Nickelodeon orders 'Kung Fu Panda: The Series'

Nickelodeon has ordered “Kung Fu Panda: The Series,” a new CG-animated comedy based on last year’s boxoffice hit.

The kids network has ordered 26 episodes of the series, Nick’s second co-production with DreamWorks Animation SKG. The two companies also partnered on “The Penguins of Madagascar,” which premiered March 28 on Nick and ranked as the most-watched series premiere in the network’s history (6.1 million viewers). Since then, “Penguins” has become the second most-popular program among kids 6-11 on television, behind only "SpongeBob SquarePants."

“Our seamless collaboration with DreamWorks Animation has now reached an anticipated 78 half-hours of unparalleled television CG animation,” said Brown Johnson, president of animation for Nickelodeon. “With the pick-up of ‘Kung Fu Panda: The Series,’ we are thrilled to be bringing to our audience the rich stories and energy-packed character and action sequences Po the panda delivered on the big screen.” 

“Panda” is based on DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda” which has grossed over $630 million at the worldwide boxoffice and is the studio’s most successful original feature film. The series will premiere next year.