Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce, which started as a syndicated comic strip in 1991, has grown exponentially over the years. Now comprising seven book series, 11 print collections, four activity books, and even a play, it’s no surprise that Big Nate will be adding animated TV series to its repertoire. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio with 26 episodes, the series will stream exclusively on Paramount+ beginning February 17.
The new Big Nate series follows the adventures of spirited sixth grader Nate Wright (voiced by Ben Giroux, Henry Danger), as he navigates the trials and tribulations of middle school, interested in everything except school. Nate is joined by his friends, sweet Chad Applewhite (Charlie Schlatter, The Loud House) and partner in chaos Teddy Ortiz (Arnie Pantoja, Trolls: The Beat Goes On); his seemingly flawless older sister, Ellen (Dove Cameron, Descendants); his well-meaning single father, Martin (Rob Delaney, Deadpool 2); “Creature Teacher” Mrs. Godfrey (Carolyn Hennesy, Lego Star Wars: All-Stars); struggling Principal Nichols (Kevin Michael Richardson, The Simpsons); and more. Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) is set to guest star in the series premiere as Brad Gunter, the prankster new kid. The series is executive produced by Mitch Watson (All Hail King Julien) and John Cohen (The Angry Birds Movie) and produced by Amy McKenna (Beware the Batman).
The decision to make the show animated was not something that seemed feasible initially, during the pitching process, studios could only imagine the show as live action. “[The Big Nate team] felt very strongly that these are cartoon characters,” said Cohen. “They don’t age. Nate is always in sixth grade, and [the characters] have a cartoon physicality. If you think about it from this perspective, you wouldn’t bring Bart Simpson or Charlie Brown [to life] with a real live-action actor. It just wouldn’t be true to the original creation.”
Eventually, Big Nate found a like-minded team at Nickelodeon who shared not only the animation vision, but were willing to “push the envelope, in terms of what they wanted to do and take more chances,” said Watson, recalling his excitement on learning about the project. “I had been itching to do something new. I had been working at DreamWorks so I was happy to come over and do it.”
Peirce hadn’t always thought Big Nate would take off the way it did, not until he began publishing the Big Nate novels in 2010, which had only been a comic strip until that point. “I always thought in my mind, ‘If only there was a way more kids could see this,’ ” he said. “And then I started writing these novels that were specifically for young readers. [Being able to team up with Paramount+] and think[ing] that Big Nate for some kids will havethat same sort of significance—that’s really exciting.” Even the producers’ children are a part of that fandom. “I have an eight-year-old daughter and a four-year-old daughter,” Cohen said. “My eight-year-old daughter has read all the books, and has seen almost all of the episodes [along with] my four-year old daughter—they adore it.”
Fans will notice that the visual style of the animated show is somewhat different from its source material, a page-to-screen translation Peirce was initially worried about. “There are all sorts of cheats that you have in two dimensions, like when Nate turns his head, his hair looks exactly the same whether you’re looking at him head-on or in profile. I remember thinking, ‘How are they going to make his hair look good?’ ” Peirce said with a laugh. But his concerns were soon quelled. “The first Zoom meeting when I met the art director, David Skelly (Puss in Boots), had a presentation. And all of a sudden, these images popped up on the screen and I said ‘This is incredible.’ Nate’s face is so expressive. His face is so—no pun intended—animated.”
Another hurdle was making sure the titular character, Nate, was portrayed in a way that didn’t come off as the annoying kid who creates trouble. “[A problem] people had in the past [in thinking about] adapting the show was that some people can read the books and feel that Nate is kind of a jerk,” Watson said. “But I think she [Ramsey Ann Naito, the president of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation] thought of me because she knows me pretty well and knew that there were some similarities between myself and the character Big Nate in terms of causing trouble.” Being able to relate to Nate resulted in a character the team is excited to show off. “Every episode, he’s trying to find a way to show the world, not that he’s a jerk, or that he can hurt somebody, or pull off a horrible prank, but that he’s valuable,” said Watson. “He has a viewpoint of himself of wanting to be awesome. He just doesn’t quite know how to get there. At that particular age it’s all about trying to figure out who you are. And that’s the amazing thing about that middle school age.”
Even outside forces the team couldn’t control threw a wrench in the production. Covid-19 restrictions forced recording to take place over Zoom; however, the actors took the situation in stride. “After a couple months Hennesy was just like ‘Even if we go back, can we just keep doing this? Because I have so much fun doing this,’ Watson recalled. “And everybody agreed. It became a big part of us surviving this insanity of this pandemic.”
But collaboration on the show was a no-brainer for the team, and the author’s input was an integral part of the process. “[Peirce’s] DNA is in every aspect of the show; we wanted to honor what he was doing,” Watson said. “We sent him every script. And then he did a pass to make sure that our characters were sounding like they were supposed to sound.”
Viewers can expect to hear 22 original songs in the series along with more appearances from Chad, a minor character in the books. Cohen even encourages the audience to listen to a song that was created for the show called “The Butt Cheek Song,” which he describes as “the best three minutes you’ll spend today,” citing his goal to “have the Butt Cheek song covered by someone fantastic like Celine Dion.”
Cohen hopes the show is able to inspire kids to pursue their interests and “have them see these opportunities [to] create stuff in a creative field,. Watson wants to bring back the nostalgia that came with ’90s Nickelodeon shows. “One of the best compliments I’ve gotten, which came from Dove Cameron, was that it reminded her of the shows that she watched when she was growing up,” Watson said. “And that’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
Peirce hopes that audiences share in his laughter with the characters. “I think the point of the show is that it’s a half hour of fun,” he told PW. “I think the really undersold part of creating characters for kids is to create characters who are likable at their core. Even if Nate is flawed, you never have any doubt that he is a good kid and a good person.”
