It looks like the 'Robots in Disguise' will be making a grand return to the small screen. Nickelodeon and Hasbro's Entertainment One announced plans to develop a novel Transformers animated series that is part of an initiative to expand the company's animation offerings.
The new show will reimagine the classic story of the Autobots and Decepticons with the addition of a new, third species of Transformers who seek to find their place in the growing universe. According to Ramsey Naito, the president of Nickelodeon Animation, the creative concept of the series revolves around a core theme of family - a strategic move intended to reel in younger viewers. That said, long-time fans of the franchise should also be excited, as both "original characters and fan-favorites" are set to make appearances.
There will be 26 half-hour episodes in the same action-comedy style as the original Transformers cartoons from the 1980s. Nickelodeon plans to debut the show in the US first before releasing it to other countries worldwide. The animated project looks to be in good hands, as several creative heavyweights have signed on to the enterprise. Claudio Spinelli, the SVP of Animation Development at Nickelodeon, will manage the creative team, which includes Ant Ward (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Nicole Dubuc (Transformers: Rescue Bots), and developer Dale Malinowski (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as executive producers. Additionally, Nickelodeon's Conrad Montgomery and eOne's Mikiel Houser will work together to oversee the show's production.
Nickelodeon aims to become the go-to network for kids and families and has been particularly engaged in animated projects as of late. Aside from the Transformers revival, the company is also working on a Spongebob Squarepants spin-off called Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, as well as new television shows for Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek.
Perhaps the biggest undertaking, however, is its launch of a new division called Avatar Studios, which will be wholly dedicated to creating films and television shows toward the expansion of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Content produced by the studio will be supplied to Nickelodeon, Paramount Plus, and other third-party platforms.
Netflix is also reportedly working with Hasbro on its own Transformers animated series. Titled Transformers: BotBots, the show will be based on the line of Transformers toys of the same name that were launched by Hasbro in 2018. BotBots are little mischievous robots who disguise themselves as mall objects during the day and hide on store shelves at night. Trouble ensues when a group of BotBots known as 'The Lost Boys' run into the mall security guard, putting all of the BotBots in danger.
Nickelodeon's Transformers animated reboot is currently in development.