NICKELODEON SUITS UP FOR THE ASTRONAUTS HOUR-LONG
PREMIERE EVENT, FRIDAY, NOV. 13, AT 7 P.M. (ET/PT)
The Astronauts Marks the First Production From Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Kids+Family Division
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HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Oct. 9, 2020--
Nickelodeon enters orbit for an epic hour-long premiere event of
The Astronauts, the network’s first co-production with Imagine Kids+Family. The brand-new live-action series follows a group of kids who embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they are mistakenly launched into space.
The Astronauts is executive produced by Imagine Entertainment Executive Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, and Imagine Kids+Family President Stephanie Sperber. The series is created by Daniel Knauf (
Carnivàle,
The Blacklist), who also serves as writer and executive producer. The first two episodes of
The Astronauts premiere back-to-back on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
In the hour-long premiere of The Astronauts, the spacecraft Odyssey II is set to launch on a mission to retrieve a foreign object that could potentially save mankind. The plan quickly goes awry when five untrained kids use their parents’ security clearances to sneak onto the empty ship. Soon after they board, the onboard AI system triggers the launch sequence. Unable to stop the ship from blasting off, the kids must assume their new role as astronauts and brave harrowing tasks, as their parents rush to find a way to take control of the situation.
The group traveling together through space are: Samantha “Samy” Sawyer-Wei, played by Miya Cech (
Are You Afraid of the Dark?,
Always Be My Maybe); Elliott Combs, played by Bryce Gheisar (
Wonder,
A Dog’s Purpose); Martin Taylor, played by Keith L. Williams (
Good Boys,
The Last Man on Earth); Doria Taylor, played by Kayden Grace Swan (
A Black Lady Sketch Show); and Will Rivers, played by Ben Daon (
Child’s Play). Matilda, the ship’s onboard AI system, is voiced by Paige Howard (
The Employer,
Adventureland).
The premiere episodes of The Astronauts are directed by DGA Award nominee Dean Israelite (Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Power Rangers movie, Project Almanac), who also serves as executive producer. The series is also directed by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, The Orville), and Marcus Stokes (Criminal Minds, The Flash, 911). Will Davis served as creative executive for Imagine Kids+Family.
Production of The Astronauts for Nickelodeon is overseen by Shauna Phelan, Senior Vice President, Live Action Scripted Content; and Zack Olin, Senior Vice President, Live Action. Brian Banks serves as Nickelodeon’s Executive in Charge of Production for the series.
The Astronauts is the first production to hail from Imagine Kids+Family. Imagine has a rich history telling stories rooted in space adventure, including the multiple Academy Award-winning film Apollo 13 (celebrating its 25th anniversary this year), the hybrid docuseries Mars for NatGeo, and the Emmy Award-winning series From The Earth To The Moon for HBO.
About Imagine Kids+Family
Imagine Kids+Family was formed in 2019 by Imagine Entertainment Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard with a focus on developing and producing premium kids and family entertainment with capabilities in consumer products and franchise building. Imagine Kids+Family is run by President Stephanie Sperber, a veteran kids entertainment executive with a successful career in building kids and family businesses, IP, and franchises. IKF recently acquired an equity stake in popular
The Tiny Chef Show to develop the original short-form stop-motion animation Tiny Chef character across all platforms including short-form, tv series, and digital, and is part of a strategic global franchise plan. Currently, IKF is producing its first live-action series
The Astronauts for Nickelodeon;
Kalamata’s Kitchen;
Breyer Hollow;
The Trail; and
Going Vintage to name a few. IKF is also producing
Max Einstein under its partnership with James Patterson’s’ kid imprint Jimmy Books, and has a first-look partnership with Academy Award-winning animation company Lion Forge (
Hair Love) around its existing IP of both licensed and original ideas, starting with
Chippy Hood, Bug Tron,
Puerto Rico Strong, and
Unt. Black Comic Anthology.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 41st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit
http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).
