Nickelodeon has ordered a new TV series based on the 2003 movie "School of Rock" that starred Jack Black and Miranda Cosgrove. The show will center on substitute teacher Dewey Finn, the character originated by Black.
The kid's cable network ordered 13-episodes in a straight-to-series pickup from Paramount TV, according to Deadline. The show will start filming this fall with a premiere slated for spring 2015.
None of the movie's cast has been attached to the project, but the film's director Richard Linklater and producer Scott Rudin will executive produce the series. Jim and Steve Armogida will write the show and also serve as executive producers. Mike White, who starred as Black's brother Ned Schneebly, wrote the film's original screenplay.
"'School of Rock' is one of those great movies that always felt quintessentially Nickelodeon in its tone and humor, and we jumped at the opportunity to partner with Paramount Television and bring it to life as a TV series," said Russell Hicks, Nickelodeon's president of content.
In the movie, Dewey Finn poses as his brother Ned Schneebly, a substitute teacher, and creates a rock and roll band from among fourth grade prep school students. Finn uses their talents to win a Battle of the Bands competition for his own financial gain and notoriety. The film earned $131.3 million worldwide and launched the career of Miranda Cosgrove who starred in Nick's "Drake & Josh" and iCarly.
The entire cast reunited for a 10-year reunion last August at the Austin Film Society. Black and his grown-up co-stars performed their hit song School of Rock after a screening of the film.
The TV series isn't the only adaptation of the 2003 comedy. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is creating a musical stage version of the movie that will open as early as 2016 on Broadway, according to The Telegraph. Webber chose to put up the production in New York first rather than London's West End, because "it's much easier to cast children in New York than it is here," he said.
