''6teen'' is a Canadian Flash animated

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series created by

Jennifer Pertsch Jennifer Pertsch is a Canadian writer, producer, and one of the founding partners of Fresh TV, a Toronto-based production studio specializing in teen and family oriented television projects. She began her career as a writer for Nelvana Ltd., before ...

and

Tom McGillis Tom McGillis is a Canadian writer, producer, and the president of Fresh TV Inc. Early life McGillis is the son of Donald and Marguerite McGillis. Personal life McGillis is openly gay. Career Along with partner Jennifer Pertsch, he was the cre ...

which originally aired for four seasons and 93 episodes on

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

from November 7, 2004, until February 11, 2010. Majority-directed by Karen Lessman and co-produced by

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

and

Fresh TV Fresh TV Inc. (formerly Fresh Animation) is a Canadian production company specializing in family entertainment aimed at Preadolescence, preteens and Adolescence, teenagers, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Shows that have been broadcast interna ...

for two seasons each, it also aired in the U.S. on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

from December 18, 2005, to May 13, 2006, and on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

(along with ''

Total Drama Island ''Total Drama Island '' (sometimes shortened to ''TDI'') is the first season of the ''Total Drama, Total Drama series'', a Canadian animated television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on T ...

and Stoked)'' from October 23, 2008, until June 21, 2010. Nelvana produced 78 of the overall 93 episodes and two 45-minute

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

s. As of February 2023, the series is available in various compilation bundles on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Plot

''6teen'' is an animated comedy that delves into the themes of friendship, personal growth, self-discovery, and the challenges of being a teenager. Set in the Galleria Mall, a fictional large

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

based on the

Toronto Eaton Centre CF Toronto Eaton Centre, commonly referred to simply as the Eaton Centre, is a shopping mall and office complex in the Downtown Toronto, downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and managed by Cadillac Fairview (CF). It was named ...

and the

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

, the show revolves around the lives of six sixteen-year-old friends who work on part-time jobs at different stores within the mall. The main characters, Jude, Caitlin, Jonesy, Nikki, Jen, and Wyatt, face various adventures while dealing with typical teenage issues, such as crushes, relationships, friendships, school and jobs. The group frequently hangs out at the mall's central food court, where they share their experiences, provide support to one another, and engage in banter.

Production and reunion

The show's creators,

and

, researched by taking the writers to visit the

to observe teens hanging out in there. They have also observed multiple students in their classrooms and homes. According to its research, preteen-aged children watched adult-targeted

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

s on the basis of their smart writing, fast-paced dialogue and various plot lines. The working title of the show was ''The Mall'' in reference to shopping and teenage antics at the Toronto Eaton Centre. Among the team of writers and directors for the show include

Sean Cullen Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; ang ...

(''

The Sean Cullen Show ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''),

George Westerholm George Westerholm is a Canadian musician, singer, comedian and writer. He has won three Canadian Comedy Awards for his work as a writer on ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and ''The Toronto Show''. Comedy In the 1980s and early 1990s, Westerholm was ...

(''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics wi ...

''), Gary Hurst, Alice Prodanou and Hugh Duffy. The series' main characters were designed by Brad Coombs and the music was composed by Donald "Don" Breithaupt and Anthony Vanderburgh. The show was produced with a then newly implemented hybrid- 2D-

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

animation software called "Opus" through a development partnership between Teletoon, Nelvana and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based acclaimed animation software company

Toon Boom Animation Toon Boom Animation Inc., also known as Toon Boom, is a Canadian software company founded in 1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec. It specializes in the development and production of animation and storyboarding software for film, television, the ...

. An acoustic version of the theme music by

Brian Melo Brian Melo (born August 15, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who was the winner of the fifth season of ''Canadian Idol'' in 2007. His first studio album, ''Livin' It'', achieved Gold Status in Canada. His second albu ...

is included in the show's final episode, "Bye Bye Nikki?". A special reunion

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. Oftentimes these messages feature unsettling imagery, ideas or behaviors that are des ...

titled "Vote, Dude!" was released on YouTube on September 12, 2018, with the original voice cast reprising their respective roles to raise awareness for voting in the 2018 US midterm elections.

Characters

Brooke D'Orsay Brooke D'Orsay (born February 17, 1982) is a Canadian actress, best known for voicing the character of Caitlin Cooke on the Teletoon animated series ''6teen'' (2004–2010) and Brooke Mayo in the 2005 movie '' King's Ransom''. For American audie ...

as Caitlin Cooke:
A peppy, spoiled blonde-haired

English Canadian English Canadians (), or Anglo-Canadians (), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadians. Cana ...

girl with a love for fashion and shopping. She is the newest member of the group which she joined after she started working at The Big Squeeze lemonade stand in order to pay off the debt she accrued on her father's credit card. *

Megan Fahlenbock Megan Smith Fahlenbock (born June 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She has worked in animation and also had a few film roles. She is best known for her voice roles as Gwen on ''Total Drama'', Jen Masterson on ''6teen'', and Eva Kant in ''Diabo ...

as Jennifer 'Jen' Masterson:
A responsible, athletic

Irish Canadian Irish Canadians () are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Irish heritage including descendants who trace their ancestry to immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived from 1825 to 1970, and at least half o ...

girl who is the tomboy of the group. Her mother marries Jonesy's father, reluctantly making the pair step-siblings. Jen also has a controlling side and often pushes herself in other people's business. *

Terry McGurrin Terry McGurrin is a Canadian comedian, writer, producer, and voice actor from Ottawa, Ontario. He was the story editor for the 2011 YTV show '' Scaredy Squirrel''. He is known as the voice of Jonesy Garcia on '' 6teen''. He has also been a stor ...

