For those about to rock, Nickelodeon salutes you.
The kids’ network has just picked up a straight-to-series, 13 episode adaptation of School of Rock, Richard Linklater’s 2003 family comedy starring Jack Black, THR reports.
A School of Rock kids show is a no-brainer. Not only did the kid-centric, family friendly film make up to the tune of $131 million, it’s a great opportunity for Nick to trot out a cast of talented, singing and dancing actors/pop stars as they and the Disney Channel are so committed to churning out.
It’s frankly amazing it didn’t happen sooner. What’s even more amazing is this comes after news from earlier this year that Andrew Lloyd Webber is developing a School of Rock musical that may premiere on Broadway.
The show will be a live-action series, not a cartoon, and will follow the same storyline of the Linklater film, in which Dewey Finn (ahem, Ned Schneebly), a sad-sack, wannabe rock star, poses as a substitute teacher and ends up teaching the kids rock history and to play in a band, complete with groupies and all. Casting for the series will be announced soon, says THR, and it will be written by Jim and Steve Armogida (Crash & Bernstein). Linklater and Scott Rudin are even returning to executive produce.
I do severely question whether anyone other than Jack Black could belt out a Tenacious-D worthy line like “The legend of the rent was WAY HARDCORE” and actually sell it, but it’s not a stretch when you consider the School of Rock star Miranda Cosgrove actually got her start as a Nickelodeon star herself.