s first literacy show aimed at preschoolers; Blaze and the Monster Machine, which features the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum; and Dora and Friends, starring the animated Latina heroine as a 10-year-old who goes on adventures in the big city with a group of new friends.