as Jonesy Garcia:
A laid-back, flirtatious

Latin American Canadian Latin American Canadians (; ; ), are Canadians who are descendants of people from countries of Latin America. The majority of Latin American Canadians are multilingual, primarily speaking Spanish, Portuguese, French and English. Most are fl ...

boy who is in a relationship with Nikki Wong for most of the series. He picks on Jen Masterson and calls her "step-sis" because his father eventually marries Jen's mother. As a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

, he gets fired from a new job at a store in almost every episode. * Stacey DePass as Nicole 'Nikki' Wong:
A rebellious, no-nonsense tomboy

Chinese Canadian Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of ...

girl with a quick, sarcastic wit who is in a relationship with Jonesy Garcia for most of the series. A younger version of Nikki made a cameo appearance in the second episode of ''

Total DramaRama ''Total DramaRama'' (originally titled ''Total Drama Daycare'') is an animated comedy children's television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch that premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 1, 2018, and o ...

'' (similar to Jude's age), titled "Duck Duck Juice". *

Christian Potenza Anthony Christian Potenza is a Canadian actor and comedian. He has voiced Jude Lizowski on ''6teen'' as well as Brando Beaver and both of the Bison Brothers in ''Pikwik Pack''. From 2007 to 2014, Potenza was also the original voice actor for Ch ...

as Jude Lizowski:
A fun-loving, easy-going

Jewish Canadian The history of the Jews in Canada goes back to the 1700s. Canadian Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form the fourth largest Jewish community in the world, exceeded only by those in Israel, the United States and France. In th ...

boy with a knack for extreme sports, over-the-top comportment and pranks. A younger version of Jude is featured in the ''

Total Drama ''Total Drama'' (often shortened as ''TD'') is a Canadian animated sitcom created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon (now the Canadian version of Cartoon Network (Canadian TV channel), Cartoon Network) in Canada on ...

'' spin-off, ''

''. * Jess Mal Gibbons as Wyatt Williams:
A sensitive, music-loving

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

boy with a caffeine addiction. He works in a music store and has a romantic relationship with his boss, Serena. He fancies himself as being somewhat more mature than his friends, and is often portrayed as the most responsible of the group, along with Jen.

Episodes

Reception and honours

The show received generally positive reviews. Alex Kucharski of ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'' described the show as a "funny, exciting new teen comedy-drama", though he criticized some of the elements of the show as "unrealistic". In the winter/spring season of 2005, ''6teen'' ranked among Teletoon's Top 10 for children aged 10+ in both English and French markets, and was also the only Canadian production to be nominated for that year's Italian "TV Series for All Audiences"

Pulcinella Award Cartoons on the Bay is an international festival held in Italy dedicated to television-, film- and transmedia- animation. The ''Pulcinella Awards'' are presented at the festival for excellence in animation production. Its purpose is to promote the ...

. Furthermore, it received an award from the

Alliance for Children and Television Quality television (also quality TV or quality artistic television) is a term used by television scholars, television critics, and broadcasting advocacy groups to describe a genre or style of television programming that they argue is of higher q ...

for being the best of children's television to fall under the 9–14 age group on June 2, 2007. Carole Bonneau, the then-vice-president of programming at Teletoon, has remarked about the show: Locally, the show garnered about 2.5 million viewers each episode and about 1.8 million viewers each episode on Cartoon Network in the United States. It soon became one of the network's top shows between October 2008 and September 2009 with the steady increase in ratings up to its peak of 3.7 million viewers on June 11, 2009, following the season premiere of ''

Total Drama Action ''Total Drama Action'' (abbreviated ''TDA'') is a Canadian animated television series. It is the second season of ''Total Drama'', airing after ''Total Drama Island''. It premiered on Teletoon on January 11, 2009. This season was also created by ...

''. As time went on, starting in October 2009, the show declined in ratings falling to its lowest rating at 1.6 million viewers for its June 21, 2010 series finale. In 2009, the show won the

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for Outstanding Original Song (Main Title and Promo) for its theme song which was performed by Phil Naro.

U.S. broadcast censorship

Due to the show being a

teen sitcom A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people (Preadolescence, tweens, Adolescence, teenagers and, to a lesser extent, Young adult, young adults). In general, these types of prog ...

, 24 out of the 93 produced episodes were considered too risqué or inappropriate for younger children by its American broadcasters

and

, leading to either their censorship or removals. With the legalization of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

in Canada occurring in 2005, many of its episodes included references and innuendos to

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

, most of which were censored in the U.S. Other censorships and bans in the U.S. included a plot line that focused on shoplifting and nude images that were modified from the series' original blur-out to a full black bar.

Notes

References

External links

*
Nelvana production website
(Archived)
Fresh TV production website
{{Total Drama 2000s Canadian animated comedy television series 2000s Canadian children's television series 2000s Canadian comedy-drama television series 2000s Canadian teen drama television series 2000s Canadian workplace comedy television series 2000s workplace drama television series 2000s Canadian teen sitcoms 2010s Canadian animated comedy television series 2010s Canadian children's television series 2010s Canadian comedy-drama television series 2010s Canadian teen drama television series 2010s Canadian workplace comedy television series 2010s workplace drama television series 2010s Canadian teen sitcoms 2004 animated television series debuts 2004 Canadian television series debuts 2010 Canadian television series endings Canadian children's animated comedy television series Canadian children's animated drama television series Canadian flash animated television series Canadian English-language television shows Canadian teen animated television series Teletoon original programming Television series by Fresh TV Television series by Nelvana Television shows set in Toronto Television shows filmed in Toronto Canadian LGBTQ-related animated television series Television censorship in the United States Censored television series