Another classic Nicktoon is getting a revival. Nickelodeon is going back to O-Town with Rocko's Modern Life.
There’s a crack in Nickelodeon’s nostalgia well, and Nicktoons are gushing through the network’s library at the moment. Rocko’s Modern Life is the latest Nicktoon to be greenlit for a revival, the network announced on Thursday. The timing is important because it marks 25 years to the day when Nickelodeon’s animation boom took off with the airing of the first episodes of The Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy and Doug.
Rocko’s Modern Life will return as a one-hour TV special based on the original series that ran from 1993-1996 with 52 episodes over four seasons. Series creator Joe Murray will serve as executive producer of the (for now) one-off revival. Casting and airdate were not disclosed in Nickelodeon’s press release.
"I'm very happy to be rejoining Rocko and my friends from O-Town again,” said Murray in the release. “What I have found by bringing these characters back is that it's not so much about nostalgia, but a sense that they still feel relevant and fresh to me, and after twenty years, they can't wait to comment on modern life in the 21st century. They still have a lot to say."
The follies of Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt were always the happy medium between the grotesque visual humor of Ren and Stimpy and the story-driven Rugrats. With the network looking to mine its library to capitalize off the successful of its ‘90’s programming block, “The Splat,” Rocko is yet another Nickelodeon property to get a revival in some way. Classic game show Legends of the Hidden Temple is getting its own TV movie and a Hey Arnold! TV film is in the works, picking up where the series left off in 2004.
Rocko seems like an obvious choice for a revival, considering adults made up a good portion of its fan base during the original run.
