The Naked Brothers Band (TV series)

For other uses, see The Naked Brothers Band (disambiguation).

The Naked Brothers Band
The show's logo (2008-09)
Genre	Children/Teen sitcom Mockumentary Rockumentary Musical comedy
Created by	Polly Draper
Developed by	Albie Hecht (Not credited)
Written by	Polly Draper Magda Liolis Michael Rubiner & Bob Mittenthal Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi (season 1)
Directed by	Polly Draper Melanie Mayron (season 1-2) Rosario Roveto, Jr. (season 1/3) Jonathan Judge (season 2-3) Mark Salisbury (season 3)
Starring	Nat Wolff Alex Wolff Thomas Batuello Allie DiMeco David Levi Qaasim Middleton Cooper Pillot Jesse Draper Michael Wolff
Theme music composer	Nat Wolff
Opening theme	"If That's Not Love"
Composer(s)	Nat Wolff Alex Wolff
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	40 (+2 specials) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Albie Hecht Polly Draper Michael Wolff (co-) Bob Mittenthal (co-) (season 3)
Producer(s)	Ken H. Keller (produced by) Caron Rudner-Keller (produced by/line) Tim Draper (consulting) Kari Kim (coordinating) (season 1)
Editor(s)	Craig Cobb Louis Bertini (supervising sound) Tim Streeto (season 3) Ken H. Keller (post production supervisor)
Location(s)	Greenpoint, New York New Orleans (TV movie) (season 2)
Cinematography	Ken H. Keller (camera) (season 2-3) (director of photography) Chris LaVasseur (camera) (season 1)
Running time	23 min. (TV episodes) 1 hr. (TV movies)
Distributor	Kidzhouse Entertainment Worldwide Biggies
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon
Picture format	4:3 SD/ProRes 422 codec
Original run	February 3, 2007 – June 13, 2009
Chronology
Preceded by	The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
External links
Website
http://wwbiggies.com/ Production website

The Naked Brothers Band is an American television musical comedy created by Polly Draper. The show depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a faux rock band from New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is a hyperbole of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is often acknowledged. Lead vocals and instrumentation are provided by the siblings; they composed the songs themselves.

The show stars Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, who encounter conflicts with each other that are later omitted. Nat's preschool pals—David Levi and Thomas Batuello—feature as band members. Although portraying fictional characters, the ensemble cast keep their full names on-screen; however Allie DiMeco plays Nat's female admirer and band member Rosalina, the siblings' cousin (Jesse Draper) plays the group's ditzy nanny Jesse Cook, and the siblings' jazz pianist father (Michael Wolff) portrays their inept accordion-playing dad Sonny. The other cast members in the series are Qaasim Middleton who plays the band's guitarist, and Cooper Pillot who portrays the group's manager.

The series is a spin-off of Draper's film pilot of the same name that was picked up by Nickelodeon, premiering in January 2007. Draper, star of Thirtysomething and her writing The Tic Code, is the executive producer of the series, and often writer and director. Albie Hecht, affiliated with Nickelodeon, is the executive producer, under his Worldwide Biggies tag. The adult Wolff, of The Arsenio Hall Show fame, serves as the music supervisor and co-executive producer.

The show premiered in the United States on the network on February 3, 2007. Viacom announced, it "delivered Nickelodeon's highest-rat[ings] in seven years" and instantly became one of the most favorable for children aged 6–11.^[1] According to an article by TV reporter Jacques Steinberg, of The New York Times, the popularity is equivalent to Hannah Montana and Cory in the House. Three seasons aired, concluding on June 13, 2009. The series earned 1 BMI Cable Award, 2 Writers Guild of America Awards, and was nominated for 1 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award (both in the United States and United Kingdom).

Development

Main article: The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie#Background

The series' title is derived from an incident when the brothers were very young: they arose from the bathtub shouting, "We're 'the naked brothers band!"^[2] Although Nat revised the band's title to The Silver Boulders, Draper revived it as she felt it would be more suitable for the show.^[3]

Draper explains the events that preceded the show: "Nat kept putting signs on his door: I want to be a child actor! I said, 'No, it's too brutal.'"^[4] Early in 2007, Draper said, "Nat decided he wanted to film his own sitcom, so we did a film called Don’t Eat Off My Plate...I pretended to interview his friends and do a documentary."^[2] Nat recorded a tape in the studio with Alex and their dad. Viewing the recording, Draper had the idea of making a mockumentary film about the band; she decided to introduce them as music icons like The Beatles.^[3] By 2007, Draper said, "What originally happened was that Nat and Alex had a band, and the idea envolved based on that. Spinal Tap meets The Little Rascals was my concept...I wanted it to be very Beatle-ish, have that Help! or A Hard Day's Night kind of feeling."^[5] The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie was originally independent.^[3]

