MarketThe Naked Brothers Band (TV series)
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The Naked Brothers Band (TV series)

The Naked Brothers Band is an American musical comedy television series created by Polly Draper, which aired on Nickelodeon from February 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. It depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a faux world-renowned children's rock band in New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is an embellished satire of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is often acknowledged. The show stars Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, the lead singer-songwriter and drummer, respectively. Nat's fictional female love interest and real-life friends Thomas Batuello, David Levi, and Cooper Pillot, as well as Qaasim Middleton—who has no prior acquaintance with the family—are featured as the other band members, with Draper's jazz musician husband Michael Wolff as his sons' widowed accordion-playing dad and her niece Jesse Draper portraying the group's babysitter.

Development
The series' title derived from an incident when the brothers were very young: they came out of the bathtub and said, "We're the naked brothers band!" Draper explains the events that precede the show: Filmed in mid-2004, the movie was originally independent, and interior scenes were vastly filmed in the family's apartment. and she and her husband Michael Wolff's famous celebrity friends are featured making cameo appearances. The network was eager to buy the film after Hecht and his agent conducted market research that revealed substantial success with children, but when urging the family to start working on the series, Draper and Wolff were initially reluctant to allow their sons into the industry. The family later decided to proceed, however, under certain conditions, which Nickelodeon approved. ==Production==
Production
Principal photography takes place at Kidzhouse Entertainment, the stage one division of Broadway Stages in Brooklyn, New York over the summer and early fall. That way, the boys are able to continue attending private school throughout most of the year. Being the showrunner—or leading executive producer, Polly Draper oversees the casting, manages the writers' room, edits scripts, and conveys storyline ideas for each episode. In addition to Draper serving as head writer, directed the first season. During the second season, Jonathan Judge was added as a third director. The last episode Mayron directed for that season, and thus for the series, featured her as an estranged fan on the radio, providing the voice over. By the third season, Draper and Judge directed every other television movie, with Mark Salisbury directing the initial animated special, and Rosario Roveto, Jr. directing the concluding episode. Draper managed to also keep an eye on her two boys. For example, the cast was filming an episode that featured the band recording a video; Nat, who did not want to make out in the scene due to his crush Rosalina watching, mistakenly smooches her. He then explains to his mother that he was confused as to what the instructions were. In another instance, during production for the fourth episode of the second season, as the boys play restlessly on a purple sofa, their mother (who was not directing the episode) admonishes them over the loudspeaker by saying, "Both of you, try to smile more."—the developer of the original characters—allowed her to contemplate her boys' fictional birth mother as deceased; her name is never revealed. However, in the show, the boys' father is infatuated with an estranged lady named Betty. Cobb worked with supervising sound editor Louis Bertini, who had been the editor for Sex and The City. Of the editing process, Bertini explains that editing the show was not much different from 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". ==Plot==
Plot
Pilot The pilot was originally an independent film shot in mid-2004 depicting Nat and Alex Wolff when they were nine and six years old respectively, along with Nat's friends and the other band members Joshua Kaye, David Levi, Thomas Batuello, and Cooper Pillot. They film a documentary about their world-renowned band, The Silver Boulders, as they fracture due to Nat's song about a girl named Rosalina (Allie DiMeco). Later on, the band ends up adding Rosalina and Cole Hawkins, reuniting as The Naked Brothers Band. Famous celebrities either acknowledge they are huge fans of the band or appear with other supporting roles; in real life, they have either worked or are friends with the Draper-Wolff family. These special guests are Cindy Blackman, Ann Curry, Arsenio Hall, Ricki Lake, Cyndi Lauper, Julianne Moore, Brent Popolizio, Tony Shalhoub, Lauper's husband David Thornton, Uma Thurman, jazz singer Nancy Wilson, and the ensemble cast of Thirtysomething (particularly, Timothy Busfield, Draper, Mel Harris, Peter Horton, Melanie Mayron, Ken Olin, and Patricia Wettig). In later episodes, Nat, Alex, and Cooper have dates at a local movie theater; during a live talk show, the siblings, alongside Joel Madden and a girl, who is a critical news reporter, compose a song together at the piano; Cooper has a Bar Mitzvah; and Mr. Wolff's girl friend rejects him after meeting his twin brother, Miles, who is a successful jazz pianist. In addition, the band starts prepping for their tour with several band rehearsals. Prior to leaving on their tour bus, the band members are conflicted with personal issues: Mr. Wolff is still coping from his break up with Betty, David is upset about leaving his dog, E.T. behind, and Rosalina is worried about the possibility of not saying "good bye" to her father. Nonetheless, all of their concerns work themselves out: George Lopez advises Mr. Wolff to continue his passion for playing the accordion despite his break up, Tuffy ends up allowing David to bring his dog, and Rosalina's father makes it to the bus stop before the bus leaves. Following several concert performances (including one at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a state county fair), the television movie "Polar Bears" depicts the ending of the band's tour in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they — along with their babysitter, Jesse — reunite with the siblings' father and old family friends of the Wolffs' who are victims of Hurricane Katrina. On the ride down there, Jesse inadvertently