''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical

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 ...

television series created by

Scott Fellows Scott Fellows (born September 28, 1965) is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Specializing in children's television series, he is known for creating the Nickelodeon shows '' Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' and ...

that originally aired 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 November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band

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, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

portrayed as a fictional version of themselves, similar to

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

. It focuses on the Hollywood misadventures of four

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

players from

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

- Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell - after they are selected to form a

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

by fictional mega music producer Gustavo Rocque.

History

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. Season three premiered on May 12, 2012. ''

Big Time Movie ''Big Time Movie'' (also known as ''Big Time Rush: The Movie'') is a 2012 musical comedy television film based on the Nickelodeon television series, '' Big Time Rush'' and the songs of the Beatles, which aired on March 10, 2012, in the United Stat ...

'', a film adaptation of the series, premiered on March 10, 2012. On August 6, 2012,

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.

Cast and characters

Main

Kendall Schmidt Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actor. He played Kendall Knight in '' Big Time Rush'', participated in a boy band with the same name, and has had small roles on TV shows such as ...

as Kendall Knight, the most rebellious of the group and the self-appointed leader *

James Maslow James David Maslow (born July 16, 1990) is an American actor, singer, dancer and model. He played the role of James Diamond on Nickelodeon's ''Big Time Rush'', had roles in ''The Frozen Ground'' and '' Seeds of Yesterday'', and is a member of the ...

as James Diamond, the handsome one of the group * Carlos Pena Jr. as Carlos Garcia, the crazy, wild, and fun-loving one of the group * Logan Henderson as Logan Mitchell, the smart one and the voice of reason of the group *

Ciara Bravo Ciara Quinn Bravo (; born March 18, 1997) is an American actress and producer. She began her career as a child actress, starring in the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' and the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox series ''Red Band Society''. She a ...

as Katie Knight, Kendall's younger sister *

Stephen Kramer Glickman Stephen Kramer Glickman (born March 17, 1979) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Gustavo Rocque on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Big Time Rush'' (2009–2013), and for co-hosting the podcast ''The Night Time Show''. ...

as Gustavo Rocque, the boys' hot-tempered manager and record producer *

Tanya Chisholm Tanya Michelle Chisholm (born July 1, 1983) is an American actress and dancer. She is mostly known for her role as Kelly Wainwright on the Nickelodeon comedy series, ''Big Time Rush,'' and comedy film ''Big Time Movie''. also played Marcie on th ...

(seasons 2–4; recurring season 1) as Kelly Wainwright, Gustavo's assistant

Recurring

Katelyn Tarver Katelyn Tarver (born November 2, 1989) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has independently released four EP's since 2011, most notably ''Tired Eyes'' in 2017. References External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarver ...

as Josephine "Jo" Taylor, an actress, a singer, and Kendall's girlfriend from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Challen Cates Challen Michelle Cates (born September 28, 1969) is an American independent film producer and actress, best known for portraying the role as Jennifer Knight on the TV series, ''Big Time Rush''. She has been the executive producer of two America ...

as Jennifer Knight, Kendall and Katie's mother, who takes care of all four boys while they are in L.A. *

Erin Sanders Erin Zariah Sanders (born January 19, 1991) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Quinn Pensky on '' Zoey 101'', Camille Roberts on '' Big Time Rush'', and for portraying Eden Baldwin on ''The Young and the Restless'' in 2008. ...

as Camille Roberts, a dramatic method actress, Jo and Lucy's best friend, and Logan's girlfriend from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Malese Jow Elizabeth Melise Jow (born February 18, 1991), known professionally as Malese Jow, is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Geena Fabiano on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Unfabulous'', Lucy Stone on the Nickelodeon musical sitc ...

