Nickelodeon Television Company and Lazytown have agreed on producing the children's series Lazytown in Iceland. The contract involves producing forty 30-minute episodes for the series, which will be released through Nickelodeon next year. Nickelodeon is the most popular children's television network in the United States, viewed in 86 million homes.

 The series as a whole involves approximately one hundred people, with a US$ 15 million budget and will be produced in Icelandic studios. This demonstrates the wealth of talent available in Iceland, as well as competitive production costs, making it possible to almost double US$ screen value to actual cost.

The main scriptwriter of Rutgrat, Nickelodeon's most popular programme, will cooperate in the production, along with former staff of the Jim Henson Company and the producers will fly in talents from US and Canada as needed. Both Icelandic and American actors will star in Lazytown and the music will be by Icelandic artists. Production will start in November and is expected to be finished by next June. Through production in Iceland, the TV programme can benefit from the 12% refund package and therefore receive a refund of that amount on all production costs incurred in Iceland or even in EU countries.
Lazytown is based on a children’s fiction book by the Icelander Magnus Scheving, President and co-founder of Lazytown Entertainment. Lazytown’s philosophy is to inspire children to live a healthier lifestyle without actually lecturing to them.

According to Brown Johnson, Vice President of Nickelodeon’s preschool division, the timing is right for marketing the Lazytown concept, since many articles have been published in the U.S. lately regarding children’s obesity and their lack of physical activity. She says that a TV series allowing children to discover the benefits of fitness and healthy lifestyles will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the subject.

See: www.lazytown.com