In late 2005, Draper entered the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival, where it won the audience award for family feature film.^[2][6][7][8] Hecht was visible in the audience;^[2] he bought the film for the network. Nickelodeon urged the family to start a television series based on the film, and a reluctant Draper agreed. Tom Asheim, whose the general manager of Nickelodeon said, "At first, we were intrigued by the idea, but we weren't sure kids would get the vague tongue-and-check-of-it. Then a bunch of us took it home to our own children and they loved it."^[2] Draper recalled, "When Nickelodeon first asked us about doing a series, we said, 'How about a cartoon, so the kids could stay normal?' They said, 'No, we love your kids.'"^[9]

As head writer, Draper wrote the boys' fictional birth mother as deceased; her name is never revealed.^[10][11] However, in the show, the boys' father is infatuated with a crazed-lady named Betty.^{[citation needed]}

"I always hope that parents will enjoy the show as much as the children. I’m also very inspired by my son’s songs, so a lot of the feelings and thoughts in the episodes revolve around those. We treat this show like an adult comedy, not like a typical kids show. If a joke goes by unnoticed, that’s all right with us. With the third or fourth viewing, kids will pick it up, as opposed to most children’s fare, where most jokes are signaled and cued."—Polly Draper^[12]

Production

Kidzhouse Entertainment,^{[citation needed]} a production company that also produces the series, is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.^[2][13] The giant studio is large enough that cast members played basketball with friends in a separate room when they are finished filming episodes.^[2] Draper managed to keep an eye on her two sons. For example, when the cast was filming an episode that featured the band making a video, Nat, who did not want to kiss in the scene because his crush Rosalina was watching, follows directions which he then explains to his mother.^[2] That was the first season's ninth episode, "First Kiss (On the Lips, That is)". Written by Michael Rubiner & Bob Mittenthal, it was directed by Melanie Mayron, who acted in Thirtysomething.^{[citation needed]}

"Having our life turned into a mockumentary wasn’t as big a deal as some would think. We took all the friendships, Alex’s one liners, and my music and put it into a storyline; it was a heightened reality...The show created a great audience for us..."

—Nat Wolff[14]

Tom Asheim said, "This is our version of The Monkees. Nat Wolff wrote all the music, which I think distinguishes the show. Sometimes I think you get a sense from bands that they are [faking it] like Milli Vanilli. This really is by kids and for kids."^[4]

As showrunner, Polly Draper's presence is evident. For example, during production for the fourth episode of the second season, as the boys played restlessly on a purple sofa, their mother (who was not directing the scene) admonished them by saying, "Both of you, try to smile more."^[10] Occasionally, family disputes occur on set; for example, in July 2008—after filming for a long period of time on the set—when Draper gives one of the boys' an instruction, one of the siblings' irritatingly replies, "I know, Mom!"^[12]

According to Nat at a family interview in January 2008, the French bulldog E.T., who plays David Levi's dog in the show, belongs to the Draper-Wolff family in real life. He also mentioned that the family's authentic home is not as multi-colored as in the show.^[3]

Post-production

Albie Hecht foreshadowed the success of the series after watching the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival.^[2] In an article, Hecht told reporter Felicia R. Lee, of The New York Times: "They're just real—real brothers, real friends; it's all the stuff kids do when they're hanging out on the playground. The idea that you're watching a documentary is so much fun. Then you put them into that fantasy of being a world-famous rock band, and that's the sauce that makes it work."^[2] In October 2006, online videos from their Nickelodeon website had been played over 11 million times. Moreover, before the show's debut, "a fan recognized Nat and Alex in a Florida hotel. She sent them a note: 'Are you the Naked Brothers?' 'They were so excited,' Draper recalled. 'The show hasn't even aired yet and now walking down the streets kids are calling out their names. They can't believe it.' "^[4]

Nat explained, "It's all based on reality. It's not like work. It's things we might say or do or want to say or do. I like the feeling of creating something that wasn't there. If we have [a second] season, I'm totally getting ideas."^[2] Nat also says that "We have actually become way better friends working together." Alex responds, "We have?"^[2]

Editing

"I have to watch all of the dailies to find the gem among the performances. Since I have been doing the show for so long, I know what the producers are looking for and have become good at finding it rather quickly. When I see these moments, I start my cut of the scene with them and work backwards. It does take a lot of time and creativity to make things look good."

