Two new Nelvana concepts are headed to Nickelodeon – ZJ Sparkleton and The Hamster Show (working titles).

Unveiled at the kidcaster’s upfront presentation last week, the duo were greenlit as 26 x half-hour 2D-animated series that will premiere in 2022 on Nick in the U.S. before heading to the international channels.

Created by Brian Morante (Penguins of Madagascar, Breadwinners), ZJ Sparkleton is a buddy comedy for six to 11s that stars a vlogger named Ruby and her alien best friend who film their daily adventures around their hometown.

Nelvana’s Mike Geiger will direct, and Lynne Warner is on board as a supervising producer. Nickelodeon’s VP of animation development Kari Kim, SVP of animation development Claudia Spinelli, and VP of current series animation Conrad Montgomery will also oversee production.

The Hamster Show, meanwhile, is about a group of hamsters who think they’re the heroic protectors of the king, who’s really just their eight-year-old owner.

The lone preschool series on Nick’s new slate, The Hamster Show was created by Zach Smith (Baby Shark’s Big Show!), and Jason Groh is set to direct. Warner will also be Nelvana’s supervising producer on the project, and SVP of preschool Eryk Casemiro will oversee production for Nick.

Alongside these two Corus-owned prodco productions, Nickelodeon’s slate also included previously announced Paramount+ projects.

As well, Nickelodeon also announced it had renewed PAW Patrol for a ninth season (26 episodes) and PAW Patrol: The Movie, a Spin Master Entertainment production in association with Nickelodeon Movies, which is based on the preschool series and is set to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

A version of this story originally appeared in Kidscreen