Skip To...
Many Nickelodeon kids consider Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of the greatest shows to come from the network. Twelve-year-old Ang’s adventures not only delighted us as children, but followed us all the way to adulthood. That said, however, Nickelodeon has a reputation for producing beloved shows, both animated and live-action. How could someone choose just one?
At the time of its premiere, Avatar: The Last Airbender was the highest-rated animated series of its demographic. It received critical acclaim for its characters, art style, soundtrack, and cultural inclusion. Even as Avatar represents the best Nickelodeon has to offer, there are still a handful of series that we dare say are better.
Spongebob Squarepants
Nickelodeon’s highest-rated and longest-running show, SpongeBob Squarepants follows the adventures of the titular sea sponge and his aquatic friends as they undertake various adventures in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The series is currently airing its fourteenth season and doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. In its 25-year run, SpongeBob Squarepants has earned six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Children’s Awards, and a whopping twenty Kids’ Choice Awards. Wowsers!
Spongebob struck gold with viewers of all ages, presenting as charming and whimsical to toddlers and teens and yet still preserving an element of wit that appeals to college-age kids and even young adults. Somehow, it manages to balance the goofiness and cleverness so that young kids are thoroughly enthralled and adults aren’t bored to tears during babysitting duty.
Rugrats
As any ’90s kid will tell you, Rugrats was the game-changer of its era as far as animated cartoons. The series follows a group of toddlers who get into all sorts of mischief thought up by their overactive imaginations. These mishaps, in their eyes, present themselves as grand adventures. It is the second of three animated shows dubbed “Nicktoons” — after Doug and immediately before The Ren & Stimpy Show. Rugrats is the third-longest-running Nickelodeon show with a total of 172 episodes over nine seasons.
Constant reruns on Nickelodeon elevated the show’s popularity and eventually led to numerous animated feature-length movies, spin-offs, one-offs, and even a sequel series titled All Grown Up. Without diminishing the impact Avatar: The Last Airbender had on the youths of today, it should go without saying that Rugrats is more universally recognizable and boasts a more widespread appeal.
Drake & Josh
For Drake & Josh to be the one and only live-action series on the list, it must be notorious in its field — and it is. There are a number of Nickelodeon shows we could have switched out for Drake & Josh, including The Sweet Life of Zach & Cody, iCarly, and Big Time Rush, but none are quite so significant. The sitcom follows the titular stepbrothers as they navigate living together and tackling teenage problems despite their opposite routines and personalities. Drake & Josh ran for just three years from 2004 to 2007, releasing 56 episodes overall.
Despite its short-lived run, Drake & Josh earned Nickelodeon its highest-rated premiere in almost 10 years (at the time) and continued to consistently rank in the top 10 Nickelodeon shows on a weekly basis. The show proved popular with teenage viewers and won several Kid’s Choice Awards across the US, the UK, and Australia. Drake & Josh was one of Nickelodeon’s most successful shows and easily the best comedy to come from the network.
Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! follows fourth grader Arnold Shortman, a Washington resident who lives with his grandparents in a lower-class neighborhood. Every day, Arnold and his friends find themselves mixed up in some shenanigans while navigating urban life. Many episodes even focus on characters outside of Arnold, even minor characters. Hey Arnold! effectively taught and reminded us how hard it can be to grow up, touching on themes of family dysfunction, bullying, and generational trauma. It produced 100 episodes across five seasons from 1996 to 2004.
While Avatar: The Last Airbender does focus on themes of prejudice, corruption, and imperialism, Hey Arnold! discusses more relevant issues — especially to young children and teenagers. The show challenged the idea of the idyllic American family and documented (in a less daunting manner) the struggles that many children face in urban settings. For many reasons, it would resonate with children much more than the far-out concept of indoctrination.
Invader Zim
It might not be the pick that most were expecting, but Invader Zim is a Nickelodeon classic. Although it only aired two seasons and 27 episodes total, sometimes quality trumps quantity. The series centers on an extraterrestrial known as Zim who wishes to conquer Earth and enslave its inhabitants. He often finds himself at odds with Dib, a paranormal investigator hellbent on stopping his evil scheme. Unfortunately, as the series went on, budgeting issues and viewership decline became major issues and Invader Zim was cancelled. This decision left several episodes unfinished.
Although it didn’t last as long as some other Nickelodeon shows, especially Avatar: The Last Airbender, the series won an Annie Award, an Emmy Award and a World Animation Celebration Award, and received nominations for seven additional Annie Awards and two Golden Reel Awards. All of this in just two seasons, mind you, so they must have been doing something right. Even in such a short amount of time, Invader Zim was considered a cult classic. It may not have outlasted Avatar, but its influence lives on in its legacy.