—Editor Craig Cobb[12]

Craig Cobb was the picture editor for the series; he was also the assistant editor for Sex and The City.^[12][15] Cobb worked with Louis Bertini, the supervising sound editor of the series, who had been the editor for Sex and The City.^[12][16] Of the editing process, Bertini explains that editing the show was not much different than editing Sex and the City; they brought a similar "approach and constriction to the audio elements", although unlike Sex in the City, the show had a "larger cartoon element".^[12] However, Cobb considered the editing to be a challenge because he felt that a certain degree of unscripted "magic on set" existed that required more work. Because most of the children on the series are not actors—in addition to the music that was to be added—the editing process created a situation that was somewhat "messy". Nonetheless, Cobb believed the combination of factors created a "magic" of its own "and it's what makes this show really shine".^[12]

When an episode completed filming, Cobb edited on the Final Cut Pro application, which normally took four days to complete.^[12] Bertini—who spent the same amount of time editing—then converted unnecessary script and added sound effects.^[12] Cobb says, "The 16:9 SD workflow was the plan for the 2008 season, but that has changed. We're working in 4:3 SD with the ProRes 422 codec, so we're cutting in a broadcast-quality format that we'll later output without having to recapture all the footage."^[12]

According to Cobb, it is very difficult to coordinate the television's screen-framing:^[12]

"There are many issues to consider. If I were able to cut it 16:9, I would be able to keep an eye on the outside edges of the frame. Since I only cut it in 4:3, I don’t get to see what's going on in the entire frame. Therefore, should an HD version be required, potentially a lot of adjustments will have to be made in the final edit. Occasionally, we've had to look at the 16:9 footage to reposition a couple of shots and I’ve seen light stands and such that will have to be removed somehow in a 16:9 version of the show. However, everything has been shot in 16:9 HD, so we will never have to stretch any images to fill the 16:9 frame."

Music

Main article: The Naked Brothers Band (discography)

Nat and Alex compose and play all of the show's songs; their father also co-produces the music with Michael A. Levine.^[3] The series' music editor, John Davis coordinates the songs' musical numbers.^[12] Amy Cervini and Russ Spiegel are the music instructors.^[17][18]

On October 9, 2007, the debut of the first season's self-titled soundtrack album released into stores. It was produced by Wolff and Levine and distributed by Nick Music and Columbia Records. All of the music on the album includes tracks composed by Nat, apart from "Alien Clones" and "I Could Be", which were composed by Alex.^[19] The day before, on October 8, the band had an autograph signing at Virgin Megastore in Times Square, New York City.^[19] Additionally, the group's first MTV music video released for their song "If That's Not Love".^[19]

On April 15, 2008, the second season's soundtrack album, I Don't Want to Go to School was released into stores, and on March 18 it was released in Wal-Marts' across the country.^[20] Tracks from the album includes songs all written by Nat, including "I Don't Want to Go to School", with the exception of "Why" and "Three is Enough" which was composed by Alex.^[20] Other songs on the album include bonus tracks such as "Tall Girls, Short Girls...You", by Nat and "Changing" by Alex. The producers of the album were also Wolff and Levine and was distributed by Nick Music and Columbia Records.^[20] To praise the release of their new album, they performed their song, "I Don't Want to Go to School" live on NBC's Today Show.^[20]

Season synopses

Further information: List of The Naked Brothers Band episodes

Season 1: 2007

Nielsen Media Research calculates that approximately 1.3 million people have watched the first 10 episodes of season 1. It debuted in February 2007 and concluded in June; however, one additional episode and television movie aired in October 2007.^[10]

The first season's plot introduces 11-year-old Nat Wolff and younger brother, 8-year-old Alex Wolff, members of the world-famous rock band, The Naked Brothers Band. The band features the lead singer-songwriter and keyboardist Nat Wolff; drummer Alex Wolff; 11-year-old guitarist Qaasim Middleton; 11-year-old keyboardist David Levi; 11-year-old cellist Thomas Batuello; 13-year-old Rosalina (Allie DiMeco) who is Nat's crush and the bassist; and, 11-year-old band manager Cooper Pillot. The first season featured guest appearances by rapper Snoop Dogg, actor/comedian George Lopez, and actor-musician Keli Price. The first season aired 13 episodes, and the TV movie Battle of the Bands aired on October 6, 2007.

Season 2: 2008

Rosalina (Allie DiMeco) and Nat become a couple in TV movie Polar Bears.

