Nellie Andreeva

Nickelodeon’s housecleaning continues. Two weeks after the kids cable network cancelled comedy series Victorious after three seasons, it has done the same with freshman How To Rock. This means that three live-action Nick series will end their run this fall, Victorious, How To Rock and iCarly. Like with Victorious, the news of How To Rock‘s demise was delivered by the series’ showrunner on his blog. In a post titled How To Rock The Future, How To Rock executive producer David Israel said that Nickelodeon had opted not to pick up a second season of the show and thanked the show’s cast, crew and fans. The move also follows Nick ordering a slew of new live-action and animated series and pilots, including two iCarly spinoffs, earlier this month as the network appears to be overhauling its lineup amidst a ratings slump.

Created by Jim O’Doherty based on the book How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston, How To Rock stars Master P’s daughter Cymphonique Miller. The series got off to a solid start in February with 3.3 million total viewers tuning to the premiere, which won its time period across all TV with kids 6-11, tweens 9-14 and kids 2-11. The series remained a strong tween draw throughout the spring, and  its second episode, How to Rock a Messy Bet, hit #1 for kids TV shows on iTunes. The series recently slipped in the ratings, but its total viewership has stayed above 2 million. Of the 26-episode first season of How To Rock, 17 episodes have aired. The next original airs Sept. 22, with the Christmas-themed season/series series airing Dec. 8. Here is Israel’s post:

How To Rock The Future

Hey, HTR Fans.

David Israel here.  How to Rock’s showrunner and Executive Producer.

There have been rumors swirling around about the future of How To Rock so I thought it time to set the record straight. Nickelodeon has decided, unfortunately, not to give How To Rock a second season.  I know this news will be very disappointing for many of you.  Believe me, it’s disappointing for me, too.

Why isn’t the show coming back?  There’s no one simple answer.  Nickelodeon is going through a transition right now.  You already know that iCarly and Victorious are not coming back. Nickelodeon has many new shows in production and development that they believe will better suit their audience.  While I don’t love their decision, I have no choice other than to accept it.  The Nickelodeon executives who’ve worked on the development and production of How to Rock have been incredibly supportive of the show this past year.  They’re good people who want nothing more than to make the best shows for their audience.  I know it wasn’t an easy decision for them — they truly do like the show — and I’m grateful for the time and energy they’ve put in to make How To Rock as good as it is.  Or was.

There is good news.  We made 26 episodes.  You’ve only seen 17 of them.  Meaning — quick, do the math — there are NINE new episodes still to come and Nick will be showing all of them.  Seasons of British shows are often 6 episodes.  So if you think British right now, you still have a season and half of new How To Rocks.  Smashing.

The next episode that will air is “How To Rock a Singing Telegram” on September 22nd. In it, Gravity 5 raises money for the school by performing singing telegrams in several different musical styles (including one like Big Time Rush, which is awesome).  At the heart of the episode is a touching story about friendship.  I know you’ll all like it.  On September 29th, you’ll see “How To Rock a Yearbook” where Gravity 5 tries to get their own yearbook page, just like the Perfs have.  The Perfs, of course, are two steps ahead. You’ll also learn why Zander is so secretive about last year’s yearbook from his old school — and why Stevie and Kevin will stop at nothing to uncover the secret.

There are 3 new episodes in October, including “How To Rock a High School Sensation” with special guest star Romeo Miller and “How To Rock a Camping Trip” in which you’ll be shocked which of the gang takes charge after Zander eats some bad berries.  The acoustic campfire version of “Only You Can Be You” will melt you.

Our season — and series — will conclude on December 8th with “How To Rock Christmas.”  Tremendous episode.  Festive, funny, touching… and Kevin and Nelson are dresses as elves.

My biggest regret about How To Rock not getting a 2nd season is that I won’t be going to work everyday with the truly remarkable people who made the show happen.  You know the cast and they are all incredibly talented and gracious people.  Cymphonique, Samantha, Halston, Lulu, Max, Chris, Noah, Kirk, Jacob and our many guest stars brought the show to life by truly committing themselves to their characters.  (Though I’m not sure Chris and Noah were ever really acting — they are that ridiculous.)  I will miss our run-throughs and rehearsals and their pre-show rituals that I was fairly close to figuring out.  (“Bunny bunny bunny bunny…”)  All of them will continue to shine on screens and stages for years to come and I hope they look back at their How To Rock days with pride.

Behind the cast were a team of writers, producers, directors, production staff and a tireless, phenomenal crew who poured their collective hearts and souls into the show to make sure it looked good, sounded good and felt like a show worthy of being on Nickelodeon or any other channel.  We never settled for average, always strived for excellence, and I think we hit far more home runs than we struck out.  (Sam and Halston, that is a baseball reference.  Can explain it to u more privately.)

Thank you, cast and crew, for your hard work and passion.  This past year has been the best professional experience of my life.  I hope it was as fun and rewarding for you as it was for me.

And then there are you fans.  Wow are you people devoted.  Especially you Shippers.  As this was my first Nickelodeon show, I have never experienced fandom like I’ve seen on How To Rock.  I’ve been overwhelmed (and slightly terrified) by your passion for the show and detailed observations of moments that occurred in various episodes.  I am truly sorry that the How To Rock storylines won’t be continuing for multiple seasons because I know you would have been following — and complaining — every step of the way.  You have no idea how gratifying it is — Chris and Noah, now would be a good time to google “gratifying” — to have the characters you helped create and develop strike such a chord with so many people.  I’ve loved reading your comments about the show on Twitter (even those from the fearsome Zevie Nation) and look forward to seeing what you have to say about the final nine episodes.  (Except those from the fearsome Zevie Nation).

I did read some comments about Nickelodeon after the Victorious news came out.  I know how difficult it can be when some of your favorite shows go away.  And I get the frustration.  Try to keep in mind that the people at Nick really are trying to serve their audience the best they possibly can.  Be open to the new shows that will be coming on in the next several months.  They may surprise you.

Thank you, How To Rock Family, for going on this journey with me.  I have loved every minute of it (almost) and could not be more proud of this season.  Rather than focusing on what we didn’t get to do, let’s focus on all we’ve done.  Life’s too short to worry, don’t you know it’s true.  Only you can be you, only I can be me.

Rock On.

David

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.