Big Time Rush
Big Time Rush is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013.
This article is about the television show. For the band, see Big Time Rush (group). For the band's debut album, see BTR (album).Big Time Rush
"Big Time Rush" performed by Big Time Rush
- Dusty Moon
- Guy Moon
United States
English
4
74 (list of episodes)
Marjorie Cohn
Lazar Saric
Scott Fellows
Grace Gifford
(co-producer and supervising producer)
Joanne Toll
Lazar Saric
Debra Spidell
Carlos Gonzalez
Mike Mickens
Brandon Mastrippolito
Film; Single-camera
23 minutes (normal episodes)
57 minutes (special episodes)
November 28, 2009 –
July 25, 2013
It focuses on the Hollywood misadventures of four hockey players from Duluth, Minnesota, Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell after they are selected to form a boy band by fictional mega music producer Gustavo Rocque.
History[edit]
The series premiered with an hour-long pilot episode, "Big Time Audition", on Nickelodeon, on November 28, 2009. Its official debut episode premiered on January 18, 2010. The show's second season premiered on September 25, 2010. On May 24, 2011, Big Time Rush was renewed for a third season with production scheduled to begin in January 2012.[1] Season three premiered on May 12, 2012.[2] Big Time Movie, a film adaptation of the series, premiered on March 10, 2012. On August 6, 2012, Nickelodeon renewed Big Time Rush for a 13-episode fourth season. Production began on January 7, 2013. The fourth season premiered on May 2, 2013, and aired its series finale "Big Time Dreams" on July 25, 2013.
Casting[edit]
A nationwide[10] casting effort began in 2007.[17][18] More than 1,500 teens and young adults auditioned for the four roles.[19] James Maslow and Logan Henderson were the easiest and first actors cast. Kendall Schmidt was the last actor cast, and the most difficult role to cast.[19] The role of Kendall Knight was originally to go to Curt Hansen, who later played Dak Zevon on the show, but when he appeared a lot older than the others and sounded too much like James in the pickup pilot, the producers auditioned and cast Schmidt after a recommendation by Logan Henderson, who was also friends with the actor before casting. Filming of the series began in August 2009.[19] Actor Carlos Pena Jr. previously worked with Scott Fellows on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.[17] As he had just entered the Boston Conservatory to study musical theatre, Pena was reluctant to audition but sent in a tape at the encouragement of his manager.[20] Executive producer Scott Fellows was inspired to write each character by the personality of the actor playing him.[21]
In addition to Pena, five alumni of Scott Fellows make appearances in this show: Spencer Locke, Carlie Casey, Daran Norris, Adam Conway (as recurring cast members), and James Arnold Taylor (as a guest star).
Reception[edit]
Audience reception[edit]
A one-hour special preview (which serves as the series pilot and first episode) debuted on Nickelodeon on November 28, 2009, drawing an audience of 3.6 million viewers. The series' official premiere on January 18, 2010 (which followed the premiere of the iCarly special "iSaved Your Life"), was watched by a total of 6.8 million total viewers, Nickelodeon's highest-rated live-action series debut.[24]
Critical reception[edit]
The show received positive reviews from audiences and mixed reviews from critics.[25] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated the show was "Nick's attempt at building a Jonas Brothers-style pop band. It's Nick's answer to Disney Channel's 'JONAS,' albeit slightly less organic since 'Rush' doesn't feature siblings."[26] The Hartford Courant stated the series a "not so good" show "with their thin pop and unfunny comedies".[27] The Boston Globe stated the show as "one example in a growing list of kid shows selling showbiz fantasies to children. The genre is stronger than ever now and more fixated on the perks of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle ... wish fulfillment at a time when tabloid dreams are ubiquitous."[17] DVD Talk had the following review of the Big Time Rush: Season 1, Volume 1 DVD. "It would be hard to craft a description engineered to be less interesting to me, and yet, as I plowed through this collection from the series' beginnings, I frequently found myself amended and entertained. Say what you will about Nickelodeon's teen programming, but they've got the art of making a solid sitcom down to a science."[28]