In the second season, Nat is 12 and Alex is 10. Rosalina is 14, whereas Qaasim, Thomas, David, and Cooper are 12. The second season started off with the TV movie Sidekicks. During the second half of the season, the band went on tour. The second season ended on June 6, 2008 with the TV movie Polar Bears, which was about Alex's concern for Polar Bears because they are dying as a result of Global Warming. On the other hand, Nat and Rosalina become a couple in the TV movie. Guest stars include musician Joel Madden, skateboarder Tony Hawk, actor/comedian George Lopez, and drummer/composer Phil Collins. The second season aired 15 episodes.

Season 3: 2008-09

For the third season, Polly Draper directed five out of the thirteen episodes that aired.^[12]

This season, Nat is 13 and Alex is 10. Rosalina is 15, while Qaasim, Thomas, David, and Cooper are 13. The third season began with the fifth TV movie Mystery Girl, which premiered on October 18, 2008. It featured cameos by an array of celebrities, including actress Miranda Cosgrove, whose credits include iCarly and Drake and Josh; actress Whoopi Goldberg, of The View fame; singer Natasha Bedingfield; Simple Plan's David Desrosiers; and Bad Company's Simon Kirke. Other celebrity appearances include Tobin Esperance (Papa Roach); actor/musician Leon Thomas III, of August Rush fame; actress Victoria Justice, whose credits include Zoey 101; and talk show host Dave Attell.

The new season depicts the band shooting their initial theatrical film, and Rosalina temporarily leaves the band to travel on a worldwide cruise. During her trip, the band members read the newspaper and the front cover depicts Rosalina kissing a French man. When Rosalina returns to visit, she and Nat have an internal dispute and Rosalina subsequently quits. Because of this, the group must find a new bass player. Cooper calls for a "Naked Idol" contest and the outfit selects Kristina Reyes as their new bassist; however, Nat later makes up with and she rejoins the band, as well as retaining Kristina.

Cast

Main cast

• Nat Wolff starred as himself, and was the lead singer-songwriter and keyboardist for the band. Nicknamed "The Girl Magnet", he switched to guitar for songs such as "Taxi Cab" and "Curious". His crush on the band's bassist Rosalina, inspired his love songs. In the second season, Nat and Rosalina went to the prom together, then on a double date, and in the finale television movie of the season called Polar Bears, Nat and Rosalina finally became a couple. However, in season three their relationship becomes strained when Rosalina goes on a six month around-the-world boat cruise.

• Alex Wolff starred as himself, and was the drummer for the band. He switched to keyboards for songs, "Changing" and "Why", which he sang and composed. He also wrote and sang other songs, such as "I Could Be", "Alien Clones", and "Three is Enough". In the show, he "loves" Jesse and considers her to be his girlfriend, but Jesse calls him, "my little boyfriend" and Alex always disapproves of her dating other men including The Timmerman Brothers.

• Thomas Batuello starred as himself, and was the cellist for the band. In the show, Thomas is a prankster along with David. In the first season, he and David claimed not to like girls, but in the second season's episode of Cleveland, he became jealous of how Nat attracts all the girls. In the first season, he would often tease Nat and Rosalina about their crush. After Rosalina left for her six month cruise around the world in the third season, Thomas became the band's temporary bassist.

• Allie DiMeco starred as Rosalina, and was the former bassist for the band, and then played guitar with Qaasim. She is Nat's love interest and the inspiration for many of Nat's songs such as "Girl of My Dreams" and "Beautiful Eyes". In the "Sidekicks" TV movie, Nat and Rosalina go to the prom together, and in the episode "Three is Enough", they go on a double date with Cooper and Miss "Patty" Scoggins. Rosalina and Nat finally get together as a couple in the TV movie "Polar Bears". In the third season, Rosalina wins a violin competition and subsequently leaves for a sixth month cruise around the world which sometimes creates problems in her relationship with Nat. In fact, when she returns from her cruise, she breaks up with Nat and quits the band after an argument. The band then conducted a national competition to replace Rosalina, and they choose a new bass player, Kristina. Just as the reconstructed band begins to get along, Rosalina asks to rejoin the band, so she is kept in the band as the second guitarist.

• David Levi starred as himself, and was the keyboardist for the band and often joins in on Thomas's pranks. He also has a dog named E.T.

• Qaasim Middleton starred as himself, and was the guitarist for the band. In the show, he is known for being highly intelligent and a good flirter with girls.

• Cooper Pillot starred as himself, and was the band's manager. In the show, Cooper has a crush on a girl named Ms. Patty Scoggins. He is known for wearing a suit and glasses.