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Plano Native Bryce Gheisar Stars in Nickelodeon’s “The Astronauts”
Launching his father’s spaceship, the Odyssey 2, was an accident. Elliot Combs, the sensitive and proud son of the Odyssey’s billionaire owner, had convinced his four friends to sneak on board with him. He called it “a once in a lifetime deal.”
Then the countdown to launch began.
Now, Elliot has to prove that he is the leader that he knows he can be and learn how to work together with his friends, not only to show his worth to his dad and to himself but also to bring them safely home to their parents, who are watching from Earth.
But they are not alone in space.
“The Astronauts” is a new Nickelodeon series starring Plano native Bryce Gheisar, Keith L. Williams, Kayden Grace Swan, and Ben Daon. Dean Israelite directs and serves as executive producer along with Marcus Stokes, Jonathan Frakes, and Daniel Knauf who is also the creator, writer, and showrunner. It premiers at 7 p.m. Nov. 13.
“Elliot comes across as confident and rude but is actually more sensitive,” says Bryce, who is 15. “The cool thing about it is that I was actually auditioning for Will, but looked older than the other kids. [So I auditioned] for Elliot and it fit better, more in tune with what they wanted.”
Born in 2004 in Plano, Bryce was a rising star in competitive gymnastics when he first discovered his love for acting. At 8 years old, he didn’t know that you could become an actor. “At first it was very different than I was used to,” he says. “Gymnastics were very sporty and required like practice three hours every day. Very tough. Acting felt like less of a hassle and something fun. Then after a certain amount of time, I realized it could be a career path.”
Bryce enrolled at Cathryn Sullivan’s Acting for Film school in Lewisville. Cathryn “Cathy” Sullivan has been teaching actors and actresses for decades in the Dallas area. Her older son Chad had starred in several films, including 1994’s Frank & Jesse, 1995’s Past the Bleachers, and 1998’s Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack, before his untimely death in 2011. Her younger son Cody Linley played Jack Ryan on Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana show.
Cathy offers a variety of acting classes for kids, teens, and adults such as Acting for Camera for 6 to 9-year-old kids and film classes for 10-year-old and up, even until they hit college. Sullivan’s Hall of Fame includes a variety of successful artists, including Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Thomas Mann.
As Devin Way from “Grey’s Anatomy” wrote in a testimonial included on Cathy’s website for her acting school: “The beautiful thing about my experience at Cathryn’s was as much as I knew she cared about my acting, she cared about me more. She cares about her students. Authentically. Then from a place of love and trust, reaches in and transforms their acting ability from the inside out. Once you’re one of Cathy’s kids, you’re hers for life.”
Cathy’s school transformed Bryce, who was originally interested in the comedic side of acting. He loves comedies, but as he grew older, he fell in love with the dramatic side of acting. “And that was one of the things that Cathy helped me discover how to do the emotional state in different scenes,” he says.
For about five years, Bryce took classes from Cathy, reaching the master level before leaving at the age of 13 or 14. In his early days of acting, like many beginning actors, he shot quite a few commercials. In 2015, he landed a short role as Elijah Gutnick in The Bus Stop. A year later, he appeared as Herman in Walk the Prank, and then transitioned into film.
His first feature was A Dog’s Purpose in 2017, starring Dennis Quad, Josh Grad, and several other well known actors. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it was based on the 2010 novel by W. Bruce Cameron and told the story of a devoted dog searching for a rightful purpose. Bryce played Ethan Montogermy, a kind-hearted boy who adopts the dog.
From there, he appeared in Wonder with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, and Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris, starring Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos. Bryce played a young Alek in the biographical film, based on the autobiography The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes.
“It was really surreal being on set [with Clint Eastwood],” Bryce says. “He is kind of like a guy who sits and instead of calling action says, ‘Go ahead.’ He’s very quiet and [wants it] calm on set.”
Bryce offers this piece of advice for aspiring actors, though it could also apply to other artists such as musicians and writers:
“You have to love it because there is a lot of rejection. I do hundreds of auditions and don’t hear back on almost all of them. You really have to focus and if you don’t, it’s very hard, and don’t take things personally. Just keep at it.”
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Originally published: Friday, October 09, 2020 at 19:17 BST.
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