Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi
Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi are a team of American show-creators, writers and producers of television and screenwriters.
They are best known as the co-creators of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Critics[who?] have called this quirky and heartfelt ode to growing up "one of the best kids' shows ever".
Los Angeles Times TV critic Robert Lloyd said of the show, "By rendering the ordinary events of childhood and adolescence — staying up late, hating shop class, discovering music, ruing the end of summer — as the epic stuff of legend, the series captured the actual depth and intensity of feeling that comes with being young. Poignant without being sentimental, oddball but never merely weird, the show was made to be 'funny, sad, strange and beautiful'."
The series was also known for its music and special guest stars. Over its 39 episodes, Pete & Pete featured Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, Patricia Hearst and many others. In recent years,[when?] the show has returned to its now grown-up audience in the form of cast reunions that have played to sold-out audiences in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Portland.[citation needed]
McRobb was assigned to work on Nicktoons after the success of Pete & Pete. While he worked with Jumbo Pictures on Doug effectively, his work with Spümcø on The Ren & Stimpy Show is one of the hardest times in his career. He served as a voice of reason between Nickelodeon executives and series creator John Kricfalusi, who considered him to be an obstacle in the series' creative process and viewed him more negatively than other executives like Vanessa Coffey. Nevertheless, he was highly influential in the production of the first two seasons, approving plots for critically acclaimed episodes such as "Sven Höek" and "Man's Best Friend" while writing the episode "Black Hole". Bob Camp considered him to be important to the series, providing constructive advice and improving on Kricfalusi's often overly crass ideas while receiving little to no credit for them.[1]
Currently,[when?] McRobb is an executive producer of two animated series for children in production for Apple TV+. Harriet the Spy is an adaptation of the coming-of-age novel about a rebellious 11-year-old girl living in New York City in the 1960s, who wants to be a spy and a writer. El Deafo is an adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning graphic novel and memoir. It is a tragicomic chronicle of a young girl who has to learn to overcome her disability when she loses her hearing at age five.
Recent[when?] projects include executive-producing Costume Quest, an animated children's series from Amazon which was premiered in 2018. He was also the executive producer and writer of Click, Clack, Moo: Christmas at the Farm, an animated Christmas special based on the popular Click, Clack, Moo children's book series. It was premiered in December 2017.[2] From 2015 to 2017, he was one of the executive producers of Sanjay and Craig, an animated children's show for Nickelodeon.
McRobb was also a writer on the 2007 family movie Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Work
[edit]Television
[edit]| Title | Role | Network | Premiere | Ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Adventures of Pete & Pete | Co-creators, executive producers, writers[3] | Nickelodeon | November 28, 1993 | December 28, 1996 |
| Inside-Out Boy | Creator, writer (Will McRobb) | 1990 | 1992 | |
| Doug | Story Editor (Will McRobb) | Nickelodeon/ABC | Nickelodeon series: August 11, 1991 ABC series: September 7, 1996 |
Nickelodeon series: January 2, 1994 ABC series: June 26, 1999 |
| The Ren & Stimpy Show | Story Editor, writer (Will McRobb) | Nickelodeon | August 11, 1991 | December 16, 1995 |
| KaBlam! | Co-creators, executive producers, writers[4] | October 1, 1996 | January 22, 2000 | |
| The War Next Door | Co-creators, executive producers, writers | USA Network | July 23, 2000 | September 24, 2000 |
| The Assistants | Co-creators, executive producers, writers,[5] executive producers | The N | July 10, 2009 | September 11, 2009 |
| Sanjay and Craig | Executive producers, writers[6] | Nickelodeon | May 25, 2013 | July 29, 2016 |
Television movies
[edit]| TV movie | Television series | Role | Network | Premiere date | DVD release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Battle of the Bands" | The Naked Brothers Band | Writers[7] | Nickelodeon | October 6, 2007 | September 4, 2007 |
| Albert | N/A | Co-executive producers, writers | December 9, 2016 | November 14, 2017 |
Films
[edit]| Title | Role | Distributors | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Day | Screenwriters[5] | Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies | February 11, 2000 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | 20th Century Fox | December 14, 2007 | |
| Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging | Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies | July 25, 2008 | |
| The Tale of Despereaux | Story[5] | Universal Pictures | December 19, 2008 |
| The Loud House Movie | Producer Screenwriter (Chris Viscardi) |
Nickelodeon Movies Netflix |
August 20, 2021 |
Web series
[edit]| Title | Role | Distributors | Premiere | Ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bravest Warriors | Developers, executive producers (seasons 1–3) | Cartoon Hangover | November 8, 2012 | December 24, 2018 |
Music Video
[edit]| Song | Band | Role | Notes | Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Underground | Real Estate | Along with Michael C. Maronna ("Big" Pete Wrigley) and Danny Tamberelli ("Little" Pete Wrigley), are executive producers on the music video. | The video is a tribute to the 1990s Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete and features numerous references to episodes from the show as well as the actors that played "Big" Pete Wrigley, Michael C. Maronna, and "Little" Pete Wrigley, Danny Tamberelli, alongside the five current Read Estate band members. | November 27, 2023, on YouTube[8] |
References
[edit]Works cited
[edit]- Thad Komorowski (2013). Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story. Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593932343.
- ^ Komorowski 2013, p. 50.
- ^ "Costume Quest". IMDb. March 8, 2019.
- ^ Remington, Alex, "Interview with Will McRobb, Co-Creator of "The Adventures of Pete and Pete," One of the Best Kid's Shows in TV History.", The Huffington Post, February 21, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ "Kablam!" (1996) – Full Cast and Crew.", The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ a b c THE N GIVES TEENS A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF FOUR ASPIRING HOLLYWOOD WANNABES STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT, IN THE NEW ORIGINAL COMEDY SERIES THE ASSISTANTS, PREMIERING JULY 10 – PDF
- ^ "Sanjay and Craig", TV by the numbers
- ^ "The Naked Brothers Band" (2007) – Full Cast and Crew.", The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ "Real Estate - Water Underground (Official Video)". YouTube. November 27, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Will McRobb at IMDb
- Chris Viscardi at IMDb
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