LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Watch out Disney! Nickelodeon is sharpening its notes to create its own high school musical.
The Viacom-owned kids network will next month start shooting the TV movie “Spectacular!” a music-themed comedy set in high school.
Although “Spectacular!” is designed as a one-off, Nick is holding options on the stars for potential sequels. No airdate has been set, though the movie is intended to join the ranks of other original live-action programming on Nick, including the hit series “Zoey 101” and “iCarly.”
“Spectacular!” which has been kept below the radar, centers on a preppy high school student (Australian Tammin Sursok) who is part of the school’s Spectacular! choir. The group is in sad shape, with its most talented members either having graduated or been stolen away by a rival squad. The teen sees salvation in a cocky rocker (Canadian Nolan Funk), who reluctantly joins “Spectacular!” to win a money prize that would finance his rock ‘n’ roll dreams. But the rocker doesn’t factor in falling for the preppy girl.
Robert Iscove (“She’s All That”) is directing the film, which will shoot in Vancouver.
Nick stresses that “Spectacular!” is not a classic musical. The songs in the movie will be performance-based rather than featuring characters suddenly breaking out into song like in Disney’s “High School Musical.”
Disney unearthed a gold mine with “Musical,” which became a surprise hit upon its debut in January 2006. The sequel, which aired in August, broke records for cable viewership, and the soundtrack was the second-best-selling album of 2007.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter