or


[08/28/19 - 11:13 AM]
Nickelodeon Greenlights Unscripted Holiday Series "Top Elf"; Orders Full Series Pickup of "The Substitute"
"Top Elf," which begins production in September on five one-hour episodes, features kid contestants with extraordinary building and design skills competing for the coveted title of Top Elf.

[via press release from Nickelodeon]

NICKELODEON GREENLIGHTS UNSCRIPTED HOLIDAY SERIES "TOP ELF"; ORDERS FULL SERIES PICKUP OF "THE SUBSTITUTE"

Holiday-Themed Competition Show Top Elf Premieres December; Series Debut of The Substitute Premieres October

BURBANK, Calif. - Aug. 28, 2019 - Nickelodeon has greenlit a new high-stakes competition series, Top Elf, and ordered a full series pickup of The Substitute, it was announced today by Rob Bagshaw, Executive Vice President, Unscripted Content. Top Elf, which begins production in September on five one-hour episodes, features kid contestants with extraordinary building and design skills competing for the coveted title of Top Elf.

Hidden camera prank show The Substitute has been picked up for a full 10-episode series order, following the strong performance of two specials which aired earlier this year. Production on The Substitute is underway, with the series premiere airing this October.

Said Bagshaw, "Giving our audience a range of unscripted content in different formats is one of our top priorities. Top Elf is an irresistible opportunity to celebrate the holidays with a uniquely comedic approach to a high-stakes competition. Our first new format from this division earned high marks from our audience, so we're very pleased to order The Substitute for a full series."

In Top Elf, Santa has invited seven civilian "Elf-testants" to the North Pole in a competition that tests their skills in a series of holiday-themed challenges. Demonstrating the true spirit of the holidays, the Elf-testants compete to have their wish lists granted--not for themselves, but for someone in their community.

The Substitute features stars who are transformed by a team of Hollywood special effects artists to go undercover as professionals in various fields, surprising unsuspecting kids in schools, camps and other locations. During the reveal at the end of the day, each organization receives a $25,000 donation. The Substitute's first special debuted in April with guest star Jace Norman (Henry Danger), and the second special premiered in May, guest starring multitalented comedian Lilly Singh.

Top Elf is created by Mike Duffy and Tim Duffy of Ugly Brother Studios, who will executive produce the series along with Jimmy Fox at Main Event Media, an All3Media America company. Bob Schermerhorn (Project Runway All Stars, America's Next Top Model) and Lisa Fletcher (The Titan Games) are executive producers, with Fletcher also serving as the showrunner. Nickelodeon's Vice Presidents of Unscripted Content Paul J Medford and Mandel Ilagan also serve as executive producers. Michael Pearlman (Chopped, Project Runway All Stars) will direct the series.

The Substitute is produced by Industrial Media's The Intellectual Property Corporation. Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman and Todd Hurvitz (Punk'd), serve as executive producers, with Hurvitz also serving as the showrunner. Jessica Brown, Nickelodeon's executive in charge of production and Vice President of Current Series, also serves as an executive producer.

Production of The Substitute and Top Elf for Nickelodeon is overseen by Rob Bagshaw, Executive Vice President, Unscripted Content.

About Ugly Brother Studios

Ugly Brother Studios is the Emmy-winning production company founded by twin brothers Mike Duffy and Tim Duffy. Ugly Brother creates and produces premium content themed around comedy, music, food and family including Ron Funches: Giggle Fit, The Funny Dance Show and the multi-Emmy-winning and James Beard Award-nominated Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse, among others.

About All3Media America

All3Media America is the U.S. arm of global independent television, film and digital production group All3Media. With teams in Los Angeles and New York, All3Media America's portfolio companies are responsible for hits that include the Emmy Award-winning Undercover Boss for CBS, the Emmy Award-winning United Shades of America for CNN, Chrisley Knows Best for USA, 24 Hours to Hell and Back with Gordon Ramsay for FOX, the Emmy Award-winning Cash Cab for Discovery, Worst Cooks in America for Food Network and Betrayed for Investigation Discovery. All3Media's unique federal structure, a model followed in both the U.S. and U.K., encourages the creative and strategic independence of its growing roster of production companies. Today comprised of 30 global production companies and counting, All3Media is one of the largest production houses in the world. All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.

