SANTA MONICA, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Nickelodeon) - "Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp," a Nickelodeon TV movie starring the hit TEENick series headliners
Drake Bell and Josh Peck, serves up jumbo laughs and Drake's musical licks, in the super-sized comedy premiering Friday, August 3 (8-9 p.m. ET/PT). But when Josh botches the record deal he sealed for his wannabe rock star stepbrother Drake, will it rock their friendship? Two-time Kids Choice Award winner Bell (2006 & '07) wears two hats, taking turns behind the camera with
Drake & Josh director Steve Hoefer, to make his directorial debut.
In addition, on Saturday, August 4, an eight-hour Drake vs. Josh marathon (noon-8 p.m. ET/PT) hosted by Miranda Cosgrove - who'll segue from playing Drake and Josh's mischievous little sister Megan to her own TEENick series, iCarly, in September - will be capped by an encore of "Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp" at 8 p.m. and a sneak peek of iCarly at 9 p.m. Shrimpylympics will interlace the marathon of favorite episodes, and Miranda will keep score as Drake and Josh compete in events including Shrimpo Roman Wrestling, Shrimptona 500, Shrimp Regata and The Long Swim Home.
"Kids loved the first Drake & Josh TV movie, 'Drake & Josh Go Hollywood,' which scored huge ratings last year, and 'Really Big Shrimp' has big personal stakes for the guys that really puts their relationship to the test. Not only does it feature Josh and Drake at their comic best but it has a great song from Drake. Kids won't want to miss it," said Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon's Executive Vice President, Development and Original Programming.
As Drake's manager, Josh arranges for his brother to perform with his band for record exec Alan Krim, and the talented teen knocks Krim's socks off. The boys venture to Hollywood to meet the rest of the moguls at Spin City Records. There, they get star treatment and an incredible offer: Drake's song will grace a commercial to debut in the Super Bowl. While Drake segues to a recording studio to tape the tune, Josh soaks up luxury in the plush offices and is awed - and distracted - by a platter of huge prawns presented to him along with the contract. Mesmerized by the giant shrimp, he inadvertently signs away all creative rights to Drake's song.
When the label opts to use a cheesy rendition of the tune, Drake fires Josh, and their friendship starts marching to the beat of a different drum. Bent on making things right, Josh revisits the recording studio to pull off a tape switcheroo. But the double-edged deed may lead the record company to sue!
Meanwhile, a strange houseguest causes chaos at home, and forced to share the boys' room, Megan (Miranda Cosgrove) has it redecorated all in pink. Josh is further dismayed when he's passed over for the assistant manager slot at the Premiere movie theatre - and his ex-girlfriend Mindy is picked by boss (and bride-to-be) Helen to wear the gold vest.
In its fourth season, mega-hit Drake & Josh airs regularly on Sundays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) and daily at 5:30 p.m., and consistently ranks among TV's top five shows with kids and tweens.* Kids tune in to see singer-musician/ladies' man Drake routinely pull responsible Josh into shenanigans. As mischievous little sister Megan, Miranda Cosgrove always relishes hoodwinking them both.
Classic Nickelodeon success stories Josh Peck and Drake Bell ascended from The Amanda Show's ensemble to become series headliners. Bell, who co-starred in Nick Movies/Paramount Pictures' Yours, Mine & Ours in 2005, taped his first commercial at age 5 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 albums Telegraph and It's Only Time and on the Drake & Josh soundtrack. Bell also appeared as John Cusack's son in the HBO feature The Jack Bull and played Cusack's character as a kid in High Fidelity.
Peck, who lent his voice to the hit animated feature film Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, 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. He made his feature-film debut a few years later in the Nickelodeon/Paramount movie Snow Day, followed by Max Keeble's Big Move and Spun. He won critical acclaim, including an Independent Spirit Award, with the role of a bully who gets his comeuppance in the feature film Mean Creek and as a punk kid in Barbara Kopple's movie Havoc.
Like her TV brothers before her, Miranda Cosgrove, 14, will headline her own TEENick series: iCarly launches in September 2007, and Cosgrove (School of Rock, Yours, Mine & Ours) stars as Carly Shay, a level-headed teen who hosts her own home-grown web show. The groundbreaking comedy is TV's first scripted series to incorporate user-generated content from real kids. While grappling with adolescence, Carly becomes an unwitting, underground celeb to kids everywhere. The character will ask viewers for submissions to her web show, and kids in the TV audience will be directed to iCarly.com to post their original ideas and videos, which may be either scripted into a future iCarly episode or become part of Carly's webcast online.
The series Drake & Josh and the TV movie come courtesy of executive producer/creator Dan Schneider and his Schneider's Bakery, Inc. Schneider continues to carve a progressive niche in kid and family entertainment, currently as executive producer/creator of the TEENick hits Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh and of the kid channel's upcoming iCarly. 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 recent credits also include creating and executive producing the WB series What I Like About You. He received an Emmy nomination for Zoey 101 starring Jamie Lynn Spears.
Nickelodeon, in its 28th 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 almost 92 million households and has been the number-one- rated basic cable network for almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
