Paramount+ Removes 'Rugrats' Reboot, 'Big Nate', Other Nickelodeon Titles

This is most certainly not what a company’s gotta do. It’s getting ridiculous

It’s going to be a very unhappy 45th anniversary for Nickelodeon as its library continues to be gutted from Paramount+. Just four days from the milestone, another ten series have been removed, and two of them were made to be Paramount+ originals.

The two originals are, tragically, Big Nate and the 2021 reboot of Rugrats. They were cast off with the 2019 reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Blue's Clues & You!, which mind you has four seasons and 86 episodes, It's Pony, Middlemost Post, Ollie's Pack, Ryan's Mystery Playdate, and That Girl Lay Lay, the last of which ended after two seasons and 46 episodes last Wednesday and the death of its creator David A. Arnold. When it was confirmed thanks to star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Arnold’s widow, Julie Harkness Arnold, who wrote to caption a series of production photos she claims were on his phone “It is with gratitude for all of this, that I announced [sic] that That Girl Lay Lay will air its Final Episodes on Wednesday March 20th. Although my heart is heavy, I will forever treasure being a part of something that was important to David and that he loved… Thank you, fans!” a Nickelodeon spokesperson said at the time “we are incredibly grateful to the cast and crew for their immeasurable contributions on the production.” which is coming off quite empty. At least with Lay Lay, it’s still streaming on Netflix. The back half of season 2 of the Rugrats reboot had started airing on Nicktoons over the past couple of weeks, and Big Nate is set for similar treatment, or at least was. Rugrats also had a third season ordered, but as the company has proven, following through has become questionable and is in production. And who knows whether Ryan’s Mystery Playdate’s rights reverted to Ryan’s empire. Many are panicking as to whether these will be written off, especially as we head toward the end of March and the first quarter.

It bookends a month that began with the removals of Back at the Barnyard, How to Rock, Knight Squad, Make It Pop, Planet Sheen, Sam & Cat, and Supah Ninjas. For the last 14 months Paramount has been ravaging its library, in Nickelodeon-based terms led by The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder chronologically, but most infamously by Star Trek: Prodigy, whose round included P+ Nickelodeon movies Snow Day and Fantasy Football, as well as All In With Cam Newton, Allegra’s Window, Becca’s Bunch, Bella and the Bulldogs, Crashletes, Digby Dragon, The Fresh Beat Band, The Halo Effect, Legendary Dudas, Monsters vs. Aliens, Mutt & Stuff, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Peter Rabbit, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Ride and The Troop. And then there was December’s removals, which on the Nickelodeon end included Abby Hatcher, the 2019-2020 season of All That, Bunsen is a Beast, Butterbean’s Cafe, Fresh Beat Band of Spies, Hunter Street, Instant Mom, two seasons of Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Nella and the Princess Knight, Paradise Run, Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, Robot and Monster, Side Hustle, Sunny Day, Tak and the Power of Juju, The Haunted Hathaways, The Other Kingdom, The Substitute, and Tuff Puppy. Paramount+ may claim that Kids & Family is a consistently high performer for them but removing near 50 titles in that realm, including three original series before all of the already-ordered episodes can even premiere there, something’s not adding up, or their way to save money is to screw over royalties no matter what.

What has Paramount said? “In connection with our continued review of our international content strategy, during the first quarter of 2024 we made a strategic decision to focus on content with mass global appeal,” according to its 10-K filing. “As part of this, we are rationalizing original content on Paramount+, especially internationally, and improving the efficiency of our linear network programming. As a result, we have reviewed our expansive global content portfolio and are removing select content from our platforms.” It is unclear what future availability will be. Paramount expects “to recognize additional programming charges that we currently expect to be in the range of approximately $700 million to $900 million during the first quarter of 2024.”

Sources: Nickandmore (1, 2), Los Angeles Times, What’s On Paramount+ (1, 2), Deadline