'Penguins of Madagascar' Move It, Move It to Nickelodeon

By Hanh Nguyen, Zap2It.com | January 9, 2009

'Penguins of Madagascar'

The CG-animated comedy featuring penguins and lemurs has been picked up for 52 episodes

Nickelodeon has greenlit 26 additional episodes of the upcoming comedy "The Penguins of Madagascar," making a grand total of 52 episodes ordered for the new show that's co-produced with DreamWorks Animation SKG, it was announced at the Television Critics Association press tour Friday.

The show centers on the popular penguin brothers from DreamWorks' CG-animated "Madagascar" films. Skipper, voiced by Tom McGrath, is the leader of the group that includes Kowalski, Rick and Private. The brothers believe they lead an elite strike force with top-tier commando skills from its Central Park Zoo headquarters. Joining them are other characters from the "Madagascar" films, including the fun-loving lemur King Julien and his minions.

"It's sort of a conjunction of a top-notch tactical team that goes by the rules, the penguins, and this sort of free-form party animal, King Julien," says Nickelodeon's President, Animation, Brown Johnson.

"And they figure out how to live together and the ridiculousness that happens. They mostly stay in the Central Park Zoo, which is the primary location, and when they leave, it's to rescue someone or help. It's the penguins' ultimate goal to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone's safe."

Nick President Cyma Zarghami also announced that the network is also working with DreamWorks on a project that will be based on " Kung Fu Panda's" Po.

"Penguins of Madagascar" will premiere March 28 at 9:30 pm ET/PT, following 22nd Annual Kids' Choice Awards. The series will them move to its regular timeslot on Saturdays at 10 am ET/PT beginning April 4.