(seasons 2–4) as Lucille "Lucy" Stone, a red-haired punk rocker and James's love interest *

Matt Riedy Matt Riedy is an American actor. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and Atlanta in 2019 with his wife. Career Riedy has stated that he most often plays "Cops, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, ndpeople in charge ...

as Arthur Griffin, Gustavo's boss who is the CEO of RCM-CBT GlobalNet Sanyoid *

David Anthony Higgins David Anthony Higgins (born December 9, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Craig Feldspar on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', Joe on '' Ellen'', and Reginald Bitters on ''Big Time Rush''. He also had a recurring role as ...

as Reginald Bitters, the manager of the Palm Woods and Katie's nemesis *

Denyse Tontz Denyse Tontz (born September 17, 1994"miranda rights". ''Soap Opera Digest''. July 15, 2013. p. 45.) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Tontz is known for her roles as Cortney Strathmore on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform's ''The Fos ...

as Jennifer 1 *

Spencer Locke Spencer Locke (born September 20, 1991) is an American actress known for her roles as Kylie in ''Cougar Town,'' Jenny Bennett in '' Monster House,'' Ione in '' Detention'', and K-Mart in the ''Resident Evil'' film series. Life and career A nat ...

(season 1) and

Kelli Goss Kelli Goss is an American film and television actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring roles in the Nickelodeon comedy series ''Big Time Rush'' (2010–13) and on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (2013–15 ...

(seasons 2–4) as Jennifer 2 * Savannah Jayde as Jennifer 3 *

Tucker Albrizzi Tucker Albrizzi (born February 25, 2000) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tyler Duncan on ''Big Time Rush,'' Jake on ''Good Luck Charlie,'' Randall Snyder on ''American Vandal'' and Colin McConnell on ''A.P. Bio''. He has ...

(seasons 1–2) as Tyler Duncan, a star of a juice box, diaper and underwear commercials, and neighbor from Palm Woods * Barnett O'Hara as Guitar Dude, a guitarist who was originally a cello player *

Daran Norris Daran Morrison Nordland (born November 1, 1964), known professionally as Daran Norris, is an American actor. He has appeared or voiced characters in more than 400 films, video games, and television programs, including: Gordy in '' Ned's Declassif ...

as Buddha Bob, the Palm Woods' maintenance worker * David Cade as Jett Stetson, Kendall's nemesis *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

as Miss Collins, the teacher of the Palm Woods' one-room school campus *

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor and producer. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981� ...

as Dr. Hollywood, a local doctor *

Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...

as Hawk, Gustavo's nemesis and founder of rival business Hawk Records *

Fabio Lanzoni Fabio Lanzoni (; born March 15, 1959), known List of one-word stage names, mononymously as Fabio, is an Italian actor, fashion model, and spokesman. Lanzoni is known for his wide-ranging career including work as a romance novel cover model thro ...

as himself, Katie's second nemesis and a pocket grill salesman. He has appeared in one episode for each season, except for the fourth.

Episodes

Film adaptation

In late 2011,

announced that a television film based on the television series was going to premiere. However, a promo did not air until February 2012. The movie premiered on

on March 10, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Throughout the whole weekend, the movie drew 13.1 million viewers.

Production

The series was conceived and created by

, formerly the creator, executive producer, and

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

of ''

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' (sometimes shortened to ''Ned's Declassified'') is an American live action sitcom on Nickelodeon that debuted on the Nickelodeon Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The serie ...

''.Lloyd, Robert. "Reviews: 'Big Time Rush' and 'I'm in the Band'."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

.'' January 18, 2010. Fellows says his inspiration for the show was the musical comedy show, ''

''Martin, Denise. "Child's Play." ''Los Angeles Times.'' November 22, 2009.—a popular and culturally significant American television series from the 1960s about a group of four young male adults who form a rock band, and perform songs while having comedic adventures. Although the show had a concept as early as 2007, the series had no actual title as late as August 2009.

Music

Nickelodeon partnered with

Columbia/Epic Label Group Columbia/Epic Label Group was an American record label group, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The Columbia/Epic configuration began as the "Sony Music Label Group" during the last year of the Sony BMG merger, and was restructured in 2009 to fo ...

to produce the show, which incorporates original music into the series."Nickelodeon Scores Record-Breaking Night with Brand-New and Big Time Rush Debut." Press release. Nickelodeon. January 19, 2010.
Retrieved January 24, 2010. ''Big Time Rush'' is one of the three Nickelodeon shows (the others are ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'' and ''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...

