What were Nickelodeon's flagship live-action shows for each era?

TMC1982

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I know that when Nickelodeon launched in 1979, Pinwheel was its defacto flagship show. As matter of fact, to give you a point of reference, by 1985, Nickelodeon devoted at least five hours to Pinwheel.

You Can't Do That on Television appears to be the first true "mega-hit" show that Nickelodeon had. It was from roughly 1982-1986 (when Double Dare premiered), the highest rated show on Nick. Double Dare could be considered the first "modern" Nick show as it wasn't an foreign import (YCDTOT was a Canadian show) and it really cemented the channel's "messy, fun" image going forward.
 

Vaughn Max

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I know that when Nickelodeon launched in 1979, Pinwheel was its defacto flagship show. As matter of fact, to give you a point of reference, by 1985, Nickelodeon devoted at least five hours to Pinwheel.

You Can't Do That on Television appears to be the first true "mega-hit" show that Nickelodeon had. It was from roughly 1982-1986 (when Double Dare premiered), the highest rated show on Nick. Double Dare could be considered the first "modern" Nick show as it wasn't an foreign import (YCDTOT was a Canadian show) and it really cemented the channel's "messy, fun" image going forward.
Right now, their flagship live action show is either Henry Danger or Double Dare

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mimitchi33

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In the 90's, it was All That.
In the 2000's, iCarly and Drake and Josh.
 

jaylop97

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For the late 90s to present most of their live action shows are definitely those that were under Dan Schneider's involvement. Not too many shows really had much of a cult following during that time except Ned Declassified, but to some that could be debatable.
 

Darklordavaitor

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I feel like you could splice things up by every few years or so. Although you could probably define the 80's with two shows- You Can't Do That on Television and Double Dare, especially if we divide the decade up in halves. Both are hugely synonymous with the network during that period, and helped to turn it from a could be to one of the defining cable networks.

Afterwards, I'm thinking

-While Hey Dude was their first sitcom, and became a staple for the channel during the decade, the early 90's belonged to Clarissa Explains It All in terms of recognition, while Legends of the Hidden Temple is arguably their biggest game show after Double Dare. Both of which also showed off the appeal of Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, as they were taped right there.
-For the mid-90's, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Secret World of Alex Mack were reflective of how Nick could make more than just comedies and game shows, while The Adventures of Pete & Pete had as much to offer for older viewers and sharper kids as some of their iconic Nicktoons.
-The late 90's began the slow descent into Schneider nation. All That and Kenan & Kel were, and still are fan favorites, and helped to set his style of comedy into the network, while diversifying it as well. Meanwhile, Figure It Out was one of their last big game shows.
-The early 2000's doesn't seem like the best era for Nick, but The Amanda Show continued Dan Schneider's dominance on the network, and helped establish a few familiar faces who would be a part of it for years to come. Besides that... maybe The Brothers Garcia? We don't talk about this one as often, but it was on for a while, and had a varied Latina cast which was missing on the network at that point.
-Drake & Josh and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide were big deals during the middle part of this decade, and had a solid amount of older viewers, including members of this site.
-For the later part of the decade and the early 2010's, iCarly and Victorious were very popular, and also had some older viewers. Sam & Cat, less so, but it seemed like kids at least were into it for a period.

After this... I dunno. I don't really pay attention to Nick nowadays.
 

Vaughn Max

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I feel like you could splice things up by every few years or so. Although you could probably define the 80's with two shows- You Can't Do That on Television and Double Dare, especially if we divide the decade up in halves. Both are hugely synonymous with the network during that period, and helped to turn it from a could be to one of the defining cable networks.

Afterwards, I'm thinking

-While Hey Dude was their first sitcom, and became a staple for the channel during the decade, the early 90's belonged to Clarissa Explains It All in terms of recognition, while Legends of the Hidden Temple is arguably their biggest game show after Double Dare. Both of which also showed off the appeal of Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, as they were taped right there.
-For the mid-90's, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Secret World of Alex Mack were reflective of how Nick could make more than just comedies and game shows, while The Adventures of Pete & Pete had as much to offer for older viewers and sharper kids as some of their iconic Nicktoons.
-The late 90's began the slow descent into Schneider nation. All That and Kenan & Kel were, and still are fan favorites, and helped to set his style of comedy into the network, while diversifying it as well. Meanwhile, Figure It Out was one of their last big game shows.
-The early 2000's doesn't seem like the best era for Nick, but The Amanda Show continued Dan Schneider's dominance on the network, and helped establish a few familiar faces who would be a part of it for years to come. Besides that... maybe The Brothers Garcia? We don't talk about this one as often, but it was on for a while, and had a varied Latina cast which was missing on the network at that point.
-Drake & Josh and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide were big deals during the middle part of this decade, and had a solid amount of older viewers, including members of this site.
-For the later part of the decade and the early 2010's, iCarly and Victorious were very popular, and also had some older viewers. Sam & Cat, less so, but it seemed like kids at least were into it for a period.

After this... I dunno. I don't really pay attention to Nick nowadays.
What about Big Time Rush and The Naked Brothers Band?

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Darklordavaitor

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Aren't they flagship shows?

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I don't personally think so, but do keep in mind that I'm in my mid-20's, and I was in my later teens-early 20's when these shows were on, so I wasn't really in the right demographic for either show. I did watch some of the later series I mentioned, however, but that's only speaking from my personal experience.
 

JTOONSAnimation

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Early 90's: Double Dare & Clarissa Explains it All
Mid 90's: All That, Double Dare & Legends of the Hidden Temple
Late 90's: Kenan & Kel, All That, maybe more?
Early 2000's: All That, The Amanda Show, maybe more?
Mid 2000's: Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified & Zoey 101
Late 2000's: iCarly, maybe more?
Early 2010's: iCarly, Victorious & Big Time Rush
Mid 2010's: Sam & Cat & Henry Danger
Currently: Henry Danger (the only current Nick live-action show to continously get 1M+ viewers)
 

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