Nick Cannon to Host ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Spinoff Series for Nickelodeon
Spike’s popular and Emmy-nominated series Lip Sync Battle will be getting a kid-focused spinoff series called Lip Sync Battle Shorties, to air on sister network Nickelodeon, it was announced Tuesday.
Nick Cannon will host the series, with 14-year-old social media sensation JoJo Siwa (a.k.a. “JoJo with the Big Bow”) serving as his backup in providing commentary to the real-life kids who will be lip-syncing pop songs. The 10-episode series is expected to debut in early 2018, with Halloween- and holiday-themed one-off specials airing later this year.
“I’m excited to host the first season of Lip Sync Battle Shorties,” Cannon said in a release. “It’s always a pleasure to work with my family at Nickelodeon. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching the kids lip-sync their favorite songs and perform like their favorites artists.”
The green light for this spinoff must have been a no-brainer for Nickelodeon after the success of its one-hour Shorties special last December, which the network says posted double- and triple-digit gains with kids, and had content garnering over 20 million views on Nick’s YouTube channel to date.
Here’s one of the performances from that December special:
The spinoff also comes amid the newfound popularity of kid-centric talent/unscripted series, like NBC’s Little Big Shots and Netflix’s just-announced unscripted comedy A Little Help with Carol Burnett.
Cannon has a long history with Nickelodeon, having been featured in the series All That as well as making memorable appearances at various Kids Choice and Kids Choice Sports Awards shows, among others. Cannon previously hosted NBC’s America’s Got Talent, but announced his exit from the program earlier this year.
For former Dance Moms cast member JoJo Siwa, this is part of an overall talent agreement she signed with Nickelodeon earlier this year. She also has an upcoming special, JoJo Siwa: My World, which will premiere on Nick Aug. 12 at 8/7c.
Lip Sync Battle Shorties, coming early 2018 on Nickelodeon. Halloween and holiday specials of Shorties will air later this year.
