While April begins with a day for fools, to those of us with a different form of arrested development, April is also the month of Nickelodeon. Launched on the 1st of April in 1979, Nickelodeon turns 46 this year.
From theme park installations to iconic TV shows and the Kids’ Choice Awards, Nickelodeon has cemented itself firmly as part of children's entertainment. While there is warranted concern about celebrating a channel that hosted freaks like Dan Schneider, there is no doubt that it has had a major impact on the millennial generation.
While the channel didn’t immediately make waves, by the 90s it had really hit its stride and found its footing with a host of loud, gross, hilarious original programming. With live-action shows acted by kids like Clarissa Explains It All, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Kenan & Kel and iCarly kids felt seen and represented, with scripts that really felt real.
Perhaps even more than their live action shows, the animated original programs have stayed as iconic pop culture pieces that have stood the test of time (if you can say thirty years is long enough for a test of time). The variety in humour, serious topics, gross-out jokes and animation styles meant that there was something for everyone in their massive catalogue of cartoons including Rugrats, Doug, Ren & Stimpy, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberrys, CatDog, Angry Beavers and Rocko’s Modern Life.
Hey Arnold! especially found ways to weave serious issues into its episodes, with one extremely beautiful notable example of Mr. Hyunh, a refugee from the Vietnam war, finding and reconnecting with his daughter after being separated during the fall of Saigon.
Beyond TV shows, Nickelodeon made iconic movies like Harriet the Spy, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and Rango - winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
As the 2000s progressed, the rise of digital platforms and YouTube began to alter the way kids consumed content. While Nickelodeon did find success with live-action hits like Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, and Victorious, its once-brilliant cartoon lineup began to stagnate. The few animated series that thrived — Fairly OddParents and SpongeBob SquarePants — were leaned on heavily, with SpongeBob in particular becoming a double-edged sword. While wildly popular and iconic, SpongeBob’s dominance often came at the expense of nurturing new creative voices.
Behind the scenes, leadership changes and shifting corporate priorities led to programming decisions that alienated longtime viewers. Attempts to revive older franchises were often mishandled or under-promoted. Meanwhile, competitors like Cartoon Network and Disney Channel were evolving with the times, introducing shows that embraced more diverse storytelling, mature themes, and digital-first strategies.
By the 2010s, Nickelodeon struggled to stay relevant in the streaming era. Kids were no longer waiting for scheduled programming — they were binging series on Netflix and scrolling TikTok. While the network eventually embraced digital platforms and partnered with streaming services like Netflix and Paramount+, its response felt more reactive than innovative. In many ways, Nickelodeon — once the scrappy underdog that took risks — had become the slow-moving giant.
And yet, the nostalgia for classic Nickelodeon remains stronger than ever. Millennial and Gen Z fans continue to celebrate the shows that shaped their childhoods, buying vintage merchandise, creating memes, and flocking to rewatch old episodes on streaming. Nickelodeon has attempted to capitalize on this with reboots and spinoffs, with varying levels of success. But the truth is, the version of Nickelodeon that lives in people’s hearts — weird, gross, experimental, and joyfully chaotic — may be impossible to recreate in today’s media landscape.
The rise and fall of Nickelodeon isn’t a cautionary tale so much as it is a reflection of how pop culture evolves. For a time, it was a one-of-a-kind platform that truly championed kids and their weird little worlds. It showed that children’s entertainment didn’t have to be sanitized or condescending — it could be loud, honest, and full of heart. And for those of us who grew up during that glorious orange era, it always will be.