'') on which the cable network is partnering with the music group to promote music as well as shows.Weisman, Jon. "Nick, Sony Will Duet on Laffers." ''Daily Variety.'' August 26, 2009. The ''

'' has been critical of the show's focus on music, noting: The show incorporates wacky sound effects, some

laugh Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, usually audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laug ...

-like noises, music, and

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

cuts designed to make it more humorous to the intended demographic of viewers aged 10 to 18; this was also typical of creator Scott Fellows' previous work on Nickelodeon. However, the show does not have a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laught ...

Casting

A nationwide casting effort began in 2007.Martin, Denise. "'Big Time Rush' Is A Little Bit 'Entourage,' A Little Bit 'Monkees'."
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

.'' November 26, 2009. ''La Jolla Village News.'' November 28, 2009. More than 1,500 teens and young adults auditioned for the four roles.Moore, Frazier. "An Inside Look at a Boy Band on Nick's New Comedy." ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

.'' January 15, 2010.

and Logan Henderson were the easiest and first actors cast.

was the last actor cast, and the most difficult role to cast. 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. Actor Carlos Pena Jr. previously worked with

on ''

''. As he had just entered the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded o ...

to study musical theatre, Pena was reluctant to audition but sent in a tape at the encouragement of his manager.Rentería, Melissa. "Plans Change as Pena Lands Co-Starring Role in Nickelodeon's 'Big Time Rush'." ''Conexión.'' November 26, 2009.

Executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

was inspired to write each character by the personality of the actor playing him.

Locations

The series was filmed in Studio 27, Paramount Pictures in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The series premiere's one-hour special took place in the suburbs of Los Angeles and a small town in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Reception

Audience reception

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 ''

'' special " iSaved Your Life"), was watched by a total of 6.8 million total viewers, Nickelodeon's highest-rated live-action series debut.

Critical reception

The show received positive reviews from audiences and mixed reviews from critics. The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' stated the show was "Nick's attempt at building a

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

-style pop band. It's Nick's answer to Disney Channel's '

JONAS Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States Arts, entertainment, and media * Jonas Brothers, American pop rock band. ** ''Jonas'' (TV serie ...

,' albeit slightly less organic since 'Rush' doesn't feature siblings." The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' stated the series a "not so good" show "with their thin pop and unfunny comedies". The ''

'' 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."

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

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."

Awards and nominations

Home media

Broadcast

The series aired worldwide on

Season 1

It was shown as a preview in Australia and New Zealand on April 10, 2010, and premiered on May 15, 2010. It was previewed on April 16, 2010, and premiered on May 31, 2010, in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was previewed on May 27, 2010, and premiered on June 21, 2010. In Canada, it was previewed on August 6, 2010, and premiered on September 6, 2010.

Season 2

It premiered in January 2011 in Australia and New Zealand and in February 2011 in the UK and Ireland. It was announced by Nickelodeon in October 2011 that ''Big Time Rush'' would go free-to-air on

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

in the UK.

Season 3

The third season premiered in November 2012 in Australia and New Zealand and in December 2012 in the UK and Ireland.

Season 4

It premiered in August 2013 in Canada and late 2013 in the UK and Ireland.

Legacy

On February 21, 2025, it was announced that Big Time Rush would embarking on a reunion concert tour entitled the "In Real Life Worldwide Tour"; which is set to featured performances of every song from the original television series. In addition, the concert tour is also set to feature appearances by original cast members Katelyn Tarver and Stephen Kramer Glickman throughout the duration of the tour.

References

External links

Big Time Rush
at

*
Big Time Rush MySpace Page

Big Time Rush on HDgreetings.com

Big Time Rush for 3rd Seasons
{{Portal bar, Television, United States, 2000s, 2010s Big Time Rush 2000s American music television series 2010s American music television series 2000s American teen sitcoms 2010s American teen sitcoms 2000s Nickelodeon original programming 2010s Nickelodeon original programming 2009 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings American English-language television shows Sony Music Television series about brothers Television series about families Television series about fictional musicians Television series created by Scott Fellows Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in Minnesota Television shows filmed in Minnesota Films about boy bands Nickelodeon sitcoms