Nickelodeon Picks Up Umizoomi, Fanboy And Chum Chum

Nickelodeon has ordered 26 episodes of the CG-animated series Fanboy and Chum Chum, a spinoff of the Random! collection of anthology shorts, and has greenlighted 20 episodes of the math-themed Team Umizoomi, which combines 2-D and 3-D animation with live action.

Fanboy centers on a fearless, comic book-loving 10-year-old named Fanboy and his best friend and trusty sidekick, Chum Chum, whose wide-eyed acceptance of the bizarre is the perfect complement to his friend’s hyper imagination. The voice cast includes Jamie Kennedy, Josh Duhamel and Estelle Harris. Fanboy is created by Eric Robles and is executive produced by Robles, Steve Tompkins and Fred Seibert. It premieres next year.

Umizoomi, which features miniature action heroes helping real preschoolers solve everyday problems by using math and is set to a pop-rock soundtrack, is in production for a 2009 premiere on Nick Jr., the weekday programming block targeting preschoolers. The series is created by “Blue’s Clues” veterans Jennifer Twomey, Soo Kim and Michael T. Smith.