NICKELODEON PREMIERES A NEW LIVE-ACTION COMEDY SERIES THAT FOLLOWS ONE GIRL'S DREAM FROM THE SIDELINE TO THE GRIDIRON IN "BELLA AND THE BULLDOGS," SATURDAY, JAN. 17, AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT)

Santa Monica, Calif. -(Dec. 17, 2014)- A head cheerleader's life takes an unexpected twist when her rifle-like throwing arm takes her from the sidelines to becoming her middle school's starting quarterback in Nickelodeon's newest live-action comedy series, Bella and the Bulldogs, premiering Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). The premiere episode will be available on all Nick platforms including Nick.com, Nick App and Nick On Demand on Sunday, Jan. 18, TeenNick on Friday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) and Nicktoons on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) during the NickSports block.

In this new comedy ripped right out of this year's headlines of girls playing traditionally "boy" sports, Bella Dawson (played by newcomer Brec Bassinger), a confident, caring and talented teenager, suddenly finds herself fulfilling a lifelong dream but also having to navigate the world of her teammates Troy (Coy Stewart), Sawyer (Jackie Radinsky) and Newt (Buddy Handleson), without losing her two best friends, Pepper (Haley Tju) and Sophie (Lilimar) from the cheer squad.

In the special two-part series premiere, head cheerleader Bella earns a chance to try out to be quarterback of her middle school football team. Led by current quarterback Troy, the rest of the team does everything in their power to make her give up, but through perseverance, Bella rises to the challenge to make her dream a reality.

Executive produced by Jeff Bushell, the show was created by Nickelodeon Writing Program alumni Gabriel Garza and Jonathan Butler, who also serve as co-executive producers. Garza began his writing career by being selected for the program in 2009, where he met his future writing partner and fellow program alum Jonathan Butler. Prior to selling their pitch to Nick and beginning development on Bella and the Bulldogs, both Butler and Garza were staff writers on The Haunted Hathaways.

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th 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 company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).