About Main Event Media

Main Event Media, an All3Media America company, is an Emmy-winning production company based in Los Angeles. Founded by producer Jimmy Fox, the company creates content across multiple genres including scripted, documentary, reality and original podcast production. Main Event is known for the multi-time Emmy-winning CNN series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell and Investigation Discovery's Breaking Homicide. Additional works include the E! drama series The Arrangement, Snapchat's original series While Black, multiple specials for Discovery Channel's Shark Week, Amazon Prime's docuseries Inside Jokes, the comedy series Hollywood Darlings for POP Network, Is OJ Innocent: The Missing Evidence for Investigation Discovery, It Was Him: The Many Murders of Ed Edwards for Paramount Network and Make Me a Millionaire Inventor for CNBC. Main Event has been recognized for its work garnering TCA, NAACP and International Documentary Association (IDA) nominations.

About The Intellectual Property Corporation

The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) is an Emmy-winning IP creation and production studio based in Van Nuys, California. Founded in 2016, IPC develops and produces a wide range of television, film, documentary, and interactive mobile content. The company currently has series in production or development with a wide range of US broadcast, cable networks, and streamers including "Free Meek" for Amazon and the company's first scripted project, "Dirty Thirty", for HBO. In 2017, the company was awarded an Emmy and in 2018 a Producers Guild Award for its series "Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath" which was nominated for another Emmy this year. IPC was acquired by Industrial Media in 2018.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 40th 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 brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location based experiences, publishing and feature films. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).





  [august 2019]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SUBSTITUTE, THE (NICKELODEON)
· TOP ELF (NICKELODEON)





[12/15/25 - 02:26 PM]
Video: First Look at the New Crime Drama "CIA," Starring Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, Now Available
When by-the-book FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman (Nick Gehlfuss) is loaned out to a clandestine CIA/FBI task force, he finds himself teamed up with secretive and roguish CIA case officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis).

[12/15/25 - 01:01 PM]
Video: "This is I" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Bullied for wanting to be an idol, Kenji finds belonging in a cabaret and help from a trailblazing doctor, emerging onstage as her true self, Ai Haruna.

[12/15/25 - 12:30 PM]
Video: Inside Look at "Memory of a Killer" with Patrick Dempsey - FOX TV
The series will launch with a special two-night premiere event beginning Sunday, January 25 immediately following the NFC Championship Game.

[12/15/25 - 11:01 AM]
Zachary Hart Joins the Cast of "Assassin's Creed," The New Live-Action Series Adaptation of Ubisoft's Best-Selling Video Game Franchise
Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew also star in the Netflix series.

[12/15/25 - 09:31 AM]
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix Announce On-Air Talent for MVP's Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day, Live Only on Netflix on Friday, December 19 from Kaseya Center in Miami
On Friday, December 19, the Jake vs. Joshua preliminary card begins at 4:45pm ET / 1:45pm PT on Netflix's Tudum and MVP's YouTube Channel, with the main card starting at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT, live only on Netflix.

[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/15/25 - 09:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Present Wall-to-Wall Coverage of Saturday's College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday's game crews will include Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George and Quint Kessenich calling Tulane/Ole Miss, with Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden and Stormy Buonantony assigned to JMU/Oregon.

[12/15/25 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Announces All-New Special, "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Pt. 2," to Air Monday, Dec. 22 on CBS
This one-hour show gives viewers who loved the first special another opportunity to reminisce and revisit the laughter and joy from the original CBS series.

[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
Renovation Superstars Drew and Jonathan Scott Return in New Episodes of "Don't Hate Your House with the Property Brothers" Premiering Monday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Home renovation and real estate superstars Drew?and Jonathan Scott will help more people love their home again in eight new episodes.

[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
The Wasteland Comes Bearing Gifts... "Fallout" Season Two Surprises with Early Release Date
The premiere episode will debut one day earlier on Tuesday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. PT.

[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
USA Sports Announces Wednesday Night Primetime Schedule for 2026 LOVB Season on USA Network
USA Network's Match of the Week coverage begins with the first serve of the 2026 season on Wednesday, January 7, at 6 p.m. ET, featuring a rematch of the 2025 Championship when LOVB Nebraska faces defending champion LOVB Austin.

[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Episodic Imagery for "Ponies"
All eight episodes of espionage thriller series starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson will debut Thursday, January 15 on Peacock.

[12/15/25 - 07:00 AM]
Golden Globe-Nominated "One Battle After Another" - Including Best Picture - Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max December 19
The film stars Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, and Golden Globe nominees Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.

[12/15/25 - 05:41 AM]
Video: "Stranger Things 5" - Volume 2 Trailer - Netflix
With Hawkins' children ensnared by Vecna, the party faces unimaginable peril as they fight to bring them home.

[12/13/25 - 10:02 AM]
Flex Game! LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Lakers Host Cade Cunningham and Eastern-Conference Leading Pistons on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 10:30 P.M. ET on NBC and Peacock
NBC Sports' NBA coverage on December 23, December 29, and December 30 will now feature nationwide doubleheaders, with the entire country getting both games on NBC and Peacock.