The Latest Announced Cartoon

There are always projects in development, but cartoon studios and the conglomerates who own them tend to get testy if some internet upstart announced them before the corporate mouth is ready to speak. So here's the new announcement.

Nickelodeon has greenlighted 20 episodes of original animated series Pinky Malinky for premiere in 2016.

Co-created and co-executive produced by Chris Garbutt and Rikke Asbjoern (The Amazing World of Gumball)and executive produced by Scott Kreamer (Kung Fu Panda: Legends Of Awesomeness), Pinky Malinky follows the everyday life of Pinky, an infectiously positive hotdog living in a human world who, along with his two best friends, navigates school and life with a unique perspective. ... It will be produced at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank.

Using the tropes of a mockumentary and reality show format, Pinky and his friends will talk directly to the camera and the audience to share their absurd and silly take on real life. ...

Nickelodeon has been exploring new directions the last few years. Execs have risen and fallen. Formats have changed. Old standbys are coming back with new episode orders.

A lot of this stems from the happenings of four years ago:

After 16 years of dominating children's television, the [Nickelodeon] network finds itself in the midst of a mysterious ratings slide serious enough to drive concerns about its parent company's stock and prompt an investigation with Nielsen.

In just-released November ratings, Nickelodeon was down 19 percent year-over-year in ratings for viewers age 2 and older. In October, its ratings fell 13 percent. ...

After sitting in the high seat for a decade and a half, Nickelodeon was more than a little disconcerted that the Mouse was suddenly eating its lunch ... and Cartoon Network began stealing the dessert tray. But the kids' TV landscape is changing. Five-year-olds now binge watch original cartoons on Netflix, and viewing shows on mobile devices expand at an exponential rate.

It's a sad new world out there, with old pipelines rusting away and new ones not yet fully monetized. Like every other entertainment company, Nick will have to adapt to the fresh realities.