Somebody Is Going to Make Fun of Me For this Post

And I don’t care.

I had a busy Friday and Saturday…I am just looking through news now…I was checking out Deadline Hollywood, glossing past all Olympic and Emmy information I stumbled on a story…what stood out to me was Schneider’s reaction.

I’ve always liked Schneider (if you are unsure who I am talking about…Dan Schneider was Ricky in Better Off Dead starring John Cusack. and Dennis on the late 80’s sit com Head of the Class)…he appeared to see that his future as an actor was not to be a long one.  So he slid to behind the scenes.  He started with writing an episode of Head of the Class…somewhere in the 90s he found his niche, working with Nickelodeon.  Through Nickelodeon, Schneider has managed to have made some of the better and more fun early teen shows.  He’s the guy behind the fairly popular (and entertaining) iCarly.  What makes most of his shows work is he kind of creates their own little universe, a language and slang that fills his work.  His shows also take creative risks with jokes and references to films/shows that pre-date his target audience by a good 50 years.

So, on Friday, it appears Nickelodeon opted to end his latest series,  Victorious.  It was not by Schneider’s plan.  And it was on the heels of the final season of iCarly.  Granted, these shows have a finite life.  Pretty much the entire cast of iCarly grew up and look much older than when they started.  It is not like they are going to be able to have the average Nick Comedy on for ten years.  And Schneider understands that.  He gets there is a limited time for even the most successful of shows.

Please understand: Almost all Nickelodeon shows have a life of about 60 episodes.  We made around 60 episodes of Drake & Josh… of Zoey 101… and we made 41 episodes of The Amanda Show… and all those shows were big hits. So, it’s not unusual for a Nick show to do a run of just 60 episodes.

And yet, he would like to have had the opportunity to buck a trend.

I would love to have made more than 60 of Victorious, but that’s how it usually goes.  We’re extremely proud of the show, and all we’ve accomplished.

What really stands out about Dan is that the is one of those creators that seems to genuinely appreciate and be honored to have the fans his shows have grown.  These kind of creators don’t seem incredibly common.  Certainly, they exist, and I am not trying to suggest most shows are being run by people who hate their audience.  I think most show runners appreciate their fans.  But I think it is rare to find those ones that want to reach out to their community.  Dan works to “keep it classy”, from what I have seen.  And even in this story, he defends Nickelodeon while expressing appreciation for those fans who reacted angrily.

Even if there was no “Gibby” and no “Sam & Cat” – the network still would have ended Victorious after its 60-episode run. I know that some of you are upset and angry – and while I feel terrible about that, I’m also flattered by it.  I really appreciate that you care so much.  It means you love the show, which makes me feel very proud.  But I ask that you please not be angry with Victoria, or Leon, Liz, Ariana, Avan… or ANY of the Victorious cast members or staff.  They all wanted Victorious to continue – so did I.  But remember!  Stay psyched about the 15 new episodes of Victorious coming your way!

Dan knows the art of playing nice like few others.  Frankly, I cannot help but feel mystified what a Gibby-centric show will be like.  Or iCarly and Victorious spinning off two characters into a single series.  It is bizarre choices like this that make me hope that Schneider is still making shows when my nephews are old enough for it.

So, my condolences to the cast and crew.