• Jesse Draper starred as Jesse Cook, and was the band's tutor and babysitter. In the show, Jesse is not very intelligent, so Rosalina and Qaasim help her grade the band members' assignments. She calls Alex her "little boyfriend" and wears several kinds of tattoos. Much to Alex's dismay, Jesse is dating the Timmerman Brothers—Donnie, Johnny, and Billy. In real life, Jesse is Nat and Alex's cousin and Polly Draper's niece.

• Michael Wolff starred as Dad (also known as "Mr. Wolff" or "Sonny"). Mr. Wolff is Nat and Alex's inept accordion player dad, who always embarrasses his sons; for example, he sometimes tries to appear in the band's music videos. He has performed at the Hoboken Rathskeller restaurant. He was dating a woman named Betty, but she later dumps him for his twin brother Miles.

Recurring stars

• Tim Draper played the role of [Joe] Schmoke, the principal of Amigos School. In real life, he is Polly Draper's brother and Jesse Draper's father.

• Daniel Raymont played the role of the director in the first season, Wing in the second season, and Abdul in the third season episode titled "Valentine Dream Date". Abdul is mentioned several times throughout the series.

• Catherine Curtain played the role of Betty. Although being hired as a maid for the house by Cooper, she made excuses by saying she was a "cleaning specialist", and therefore, does not clean but guide "others on how they should clean". She plays the ukulele in Sonny Wolff's two-member band The Hunnie Bunnies; however, the other characters have a strong distaste for their music. In the second season episode, Uncle Miles, Betty left Sonny for his twin brother jazz musician Miles Wolff (played by Michael Wolff.) She returned in the third season episode, "Valentine Dream Date".

• Emily Richardson played the role of Patty Scoggins, Cooper's crush.

• Teala Dunn played the role of Juanita, Alex's friend and crush.

• Billy Draper played the role of Billy Timmerman, one of the members of the dorky and unsuccessful band, The Timmerman Brothers. He also played the role of Jesse's clueless boyfriend. In real life, he is Jesse Draper's brother and Tim Draper's son.

• Adam Draper played the role of Donnie Timmerman, one of the members of the dorky and unsuccessful band, The Timmerman Brothers. He also played the role of Jesse's clueless boyfriend. In real life, he is Billy Draper's brother and Jesse Draper's brother.

• Coulter Mulligan played the role of Johnny Timmerman, one of the members of dorky and unsuccessful band, The Timmerman Brothers. He also played the role of Jesse's clueless boyfriend. In real life, he is Jesse, Billy and Adam Draper's cousin.

• Eleanor Draper played the role of Tessy, Jesse's sister and a dancing girl in the music videos. In real life, she is Jesse, Billy, and Adam Draper's sister.

• Lisa Mulligan played the role of Bessy, Jesse's sister and a dancing girl in the music videos. In real life, she is Jesse Draper's cousin and Coulter Mulligan's sister.

• George Lopez starred as himself.

• Victoria Justice starred as herself.

• Kristina Reyes starred as herself, who first appeared in the third season TV movie special, "Naked Idol". She was chosen to be the new bassist after Nat's girlfriend Rosalina quit the band. After first, Nat acted disrespectful to Kristina because he was upset about the departure and break up of Rosalina. However, Nat and Kristina have a talk and a friendship is formed between them. During that chat, Kristina told Nat she had always dreamed of playing in the band, as well as looking up to him as a role model, after hearing his song "Rosalina" broadcast on the radio when she was ten years old. In TV movie "The Premiere", Rosalina hopes to return to the band and they must decide whether to keep Kristina or to have Rosalina back. The band decides to keep both Kristina as the group's bassist, and Rosalina as the group's second guitarist.

Special appearances

The series featured numerous celebrity cameo appearances,^{[2][1][21][22][23]} most of whom played themselves.

