The Holidays Come Early for Drake & Josh Fans!

The Holidays Come Early for Drake & Josh Fans!

Nickelodeon Superstar Duo Drake Bell and Josh Peck Reunite for an Original, Primetime Nick Television Movie

Production to Begin in July on the Yuletide-Themed, Full-Length Flick

LOS ANGELES, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2008 holiday season could be "the best ever" for Drake & Josh fans, as Nickelodeon reunites two of the most popular stars in the history of kids TV to deliver a brand-new, two-hour original TV movie, Drake & Josh: Best Christmas Ever (working title). Filming on the new flick, which was announced today by Nickelodeon's Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President, Development and Original Programming, begins in July in Los Angeles.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080612/NYTH059 )

"Drake & Josh: Best Christmas Ever will blend the classic buddy comedy viewers have come to expect from Drake Bell and Josh Peck, with a heartwarming story for the season," said Cohn. "We hope to create a holiday classic that families will be able to enjoy together for years to come."

The primetime project will be executive produced by series creator Dan Schneider (Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly), Marjorie Cohn and Lauren Levine (Bridge to Terabithia, Gym Teacher: The Movie), and Michael Grossman (Grey's Anatomy, Dirty Sexy Money) will direct. Scott McAboy is producer; Robin Weiner is consulting producer and Drake Bell and Josh Peck are co-producers.

The comic adventure unfolds as a mall Santa and his helper -- alias Drake and Josh -- promise an adorable little girl that her foster parents and siblings will have "the best Christmas ever." It's a pledge that will change their holiday and their lives -- and one that's tough to keep after Drake's antics at a holiday party land responsible Josh in jail.

Hailed by critics as a "Martin & Lewis" for their generation, Drake Bell and Josh Peck wrapped production of the fourth season of Drake & Josh last year. The series continues to top the Nielsen's with its demo -- and recently won its second Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Award for Favorite TV Show, while Bell clinched his third consecutive prized blimp for Favorite TV Actor. The show first broke records in January 2004 as Nick's highest rated series premiere in almost 10 years. In the first week of 2006, the television movie Drake & Josh Go Hollywood ranked as the highest-rated TV movie with Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 in Nickelodeon history and was the top-rated show on all of broadcast and cable television within its key demos. Then in August 2007 Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp reeled in even bigger ratings and nearly 6 million viewers to make Nick history again as the highest rated Nick TV movie ever among tweens and total viewers. (Source: Nielsen Cume Data - 1Q06; 3Q07).

In the series, Bell plays charming, work-averse ladies' man, Drake Parker, who pulls his ever-responsible and sensitive stepbrother Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) into perpetual hi-jinks. Shared antics cement a growing brotherly bond, while perennial teen issues and dilemmas come to light. Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly, Yours, Mine & Ours, School of Rock) co-stars as Drake and Josh's sister, Megan, a mischievous kid with a penchant for practical jokes. Nancy Sullivan (The Amanda Show) and Jonathan Goldstein play their loving parents Audrey Parker and Walter Nichols.

Bell recently starred in the feature film Superhero Movie and stars next on the big screen in College. He taped his first commercial at age five and appeared soon after opposite Gena Rowlands in the feature film The Neon Bible. He grabbed attention in a featured role in Jerry Maguire and followed with a co-starring role -- and private music lessons -- with Roger Daltrey in Chasing Destiny. The experience inspired him to start his own band, and his music and vocals are featured in his solo album from Universal Music, Telegraph, and on the Drake & Josh soundtrack. Bell has been selling out concerts all across America and is now about to embark on a world tour. He also will be seen this year in the Weinstein DVD animated films The Nutty Professor and Tortoise and the Hare. Bell's other film credits include playing John Cusack's son in the HBO feature The Jack Bull and Cusack's character as a kid in High Fidelity. More recently, he co-starred in Nick Movies/Paramount Pictures' Yours, Mine & Ours with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.

This summer, Peck will star opposite Sir Ben Kingsley and Olivia Thirlby in Jonathan Levine's The Wackness set for release July 3 for Sony Classics. He recently completed production on the ensemble The Safety Glass, opposite Steve Coogan, Olivia Thirlby, Amber Tamblyn, and Amanda Peet. Peck received critical acclaim and a Special Distinction Award with his co-stars at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards for Mean Creek, opposite Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, and Trevor Morgan. His other film credits include Barbara Kopple's Havoc with Anne Hathaway and Hal Haberman's Special, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. He has also voiced the character of Eddie, in the animated hit Ice Age: The Meltdown, and its sequel Ice Age 2. Peck started his acting career at age 7 and launched a stand-up comedy career at 9 by appearing in New York clubs including Catch a Rising Star and Stand Up, New York. Peck was inducted into the Friar's Club as its youngest member. Classic Nickelodeon success stories, both Peck and Bell ascended from Nick's The Amanda Show ensemble to become series headliners.

Hit maker Schneider continues to carve a progressive niche in the world of kid and family entertainment as executive producer/creator of the Nickelodeon hits iCarly, Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh. He also creatively ran Nickelodeon's All That for several years, serving as executive producer and show runner and created and executive produced The Amanda Show. His unique sense of kid-humor served as a natural launching pad for his feature-film endeavors including Good Burger a Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies film and Big Fat Liar from Universal Studios. His credits also include creating and executive producing the WB series What I Like About You. He also received an Emmy(R) nomination for Nickelodeon's Zoey 101.

Nickelodeon, now in its 29th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) .

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Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Margo Zinberg, +1-310-752-8207, Margo.zinberg@nick.com, or
Miran Arias, +1-212-846-7653, Miran.arias@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment