The quirky Fred Figglehorn, a high-pitched character who rose to fame on YouTube in 2008, has wiggled his way into a prime time TV slot on Nickelodeon.
Fred: The Show begins its regular Friday night rotation Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET, and Lucas Cruikshank -- the 18-year-old actor who plays Fred -- says viewers will get to see the character they knew as a 5-year-old boy now tackle life as a high school teenager.
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"Over the years, he's gotten more dimensional and not so one note," Nebraska-raised Cruikshank told Mashable. "We toned a few things down, like Fred’s voice, for the character’s transition to TV but that’s an organic shift since he’s older now."
The show premiered on President's Day (see clips of the two 11-minute episodes below), and 3.1 million people tuned in. Viewers were introduced to a mischievous "Evil Fred," whose misdeeds are blamed on Fred.
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"Fred finds himself in even crazier scenarios in the series ... there are talking cookies and awesome guest stars like Daniella Monet (from Nick show Victorious) and Rachel Crow (from X Factor) and much more," Cruikshank exclaims.
For those unfamiliar with Fred, his YouTube videos caught fire in 2008 and often accumulated Justin Bieber-esque amounts of pageviews. "Fred Goes Swimming," "Fred Loses His Meds" and "Fred Goes to the Dentist" have racked up 56 million, 35 million and 29 million views. The YouTube channel has 2.2 million subscribers.
"Fred resonates with audiences on the Internet and on TV because the character is relatable," Cruikshank says. "Like Fred, kids feel awkward and out of place sometimes. Though Fred gets himself in exaggerated situations, he deals with them confidently. He knows he doesn’t fit in with everyone and he’s OK with that."
Do you remember classic Fred from his early YouTube days? Will you be tuning in to catch his new show?
Evil Fred Pt. 1
Evil Fred Pt. 2
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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