Actor	Role	Seasons	Notes
Dogg, SnoopSnoop Dogg	Himself	1	VMA's #1
Lopez, GeorgeGeorge Lopez	Himself	1 2 2	Nat Is A Stand-Up Guy #3 Everyone's Cried At Least Once #22 Polar Bears #26-28
Price, KeliKeli Price	Bobby Love	1	Battle of the Bands #11-12
Hecht, AlbieAlbie Hecht	Interviewer #1	1	Been There, Rocked That #14
Liolis, MagdaMagda Liolis	Interviewer #3	1	Been There, Rocked That #14
Russ Spiegel	Interviewer #6	1	Been There, Rocked That #14
Madden, JoelJoel Madden	Himself	2	The Talk Show #18
Hawk, TonyTony Hawk	Himself	2	The Bar Mitzvah #19
Mayron, MelanieMelanie Mayron	Interviewer	2	Cleveland #23
Collins, PhilPhil Collins	Himself	2	Polar Bears #26-28
Cosgrove, MirandaMiranda Cosgrove	Herself	3	Mystery Girl #29-30
Bedingfield, NatashaNatasha Bedingfield	Herself	3	Christmas Special #34
Goldberg, WhoopiWhoopi Goldberg	Herself	3	Christmas Special #34
Leon Thomas III	Leon Williams	3	Christmas Special #34
Justice, VictoriaVictoria Justice	Herself	3	Valentine's Dream Date #35 The Premiere #38-39
Desrosiers, DavidDavid Desrosiers	Himself	3	Naked Idol #36-37
Esperance, TobinTobin Esperance	Himself	3	Naked Idol #36-37
Attell, DaveDave Attell	Himself	3	Naked Idol #36-37
Thompson, Ahmir "Questlove"Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson	Himself	3	No School's Fools Day #40

Crew

• Polly Draper: executive producer, in the form of showrunner and head writer; creator, writer, and director
• Albie Hecht: executive producer, affiliated with Nickelodeon television and founder and CEO of production company Worldwide Biggies; developer (uncredited, as he had not contributed to the storyline)
• Michael Wolff: co-executive producer, music supervisor, and music producer
• Bob Mittenthal: co-executive producer (season 3); co-writer
• Tim Draper: consulting producer
• Ken H. Keller: produced by, director of photography, camera operator (season 2-3), and post production supervisor (chief editor)
• Caron Rudner-Keller: produced by and line producer
• Kari Kim: coordinating producer (season 1), produced by (1 episode, season 3); vice president of production and development for Worldwide Biggies
• Magda Liolis: writer
• Michael Rubiner: co-writer
• Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi: writer (two-part episode/TV movie, season 1)
• Melanie Mayron: director (season 1-2)
• Jonathan Judge: director (season 2-3)
• Mark Salisbury: director (1 episode, season 3)
• Rosario Roveto: director (1 TV special, season 1; 1 episode, season 3)
• Chris LaVasseur: camera operator (season 1)
• Craig Cobb: editor; art department
• Michael A. Levine: music producer
• John M. Davis: music editor
• Louis Bertini: supervising sound editor
• Bronwen O'Keefe: executive in charge of production (executive production manager) (season 1-2)
• Shirley Abraham: executive in charge of production (season 2-3)

Episodes

Main article: List of The Naked Brothers Band episodes

Media

Soundtrack

Main article: List of The Naked Brothers Band songs

Video games

• The Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game was released October 20, 2008.

Television airings

Region	Network(s)	Series premiere
United States	Nickelodeon, The N	February 3, 2007
United Kingdom	Nickelodeon UK	May 29, 2007
New Zealand	Nickelodeon New Zealand	February 23, 2008
Germany	Nickelodeon Germany	October 20, 2007
Spanish America	Nickelodeon Latin America	July 21, 2007
The Netherlands	Nickelodeon (Netherlands)	April 2007
Brazil	Nickelodeon Brazil	2007
Israel	Nickelodeon Israel	2009
Pakistan	Nickelodeon (Pakistan)	August 20, 2007
Croatia	Nickelodeon (Croatia)	2007
Bulgaria	Nickelodeon (Bulgaria)	November 16, 2007
Mexico	Nickelodeon (Mexico)	November 16, 2010

TV movie premieres and releases

Season	Title	Episode #	First Air Date	DVD Release
1	"The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie"	Pilot	January 27, 2007	April 3, 2007
1	"Battle of the Bands"	11-12	October 6, 2007	September 4, 2007
2	"Sidekicks"	14-15	January 21, 2008	N/A
2	"Polar Bears"	26-28	June 6, 2008	June 17, 2008
3	"Mystery Girl"	29-30	October 18, 2008	N/A
3	"Operation Mojo"	31-32	November 22, 2008	N/A
3	"Naked Idol"	36-37	March 14, 2009	N/A
3	"The Premiere"	38-39	April 11, 2009	N/A

Debuts and releases

Season	Episodes	First Air Date	Last Air Date	Release date
Season 1	13	February 3, 2007	October 20, 2007	January 8, 2008
Season 2	15	January 21, 2008	June 6, 2008	October 21, 2008
Season 3	12	October 18, 2008	June 13, 2009	N/A

