“How to Rock,” a forthcoming series on Nickelodeon, follows a simple rule for children’s television: If it’s not broken, then copy it.
Like Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” or Disney Channel’s “A.N.T. Farm,” the new show focuses on a girl with miraculous musical talent. Add a laugh track, goofball sidekicks and a heartthrob boy. Layer in high school social politics. Presto, big Nielsen numbers.
But Nickelodeon, beset by tumbling ratings of late, is betting that “How to Rock” has an extra ingredient that can propel the series beyond TV into a full-blown pop culture phenomenon: Cymphonique Miller.
With a (real) name like Cymphonique, you might suspect that Miller, 15, had been bred for show business, and you would be right, at least partly. She is the daughter of Master P, the rapper, music mogul and TV personality (“Dancing With the Stars”) who has increasingly focused on family entertainment. Her older brother, Romeo Miller, formerly known as Lil’ Romeo, is a rapper and actor, headlining in his own Nickelodeon series, “Romeo!,” from 2003 to 2006.
“I tried everything in my power to stop this girl because this can be a hard, sick business — really easy to get taken advantage of,” said Master P, whose real name is Percy Miller. “I guess you can’t hold raw talent back.”
That’s a proud dad talking, but Nickelodeon sure hopes he’s right. While still No. 1 among children 2 to 11, the age group most important to its youth-focused advertisers, this cable network needs new hits to keep that crown. Disney Channel recently overtook Nickelodeon among viewers 6 to 11 for the first time in 16 years, helped by the popular new series “Jessie,” about a teenager who moves to New York from rural Texas to become a nanny.
“We’re hoping for great things from Cymphonique — a big, fat, giant hit,” said Margie Cohn, Nickelodeon’s president for original programming. “That’s what I’ve been working for with this series, so why not say it?”
Children’s television is at a transitional moment when it comes to female stars. At Disney, the Big Three (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato) have all moved on. At Nickelodeon, Miranda Cosgrove, the star of “iCarly,” turned 18 this year; Victoria Justice of “Victorious” is also 18 and working toward a movie career. In other words, Miller has generational turnover on her side as she tries to break through.
Nickelodeon is backing “How to Rock” with considerable marketing muscle; for instance, the channel has produced an eight-part video series about Miller to introduce her to viewers, a spokeswoman said.
