Sam & Cat is an AmericanTeen sitcom that originally aired from June 8, 2013, to July 17, 2014, on Nickelodeon. It is a crossover spin-off/sequel of both iCarly and Victorious. It stars Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett and Ariana Grande as Cat Valentine. The girls meet by chance during a bizarre adventure and become roommates, then start a babysitting business to earn extra money. The series was picked up for 20 episodes on November 29, 2012. It began filming in January 2013 and premiered on June 8, 2013. The first season was doubled to 40 episodes on July 11, 2013.
At the Nickelodeonupfront meeting with advertisers on March 13, 2014, Nickelodeon programming president Russell Hicks stated that Sam & Cat had been renewed for a second season and producer Dan Schneider told Adweek that season two was slated for twenty episodes. However, that month, other Nickelodeon sources stated that an official decision was yet to be made if the show will be renewed, leading to many cancellation rumors after Nickelodeon put the series on a production hiatus on April 3, 2014. After airing 33 episodes, Nickelodeon released a promo stating two episodes remained to air. On July 13, 2014, after a three-month production hiatus, Nickelodeon canceled the series, having produced only 36 episodes of a 40 episode order. Media outlets attributed the cancellation to a salary dispute between McCurdy and Nickelodeon, a feud between McCurdy and Grande, the leak of racy photographs of McCurdy, the rising musical career of Grande, and both actresses' desires to move on to other projects. The final episode aired on July 17, 2014, as a lead-in to the first Kids' Choice Sports Awards ceremony.
Plot
Ever since Carly Shay moved to Italy with her father (in the series finale of iCarly), Sam Puckett has been touring the West Coast on her motorcycle and stops in Venice, Los Angeles. She witnesses Cat Valentine being thrown into the back of a garbage truck and rescues her. They become friends and Cat convinces her to become roommates after Cat's cheerful and supportive grandmother Nona moves to a retirement home called Elderly Acres. To make money rather than getting traditional after-school jobs, Sam and Cat form an after-school babysitting business called "Sam and Cat's Super Rockin' Funtime Babysitting Service", which leads them into a series of comical adventures. Besides Nona, other people involved in their lives are Dice, their next door neighbor who is notorious for aiding people for money, and Goomer, a dim-witted professional MMA fighter whom Dice manages.
Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett, who is rude, aggressive, loves pranks, and hates working. After her best friend Carly Shay moved to Italy to live with her dad, Sam tours the west coast on her motorcycle until she saves Cat from a garbage truck. She becomes friends with Cat and joins her in the babysitting job they start. She secretly has a heart of gold and a soft spot for Cat, but will threaten violence on anyone who harms her friends. Sam is not afraid of anything and is handy at fighting or bossing her way out of any situation.
Ariana Grande as Cat Valentine, who is sweet, naive, bubbly and almost always happy. She has a playful nature, often takes things literally, and faints when she is frightened. She has a short attention span and has bright red hair dyed to resemble her favorite snack, a red velvet cupcake. Cat has been living with her grandmother Nona since her parents went away to visit her brother. She can be emotional and does not take criticism well. Despite her ditziness, she is actually very intelligent and empathetic. In the earlier parts of the show, Ariana Grande dyed her hair red when playing Cat Valentine (which she also did when playing the character on Victorious) until it was changed to her wearing a red-haired wig in later episodes.
Cameron Ocasio as Dice, is Sam and Cat's neighbor who lives with his mom and his weird Aunt Ferjeen (who is notorious for having "night gas"). Dice is cool, calm and collected, and he knows all the tenants and gossip. He makes extra money by wheeling and dealing, often selling unusual items like hair cuttings from celebrities (including some he obtained from Sam), hats with misspelled logos, and odd gadgets. He is a talented pitchman. Dice manages a mixed martial arts fighter named Goomer who is not bright.
Maree Cheatham as Nona, Cat's cheerful, supportive, and independent grandmother. Fun-loving and young at heart, Nona prefers the company of people her own age. Although she is always around whenever Sam and Cat need her, she has moved out of the apartment she shared with Cat and into Elderly Acres to be nearer to her friends, allowing Sam to move in permanently. She is criticized for not being in touch with the younger generation, and tells stories which fail to interest them.