Awards

In 2005, The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie won the audience award for a family feature film at the Hamptons International Film Festival.^[2][6][7][8] Of Hecht's attendance, he said, "I could see there was an audience for this. They're real kids, real brothers, making real music."^[24]

In 2008, Draper received a nomination for the episode "Nat is a Stand-Up Guy", at the Writer's Guild of America for children's episodic and specials.^[25] The following year, Draper won the Children's Script — Long Form or Special at the 2009 WGA for the TV movie Polar Bears; it was the only one nominated in the category.^[26] In 2007, Nat was nominated for Best TV Actor at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the United Kingdom.^[27] In 2008, the series' cast performed at the KCAs in the United States; the following year Nat was nominated for Favorite TV Actor.^[28]

Reception

"The songs, actually written by Nat, may not top the charts, but they're far more tolerable than Kidz Bop and are hard to shake once the show is over. Amazingly, all of the kids here real musicians. If Draper really wants to create a show business legacy, she should sell her secrets on how to get kids to practice their musical instruments."

—Laura Fries from Variety[8]

When the film premiered on the network, it was seen by an average of 2.7 million viewers; it placed the top 10 spot on the Nielsen VideoScan children's non-theatrical DVD charts.^[19][29] The band's hit song "Crazy Car" sold more than 100,000 downloads online; it was placed on the top 100 Billboard Charts for seven weeks and the track was featured on the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice, Vol 3.^[19][30]

The family had encountered an incident in the past; the family had to change their phone number because fans were calling their house relentlessly.^[9][10] Draper recalls, "Little girls would call and say, 'Helloooo, is Matt there? We just love him.' The only thing that's comforting is, they're pretty harmless at that age."^[9]

The executive vice president of development and original programming for Nickelodeon, Marjorie Cohn explains: "The Naked Brothers Band series has exploded and continues to grow in popularity as a multiplatform and international property for Nickelodeon."^[19] According to a 2007 PRNewswire article, it stated that the TV show "quickly became one of the top programs for tweens on television".^[19]

Ronnie Sheib from Variety praised the film, stating that it is: "Convincingly faithful to kids' rhythms and speech patterns, and featuring several catchy if one-chorus numbers, this bouncy, feel-good kid pic, with targeted release strategy, could rock peers and parents alike."^[31] Tami Horiuchi from Amazon.com said that the film is a "funny spoof of the Hollywood rockumentary genre is so over-done that some viewers might find it distasteful, offensive, and/or inappropriate for children" and recommends an age group between the ages of 9-13.^[32] Commonsense Media suggests that the film is age appropriate for children 10+ and gave it a two out of a five star rating.^[33] Felicia R. Lee from The New York Times called, both the film and the television series, "an ebullient mock documentary."^[2]

