Nickelodeon Premieres New Comedy Series “How to Rock,” Starring Cymphonique Miller
First-Ever Nick Series to Debut on iTunes and Nick.com Prior to Network Premiere
PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The battle of the bands is on as Nickelodeon premieres its brand-new live-action comedy series, How to Rock (http://www.nick.com/shows/how-to-rock) on Saturday, Feb. 4 with back-to-back episodes airing at 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The series, featuring original music performed by Cymphonique Miller (http://www.nick.com/celebrity/cymphonique-miller.html), centers on Kacey Simon, a talented teenager who takes her rhythmic pop band to new heights as their lead singer, while navigating the shark-infested social waters of high school. The network will also, for the first time ever, debut the series on iTunes and on Nick.com in January prior to its television premiere. The series theme song, “Only You Can Be You,” performed by Miller, is currently available on iTunes. How to Rock, produced by Nickelodeon in association with Alloy Entertainment, will air regularly on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT) following all-new episodes of Victorious at 8:00 p.m (ET/PT).
“How to Rock shows our audience that everyone holds an inner-coolness, regardless of appearance or social circle,” said Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon’s President, Development and Original Programming. “Although Kacey is forced to fall out of the ‘in-crowd,’ she rocks her true self and soon proves that being ‘perfect’ is no longer cool.”
How to Rock follows the journey of Kacey Simon (Miller), a once perfect “mean girl” who falls out of favor with the “in-crowd” after she has to get glasses and braces, but discovers that hanging with a new group of friends may not be as bad as it first seemed. In the premiere episode, entitled “How to Rock Braces and Glasses,” after her fall from grace from “The Perfs,” Kacey forges unlikely friendships with the members of the band Gravity 5 featuring Stevie Baskara (Lulu Antariksa), Zander Robbins (Max Schneider), Kevin Reed (Christopher O’Neal) and Nelson Baxter (Noah Crawford). As lead singer, Kacey takes Gravity 5’s musical success to new heights while igniting a musical rivalry with The Perfs featuring her former best friends and fellow performers, Molly Garfunkel (Samantha Boscarino) and Grace King (Halston Sage). The season will follow Kacey as she navigates through high school social circles, real and fake friendships and learning how to rock her “real” self.
Leading up to the premiere, the Cymphonique: Ready to Rock! collection of promotional web videos —which originally debuted in December — will continue to roll out on Nick.com (http://www.nick.com/shows/how-to-rock), Nick’s mobile websites, Nick’s Facebook page and iTunes. Cymphonique: Ready to Rock!, which is presented in documentary style, introduces Cymphonique to viewers who get a peek into her everyday life as she amps up for the launch of How to Rock. Additionally, kids will have the opportunity to get to know all the characters on the show and see previews of the How to Rock music video.
Based on a pilot script by Jim O’Doherty (Grounded for Life, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Tracy Morgan Show) and the proposal for the Alloy Entertainment book How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston, How to Rock will be helmed by executive producer David M. Israel (Grounded for Life, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Tracy Morgan Show), who is also a contributing writer on the project. Leslie Morgenstein (Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries) and Gina Girolamo (The Lying Game, The Secret Circle) will also executive produce under the Alloy Entertainment production banner.
A singer/writer/actress and daughter of hip-hop mogul/entrepreneur and philanthropist Percy Miller (also known as Master P.), Cymphonique has performed with various artists including her brother Romeo, JoJo, Wonder Girls, Raven-Simone, Ashley Tisdale and the College Boyys. She has guest starred in Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush, True Jackson, VP, The Troop and Just Jordan. She provides the voices of Nova and Krystal on the animation series, Winx Club, and sings the show’s theme song. In film, Miller landed the leading role as Molly in the 2007 short film Scarecrow Joe and appeared in the feature film Opposite Day. Adding to her resume, Miller has also appeared in numerous national commercials and public service announcements.
Alloy Entertainment (AE) develops and produces original books, television shows, web series and feature films. Alloy’s television division is currently in production on the CW series Gossip Girl, in is fifth season, and the third season of The Vampire Diaries, the network’s highest rated program. Additionally, Pretty Little Liars, which performs to network-high ratings for ABC Family, is currently in its second season on ABC Family. In Fall 2011, Alloy launched two new series The Lying Game, for ABC Family, and The Secret Circle on the CW, both of which were picked-up for a full season. Adding Nickelodeon’s How to Rock to its slate, AE will have an impressive six series on air. Alloy recently completed production on the Disney Channel original movie Frenemies, based on their book of the same name, which premieres in January 2012.
Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd 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 and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA
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