Recurring
Zoran Korach as Goomer, a professional mixed martial artist who trains at Punchy's Gym. He is 27 years old but has the mental ability of someone much younger. He is very dim-witted and easily confused. Despite his childish nature, he is very good at fighting. Dice took over his management after his original manager claimed Goomer was "too stupid to manage".
Griffin Kane and Emily Skinner as Max and Chloe, a brother and sister who, alongside their baby brother Darby, were among the less rambunctious kids babysat by Nona; Sam and Cat babysit them now. They appear in episodes "#Pilot","#NewGoat", and "#PeezyB".
Sophia Grace Brownlee & Rosie McClelland as Gwen and Ruby, British girls whom Sam and Cat babysit in the episode "#TheBritBrats". At first they seem polite, but later they behave quite rudely. They are experienced con artists who bilk Dice out of $500 and Cat out of her bicycle. In a loose parody of The Sting, Sam concocts a rigged bingo game to trick the British brats into surrendering Dice's money and Cat's bike. They also were in "#RevengeOfTheBritBrats" where they return and drive a wedge between Sam and Cat. This plan failed when Sam and Cat caught onto their plans.
Dan Schneider as the voice of Tandy, a red robot that works at the restaurant "Bots" as a waiter.
Lisa Lillien as the voice of Bungle, a blue female robot that works at the restaurant "Bots" as a waitress.
Nick Gore as Randy, a kid who appeared numerous times in the show and is constantly introducing himself. Randy was originally supposed to appear in one episode, but the creator of the show, Dan Schneider, found him funny so he became a recurring character.
Ronnie Clark as Herb, a man who pretends to be homeless, but he is in fact rich and owns a condo.
Cyrus Arnold as BJ Malloy, a boy who loves to eat eggs and call Dice "Diceberg", because it rhymes with "iceberg" and this attitude stresses Dice. He considers Dice as his friend.
Steve Lewis as Brody, a spear fisherman that always boasts his job and is often seen with a speargun in his hand.
Ryan P. Shrime as Yokvish, a clerk at the Handy Quick who enjoys taking selfies and grooming himself.
Special guest stars
Eric Lange as Mr. Sikowitz, Cat's acting teacher at Hollywood Arts, an eccentric aging hippie who occasionally doesn't wear shoes. His teaching methods are often unconventional, such as when he throws a ball at Cat while she is performing, but they are sometimes effective. He is a recurring character in Victorious and appeared in "#MommaGoomer".
Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as Sylvia Burke and Janice Dobbins, the original creators of the puppet show Salmon Cat, a TV show from the 1970s. Marshall and Williams are famous for playing Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, respectively, on Laverne & Shirley.
Kel Mitchell, as Peezy B, a huge rap star who has rejected Cat's music video audition.
Abby Wilde as Stacey Dillsen, a college student previously seen in Zoey 101 who is injured during a bicycle incident and loses one of her shoes, which Cat finds, leading her to find the second shoe.
Scott Baio as Officer Kelvin, a police officer who arrests Sam and Cat for "stealing money" from an ATM at the Handy Quick when Yokvish catches on to Cat's activity.
Elizabeth Gillies as Jade West, Cat's friend from Hollywood Arts. She is mean, aggressive, violent, and often offends Cat. She befriends Sam when they discover that they have a lot in common.
Nathan Kress as Freddie Benson, Sam's friend from Seattle and ex-boyfriend. He likes technological stuff, and served as technical producer of the iCarly web show on iCarly. Cat brings him to her house in order to flirt with him at the time when Sam was hanging out with Jade.
Matt Bennett as Robbie Shapiro, Cat's friend and love interest. He is a nerd who carries a puppet named Rex (who he makes speak as a ventriloquist). He kissed Cat in one of the final episodes of Victorious. When Cat hits on Freddie out of jealousy of Sam's friendship with Jade, Robbie is brought in by Jade so that Sam can hit on him.
Michael Eric Reid as Himself, he plays Sinjin Van Cleef in Victorious. Michael appears in "#BlooperEpisode" and tells Zoran Korach that he knows what it's like to be left out for not being a main character.
Danielle Morrow as Nora Dershlit, an old enemy of Carly, Sam, and Freddie. In "#SuperPsycho," her pet chicken Maurice helps Nora escape from the prison somewhere near Seattle so that she can exact her revenge.
