The Fairly OddParents is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him wishes to solve his everyday problems.
The Fairly OddParents originated from shorts aired on Nickelodeon's animation showcase Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Due to their popularity, the shorts were greenlit to become a half-hour series, which premiered on March 30, 2001 and originally ended on November 25, 2006. The show was later revived, airing from February 18, 2008 to September 16, 2016, with production quietly ending that same year. Its remaining episodes aired on Nickelodeon's spinoff network Nicktoons from January 18, 2017 through July 26, 2017. Hartman left Nickelodeon seven months later in February 2018. The show totals up to 172 episodes across ten seasons.
The Fairly OddParents is Nickelodeon's second longest-running animated series, behind SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–present).<!-- The Fairly OddParents spanned 16 years (3 months, 26 days) (excluding the original shorts) with 172 episodes (294 segments), 3 TV movies, and one tie-in special ("77 Secrets of The Fairly OddParents Revealed!"). Thus, technically surpassing Rugrats. --> Additionally, it has gained a total of 11 awards during its 16-year run and spawned a media franchise.
In 2021, it was announced that a spin-off live-action series was in development for Paramount+. The series The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder was released in 2022. A sequel series, The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, was released in 2024. Alec Baldwin, Ben Stein, Jackie Mason, Jason Bateman, Laraine Newman, Gilbert Gottfried, Michael Clarke Duncan, Brendan Fraser, Patrick Warburton, Julie Chen Moonves, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tom Arnold, Dana Carvey, and Scott Hamilton.
Production history
Development and Oh Yeah! Cartoons (1997–2001)
thumb|175px|Butch Hartman, the series' creator
thumb|left|A postcard for The Fairly OddParents segment on Nickelodeon's [[Oh Yeah! Cartoons]]
Prior to the creation of The Fairly OddParents, Butch Hartman was working at Cartoon Network on Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo. In December 1997, Fred Seibert contacted Hartman to come over to his new company, Frederator Incorporated, to help pitch ideas as a part of their Oh Yeah! Cartoons series which the studio was developing for Nickelodeon. Hartman initially declined the offer. However, several months later, Johnny Bravo finished and Hartman decided to create his own series instead of going back to working for other studios.