The premiere of the series acquired the channel as favorable for children aged 6–11; Nielsen Media Research calculates—of in that age range—approximately 1.3 million people have watched the first 10 episodes of the series.^[10] It was one of the quickest starts in about three decades for the network—giving the channel the most favorable ratings in seven years.^[10][34] The series is in a popular category, along with Disney Channel's Hannah Montana and Cory in the House.^[10] By October, 2007, Nick.com's message boards had 5.3 million pages viewed, causing online madness.^[19] The show has three video games online that have been played about 24 million times.^[19] Moreover, fans have downloaded over 800 thousand podcasts.^[19]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nickelodeon keeps on rocking with season two premiere of the hit Mockumentary series". Viacom. January 14, 2008. http://www.prdomain.com/companies/V/Viacom/newsreleases/200811551835.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Lee, Felicia R (January 25, 2007). "A TV Family Bound By Blood and a Band". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20611FD3D5B0C768EDDA80894DF404482. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Jacques Steinberg, Polly Draper, Michael Wolff, Nat Wolff, Alex Wolff (January 2008). Arts & Leisure Week: The Naked Brothers Band (webcast). The New York Times. http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=[e-mail]. Retrieved 2009-05-13. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Ryan, Suzanne C (January 7, 2007). "Getting with the program". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2007/01/07/getting_with_the_program/. Retrieved 2009-01-04. 
5. ^ Walsh-Boyle, Megan (February 2, 2007). "Polly Draper: The Naked Brothers' Mother Returns to TV". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/news/polly-draper-naked-38977.aspx. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Scheib, Ronnie (November 1, 2005). "Hamptons: The Naked Brothers Band". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117928753.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0. Retrieved 2007-11-21. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "IMDb: Hamptons International Film Festival: 2005". Internet Movie Database. October 23, 2005. http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Hamptons_International_Film_Festival/2005. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Fries, Laura (January 25, 2007). "Naked Brothers Band". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117932570.html?categoryid=32&cs=1&query=Kidzhouse+Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-01-26. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Smith, Stacy Jenel. "Rising Stars Nat and Alex Wolff: 'Naked Brothers? Success Gives Mom Pause". Netscape Celebrity. http://channels.isp.netscape.com/celebrity/becksmith.jsp?p=bsf_nakedbros_rstar. Retrieved 2008-04-18. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Steinberg, Jacques (September 22, 2007). "Famous for Playing Rock Stars". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/arts/television/22nake.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
11. ^ Mark Blankenship (July; August 2008). "Band of brothers". Yale Alumni Magazine. http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2008_07/arts_pollydraper.html. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Grotticelli, Michael (January–February 2009). "Posting 'Naked' Picture and Sound Editorial on the Hit Nickelodeon Show". Editors Guild Magazine. http://www.editorsguild.com/Magazine.cfm?ArticleID=681. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
13. ^ "Broadway Stages". Broadway Stages, Ltd.. http://broadway-stages.com/. Retrieved September 3, 2010. 
14. ^ Sutton, Judy (August 11, 2009). "Chatting with the Wolff brothers of the Naked Brothers Band". Time Out Chicago. http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/08/chatting-with-the-naked-brothers-band/. Retrieved September 3, 2010. 
15. ^ "Craig Cobb Credits". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/3146642/Craig_Cobb_Credits#divCredits. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
16. ^ "Louis Bertini - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies & TV". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/201216/Louis-Bertini/filmography. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
17. ^ "Amy Cervini - Filmography". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1490691/Amy-Cervini/filmography. Retrieved April 6, 2010. 
18. ^ "Russ Spiegel - Filmography". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1624491/Russ-Spiegel/filmography. Retrieved April 6, 2010. 
19. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} "Nickelodeon's Hit Rock 'n' Roll Mockumentary The Naked Brothers Band Presents its First One-Hour TV Movie, Battle of the Bands on Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)". PRNewswire. September 19, 2007. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-19-2007/0004666022&EDATE=. Retrieved April 12, 2010. 
20. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Naked Brothers Band New Album". Jazz News. April 15, 2008. http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2008/03/0603.html. Retrieved April 6, 2010. 
21. ^ "Nickelodeon: Naked Brothers Band Season 1 DVD". Nickelodeon. http://shop.nickjr.com/sm-nickelodeon-naked-brothers-band-season-1-dvd--pi-2887119.html. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
22. ^ Wingard, Shannon (March 2007). "Price Is Right On The Fast Track To Fame" (PDF). American Superstar Mag. http://www.keliprice.com/pdf/american_superstar.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-23. 
23. ^ MacIntyre, April (September 29, 2008). "The Naked Brothers Band back on Nick". Smallscreen News. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1433777.php. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
24. ^ Dagostino, Mark (November 5, 2007). "Hanging Out with ... the Naked Brothers Band". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20160775,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
25. ^ "2008 TV and radio nominees announced". Writers Guild of America. December 12, 2007. http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=2653. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
26. ^ "wga awards". Writers Guild of America. 2009. http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1517. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
27. ^ "KCA Around the World / Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007 Press Kit". Nick.com. http://www.nickkcapress.com/2007KCA/. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
28. ^ "Nat Wolff - Biography - Kids' Choice Awards 2009". Nick.com. http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards/nat-wolff-biography.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
29. ^ Levin, Gary (January 30, 2007). "Viewers are kind to 'Idol'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-01-30-nielsens-analysis_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
30. ^ "KCA Soundtrack Release / Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007 Press Kit". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007. March 20, 2007. http://www.nickkcapress.com/2007KCA/soundtrack.php. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
31. ^ "DVD Review: 'The Naked Brothers Band Movie'". zap2it.com (Tribune Media Services). April 3, 2007. http://www.zap2it.com/dvd/zap-dvdreview-nakedbrothersbandmovie,0,2461054.story. Retrieved 2007-11-24. 
32. ^ Horiuchi, Tami. "The Naked Brothers Band - The Movie (DVD Only)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Brothers-Band-Movie-Only/dp/B000M343CG. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
33. ^ Ashby, Emily. "The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie - Movie Review". Commonsense Media. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/Naked-Brothers-Band-Movie_2.html. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
34. ^ Phares, Heather. "The Naked Brothers Band - Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p887728/biography. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 

External links

• The Naked Brothers Band Television Show
• The Official Website Nat And Alex Wolff