Nickelodeon's SCHOOL OF ROCK TV Series Coming in 2015 Ahead of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Stage Musical

Today, Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon and Paramount Television divisions announced that they are teaming up for the first time to produce the new live-action, musical-comedy series SCHOOL OF ROCK, based on the 2003 hit film from Paramount Pictures.

Nickelodeon has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is scheduled to begin production this fall and premiere in the spring of 2015. Casting for the series will be announced shortly. School of Rock will follow the adventures and misadventures of Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck rocker who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school as he teaches his eccentric, unconventional and overachieving students to play and love rock 'n' roll. School of Rock will be written by Jim and Steve Armogida (Crash & Bernstein, My Family), who will also serve as executive producers and show runners.

Back in May, BWW reported that Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed there was a "strong possibility" that his next musical, also an adaptation of the School of Rock film, will premiere on Broadway instead of the original plan to bring it to the West End due to more relaxed laws on child performers in the United States. It would be the first time in more than 40 years that Lloyd Webber would premiere a show on Broadway.

Explained Lloyd Webber, "It's much easier to cast children in New York than it is here... You don't have to do all this triple casting, you can cast them as if they're adults and then you can have them for a six-month or a year contract if you want to, without these endless changes..."

Webber had acquired the rights to the 2003 comedy film and shared his preliminary plans for adapting it to the stage back in 2013. The famed composer revealed that the project may include some original compositions along with the roster of rock classics featured in the film.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures