Nickelodeon’s new cartoon Rock Paper Scissors has done the impossible: it has landed a renewal, and not just for one season. The cable network, which has gained a reputation in recent years for quickly cancelling just about everything that doesn’t star a yellow sponge, graced the series with two additional 10-episode seasons, on top of the 20-episode debut season now wrapping its run.
“Rock Paper Scissors embodies the creative and character-driven storytelling we champion at Nickelodeon and the show’s humor and heart has struck a chord with our audience,” said Ramsey Naito, President, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. “With an all-star cast that brings incredible energy, humor and depth to every character, we can’t wait to dive even deeper into the hilarious world these three best friends share.”
Rock Paper Scissors is what it sounds like: a cartoon about a living rock, a living roll of paper and a living pair of scissors who share an apartment. Rock is “the member of the trio with the biggest heart and moral compass,” Paper is “a wannabe intellectual who dreams of being a famous inventor” and Scissors “acts overly confident and always wants to be cool.” It’s got a respectable voice cast of Run Funches as Rock, Thomas Lennon as Paper and Carlos Alazraqui as Scissors, and co-stars Melissa Villaseñor (Saturday Night Live) as their neighbor Pencil and Eddie Pepitone as their angry garbage can landlord Lou.
Nickelodeon once had a sterling reputation as the network that revolutionized TV animation with the Nicktoons, a lineup of creator-driven, intelligent cartoons in a wild variety of diverse styles. Then they discovered Spongebob, and ever since, they’ve been coasting almost entirely on that perennial property while holding it as an impossible standard for any newcomers to meet. For the longest time if anything didn’t perform on Spongebob’s cultural level it was quickly removed.
The double renewal of Rock Paper Scissors, a show that will probably never get its own massive wave of merchandise, is an encouraging sign. We would love to see the glory days of Nicktoons return, and any step in that direction is a positive one. The complete first season is also being added to Paramount+ starting May 28.
