'Lazytowns Creator Wants to Bring the Show Back

Publish date: 2024-09-14

The Big Picture

It's been a decade since the last episode of LazyTown aired. The popular Nickelodeon kids' show spanned for 4 seasons, featuring action-packed and educational stories for young audiences. And now, after years of the show being shelved, the franchise's creator and LazyTown's lead actor, Magnus Scheving, bought back the rights to the popular children's program from Warner Bros. Discovery.

In an interview with the Icelandic news site, Stöðvar 2, Scheving shared the love he still has for the show and believes that LazyTown still has potential despite being pulled off the air for many years. He pointed out that despite the show being shelved, LazyTown's official YouTube channel was able to generate over 5.5 billion views from fans and is still being talked about to this day:

" LazyTown must be moving. We sometimes say "Let's move the world". Let's move the world. That's what LazyTown should do. I think that LazyTown has a lot to do again, as can be seen from YouTube views and such. It's a hugely popular topic, incredibly."

According to Kidscreen.com, LazyTown was sold to Turner and Warner Bros Discovery back in 2011 for around $19.25 million. While it wasn't disclosed how much the Icelandic CEO paid to get the rights back, he did share his plans for the franchise. One of them was to get the show back on TV. "I want to bring him back to TV. I want to put it back in 170 countries. I think this will only do good. I have never met anyone who has been harmed by LazyTown," said Scheving.

What Is 'LazyTown'?

LazyTown is a kids' show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2004 to 2014 and taught and promoted healthy lifestyles, such as eating fruits and vegetables and staying active. The show was nominated for numerous awards, such as "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series" during 2006's Daytime Emmy Awards, and won the 2006 British Academy Children's Award in the "International" category. In an interview with GetLazy, the show's writer, Mark Valenti revealed that a LazyTown movie was in the works, but was unfortunately scrapped.

LazyTown starred the franchise's founder, Magnus Scheving, as Sportacus, the blue athletic hero and Stefan Karl Stefánsson as the show's antagonist, Robbie Rotten. Meanwhile, the role of Stephanie was passed around, with Shelby Young playing the female lead during the show's unaired pilot, Julianna Rose Mauriello from seasons 1 and 2, and Chloe Lang from Seasons 3 and 4.

Unfortunately, Stefánsson passed away in 2018 at the age of 43 due to bile duct cancer. A GoFundMe was raised for the late actor, and his performance of the song "We Are Number One" became an internet meme, with the music video generating over 160 million views on YouTube. His last public performance was in 2017 during Iceland's annual Christmas Concert in Reykjavik.

Warner Bros. Discovery has a history of shelving projects that have the potential for success. One example was Coyote vs. ACME. The film was going to star Will Forte, Eric Bauza, Jeff Bergman, and John Cena, but Warner Bros pulled the plug on the film just for a tax write-off. Meanwhile, Batgirl also met a similar fate in 2022, despite investing $90 million in the film's production.

Season 1 of LazyTown is available to stream on FuboTV. Episodes can also be accessible on the official LazyTown YouTube channel.

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