Nickelodeon has been home to animated giants like SpongeBob SquarePants, Quite strange parentsAND Avatar: The Last Airbender. But, while some shows manage to thrive for years, others don’t have the same chances despite having loyal fans.
That’s exactly what happened The chef’s little showand its co-creator Ozlem Akturk he doesn’t hold back what he thinks about the way things ended.
During a panel at this year’s Savannah College of Art and Design Animation Festival, Akturk spoke about the cancellation of The Tiny Chef Show and made it clear that the merger between Paramount and Skydance played a large role in the series’ abrupt end.
“It was a sad time for us,” Akturk said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do financially, so we decided to release the viral campaign video to save the show and see if the fans could support us.
“Stop motion animation is very expensive, but we love what we do. The fans are amazing and have helped us keep going. Our video went viral and so many articles were written about saving the show; we think Nickelodeon hated us for it.”
The little chef the character had already proven to be an online sensation before landing on Nickelodeon, appearing in viral videos and even commercials for DoorDash and Priceline.
Fans loved the little cooking expert, and Akturk revealed that the show wasn’t originally meant just for preschoolers.
“At first I didn’t think of it as a preschool show, but that’s how it happened. My next project will be something different. What I imagined for the show was that I loved cooking and I wanted it to be a real cooking show that brings people together.
“Managers think kids aren’t that smart, but kids get it. I thought, ‘Why are you treating them like that? They’re smart and deserve so much better!’
One thing that went in Akturk’s favor was maintaining rights The chef’s little showsomething she and fellow co-creator Rachel Larsen have been adamant about from the beginning.
“We already had a social media presence from the beginning and we had friends who didn’t retain the intellectual property of their work and their projects were shelved.
“Whoever wanted to do the series, we weren’t selling the IP, and we were really strong on that. Sometimes when a series gets canceled, it disappears and we love our baby, so we’ll protect it.
“We were originally freelancers when Nickelodeon picked up the series, and we could continue down that path if necessary. As a creator, you have to protect your story if you love it.”
Even though Nickelodeon has moved on, The Tiny Chef hasn’t gone anywhere. Online support for the character has exploded, with the show’s Instagram account growing from six hundred thousand followers before the controversy to nearly six million today.
It looks like The Tiny Chef will continue cooking content long after its run on Nickelodeon, thanks to fans who refused to let the character fade away.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
