All Grown Up!

History

The idea originated in All Growed Up, a special which aired in 2001 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Rugrats. Nickelodeon was so impressed by the high ratings it achieved, with more than 12 million viewers tuning into the special, that it commissioned an entire series revolving around the teenage main characters. Production for the series later began in September 2002, under the pilot's name; however, Nickelodeon insisted that the program goes with the more grammatically correct title All Grown Up instead, especially since the characters in the special used more grammatically correct words. During summer 2003, teasers for All Grown Up aired. However, the scenes shown were not clips from actual episodes of the show.

At the time, this was not the only spinoff of Rugrats under consideration.

In 2002, Nickelodeon aired the episode Pre-School Daze, the proposed pilot to a series in which characters Angelica and Susie attend pre-school (the program ultimately aired in the UK in 2005, and then made its North American debut, long after the original series had been cancelled, in 2008.)

Another proposed spinoff was a series featuring Susie and the Carmichael family, who would've moved from Anytown, California to Atlanta, Georgia in the new series; it was first proposed for the 1999-2000 television season, but with Nick and Klasky-Csupo deciding to concentrate on all the original-aged Rugrats, all together, that concept was shelved. The Kwanzaa special, which aired in 2001, had served as a pilot for this new series, but some felt that the (ultimately rejected) series would've gotten against logical rules due to the combined production of the earlier two series.

Broadcast

The show premiered on April 12, 2003, as a preview before starting its regular run in late November 2003. When the series did start its regular run, more than 3.2 million viewers tuned in, enough to put it into the 2nd place slot for the week (behind an NFL game on ESPN) and making it the highest-rated premiere in Nickelodeon's history at the time. (The April sneak peek did not make the top 15 cable programs for that week, due to the ongoing war in Iraq.) It aired on Nick on CBS on September 18, 2004, and ended on September 17, 2005. The original titles for this series were All Growed Up! and Rugrats: All Growed Up!.

In addition, in its first season, All Grown Up! had its first of two celebrity guest stars: Lil Romeo as "Lil Q" (Cupid) in episode 11, "It's Cupid, Stupid".

Beginning in Season 4, the show would be put on hiatus numerous times between 2005-2008. The first began on October 10, 2005. The second began on November 25, 2006. And the final one began on November 30, 2007. The show aired on Nicktoons from September 23, 2005 to October 28, 2013.

In early 2007, All Grown Up! was removed from the Nickelodeon schedule in the United States. Although it later returned, no new episodes have been produced since 2008.

Nickelodeon US aired most of the final season of All Grown Up! from November 12, 2007, through November 30, 2007. The final three episodes aired on August 3, 2008, August 10, 2008, and August 17, 2008.

Characters

Thomas "Tommy" Pickles

Tommy is the elder brother of Dil Pickles, he is now a pre-teen with a full head of hair. He is often the leader of the pack. Many years ago, he once fell into the river water but his grandpa Lou got him out quickly but this experience affected Tommy, causing him to have a fear of water. He also has an interest in film making. His friends still look up to him for help and advice whenever the situation gets out of control.

Charles "Chuckie" Finster, Jr.

Chuckie is Tommy's best friend and Kimi's step-brother. Chuckie is still shy and timid, although he has a "rebellious streak" at times. He and Tommy are known to cause havoc at school, angering their vice principal. He gets gross tendencies.

Dylan "Dil" Pickles

Dil is Tommy's younger brother and has inherited his father's interest in inventing. Dil is known as his unconventional interests and beliefs (especially in aliens).

Phillip "Phil" and Lillian "Lil" DeVille

Phil and Lil are good friends of Tommy, Chuckie and Dil. Phil still has gross tendencies, although Lil has matured and picked up interests in fashion and boys. Both of them played soccer at some point in the series.

Angelica Pickles

Angelica is Tommy and Dil's cousin, now a teenager and is still jealous of Susie. Although she still tends to be self-serving and bossy toward her younger cousins and their friends, she has mellowed as she got older.

Susie Carmichael

Susie is Angelica's best friend. Also a teenager, Susie is still known to be helpful and kind to her younger friends. She has a talent for singing.

Kimi Finster

Kimi is Chuckie's younger step-sister. While she lives with her mother Kira and step-father Chas, she has a good relationship with her biological father, Hiro, who lives in Japan. She also has a half-sibling through her father and step-mother.

VHS and DVD releases

A total of twelve All Grown Up! DVDs have been released:

Nick Picks

Nick Picks Volume 1: Lucky 13

Nick Picks Volume 2: Interview With A Campfire

Nick Picks Volume 3: Dude Where's My Horse

Nick Picks Volume 4: R.V. Having Fun Yet

Nick Picks Holiday: The Finster Who Stole Christmas

Books

There are a range of All Grown Up! books published:

Ask Angelica!

Whats With Dad?

Chuckie's Ghost

Cookie Crisis!

It's About Time

The Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to Fifth Grade!

Boys vs Girls

Angelica for President

Coolest Girl In School