Reed Alexander as Nevel Papperman, an old enemy of Carly, Sam, and Freddie. In "#SuperPsycho," Nevel is seen in a Peter Sinai hospital for the very sick upon contracting Porcupox (a disease which somehow comes from a porcupine). Sam and Cat visit him in order to get advice on how to find Nora Dershlit.
Noah Munck as Gibby Gibson, a friend of Carly, Sam, and Freddie. After he is visited by Nora during his date with a girl at a movie theater, Gibby tips off Sam that Nora has escaped from prison.
Jessica Chaffin as Coco Wexler, a character from Zoey 101 whom Sam and Cat meet at the airport. Coco was once married to Carl, then they divorced. Coco is devastated when Carl proposes to her mother.
Josh Server as Agent Partridge, an airport agent who interrogates Dice and Goomer after they are mistaken for a terrorist plot.
Production
In August 2012, Nickelodeon announced that Dan Schneider, the creator of iCarly and Victorious, would be making a spin-off of both shows called Sam & Cat, and ordered the pilot episode. The series was then picked up for 20 episodes in November, with the premiere planned for 2013. Production began in January 2013, and on June 8, 2013, Sam & Cat premiered in the United States. Several weeks later, on July 11, Nickelodeon doubled the season one order of 20 episodes, to 40. Filming was scheduled to resume in early September 2013 to finish the second half of the first season.
Schneider originally aimed for a March 23, 2013, premiere of Sam & Cat, following the Kids' Choice Awards; however, Nickelodeon intended for the show to make its debut in the fall. On April 18, 2013, the show's two stars Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande, via Twitter, announced its premiere was set for June.
Cancellation
On April 2, 2014, Nickelodeon announced the series would be on hiatus. Although they insisted the series was not cancelled, many speculated that it was. This was due to a rumored dispute between McCurdy and the network, Grande's rising musical career, and both actresses' desires to move on to other projects. On July 13, 2014, it was announced that the last episode would be "#GettinWiggy," which aired four days later.
Controversy
In March 2014, Jennette McCurdy became the subject of scandal after the leak of photographs revealing McCurdy in various states of undress. Her absence was noted at the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, where Sam & Cat won "Favorite Show" and Ariana Grande won "Best Actress." McCurdy claimed that Nickelodeon was treating her unfairly and that was the sole purpose for her failure to attend the awards. On April 2, 2014, despite reports of a second season and with four episodes yet to be produced, Nickelodeon abruptly put the series on hiatus. Rumors were that McCurdy and Grande were having problems with the network over their salaries, with McCurdy accusing Nickelodeon of paying Grande more money. Grande later took to social media to deny the allegations. However, they only stated that the hiatus was planned and said the series was not canceled. Although, 3 months later on July 13, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that the series had been canceled.
For months in between, rumors of a feud between Grande and McCurdy ran high, and still do after the series' cancellation. However, McCurdy stated in a 2015 interview with E! Online: "I just feel that Ariana and I were and are extremely close and extremely like-minded in a lot of different ways, and then sort of as the show dissolved everybody wanted to find some sort of hidden meaning in our relationship and some like drama, and I think we butted heads at times but in a very sisterly way. Like she knows me so well and I know her so well that I think it was unfortunate that things got misconstrued."
Ratings
The pilot episode debuted on Nickelodeon June 8, 2013, to an audience of 4.2 million viewers. The second episode, one week later, drew 2.6 million viewers. The most watched episode is "#TheKillerTunaJump: #Freddie #Jade #Robbie," which aired January 18, 2014, to 4.8 million viewers; the second most watched episode is the pilot (4.2 million), while the least watched is "#SecretSafe" (2.0 million, on October 5, 2013). In the United Kingdom the series premiere delivered 340,000 viewers, the most for that week. The Halloween episode premiere on October 26, 2013, brought 210,000 viewers staying in the same place.
Broadcast
The series airs on Nickelodeon worldwide. It premiered in Canada on August 12, 2013, on YTV and on September 7, 2013, on the original channel. The show previewed on September 1, 2013, and premiered on October 14, 2013, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It previewed on September 30, 2013, and premiered on October 7, 2013, and October 11, 2013, in New Zealand and Australia, respectively. In Southeast Asia it started airing on October 19, 2013.