has Alex watch An Inconvenient Truth and, after viewing it, he becomes very concerned about the polar bears potentially becoming extinct due to global warming. During their visit, Mr. Wolff's friend's older daughter, as well as Nat, Qaasim, and Rosalina encounter misinterpretations over their romantic interests before they are resolved, and the band ends up donating the money raised from their performance at an elaborate-styled ballroom to a charity supporting climate change. Season 3: 2008–09 The third season began with the television movie "Mystery Girl", which premiered in October 2008. It also aired three other television movies, a animated special, a special webisode, and three other episodes, concluding with "No School's Fools Day" in June 2009. In this season, Nat, Thomas, David, and Cooper are 13 with Qaasim being 14, while Alex is 10 and Rosalina is 15. The season features an array of celebrities making cameo appearances, including actresses Miranda Cosgrove and Whoopi Goldberg, singer Natasha Bedingfield, and musicians David Desrosiers and Simon Kirke. Other celebrity appearances include musicians Tobin Esperance and Questlove, actor and musician Leon Thomas, actress Victoria Justice, and talk show host Dave Attell. Daniel Raymont, Tuffy Questall, Teala Dunn, Catherine Curtin, and Matt Pinfield all return, with Andrew Keenan-Bolger portraying Christophe, the director of the new Magical Mystery Girl Movie. The new season depicts the band shooting their initial theatrical film called the Magical Mystery Girl Movie. Nat stars as Daniel, Rosalina as herself, Miranda Cosgrove as Daniel's girl friend, Alex as Oliver, Juanita as the girl in Oliver's new music video, with Mr. Wolff and Jesse playing themselves and Principle Schmoke and Tuffy portraying sumo wrestlers in diapers. Christophe is the stubborn director; he is later overthrown and replaced by Cooper, the producer of the movie. Christophe appears again in "The Premiere" when he steals the movie's metal film cassette. On the other hand, 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 the band. 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 Rosalina and she rejoins the band while retaining Kristina as well. "The Premiere" television movie ends with them watching the Magical Mystery Girl Movie in the theaters as well as the band performing Nat's new song "Just a Girl I Know". ==Cast==
Cast
Main castNat Wolff stars as himself, who is the incisive, lead singer-songwriter and keyboardist for the band. He plays guitar, though, for such songs as "Taxi Cab", "I'll Do Anything", "Curious", and "I Feel Alone". Nicknamed "The Girl Magnet", his crush on bandmate Rosalina emboldens his love songs, and she even kissed him on the lips in his dressing room during the first season. In the second season, Nat and Rosalina go to prom together, then on a triple date, and in the final television movie "Polar Bears", the two become a couple. However, by the third season, their relationship becomes strained when Rosalina embarks on a six-month boat cruise around the world. • Alex Wolff stars as himself, the dark brown, puffy curly-haired younger brother of Nat's, who portrays the outfit's highly energetic drummer. He switches to keyboards for the following songs he writes and sings: "Changing", "Why", "Jesse", and "All I Needed". Because of his exuberance, he has a number of fake tattoos; Alex also wears socks tied around his ankles, and a red, white and blue do-rag on his head during the first season. Throughout the series, he has a deep affection for Jesse and considers her to be his girlfriend. He also disapproves of her dating other men, including The Timmerman Brothers. • Thomas Batuello stars as himself, playing the group's cellist. In the show, he often coordinates mischievous acts with David. During the first season, Thomas and David claim not to take an interest in girls, even though they once pretended to drown at the beach to get the attention of two girls on a boat. They often ridicule Nat because of his feelings for Rosalina too. By the second season's episode "Cleveland", Thomas, nonetheless, becomes envy of Nat for obtaining all the affection from their female fans. After Rosalina leaves for a six-month cruise around the world during the third season, Thomas becomes the band's temporary bassist. • Allie DiMeco stars as Rosalina, the bassist and Nat's highly noted love interest. Because of her perplexing relationship with Nat, she quits the band twice. First, after becoming involved with a manipulative con artist named Bobby Love, the lead singer of the punk rock group The LA Surfers, she encounters an internal dispute with Nat and subsequently leaves the group. After Bobby purloins her music sheet and performs the song live at the "Battle of The Bands" competition, however, his true identity is revealed and Rosalina instantly approaches Nat sobbing in his arms while asking for his forgiveness, thus rejoining the outfit during the first season. When Rosalina returns from her long cruise in the third season, she and Nat have an internal dispute about her being depicted in the newspaper kissing a French man and subsequently breaks up with Nat, thereby quitting the band again. Under Cooper's guidance, the outfit develops a nationwide singing competition to replace Rosalina, choosing Kristina as their new bassist. As soon as the reconstructed band settles in, an abrupt Rosalina asks to rejoin and so she becomes their second guitarist. • David Levi stars as himself, a blond-haired boy with glasses who plays the band's keyboardist. In addition to his involvement in all of Thomas' pranks, David admires his own dog, E.T. • Qaasim Middleton stars as himself, an African-American child with dreadlocks who plays the guitar for the group. In the show, he is known for being quite skillful at flirting with girls and is highly intelligent. • Cooper Pillot stars as himself and is the band's manager, dressing in a suit, as well as wearing large sunglasses. Throughout the series' entire three seasons, Cooper is attracted to a girl named Patty Scoggins. • Jesse Draper stars as Jesse Cook, the band's babysitter and tutor who tends to wear mini-skirts and has many tattoos. Because Jesse is not very intelligent, Rosalina and Qaasim grade the band members' school assignments for her. She calls Alex her "little boyfriend", and much to his noted disapproval, Jesse dates The Timmerman Brothers—Donnie, Johnny, and Billy. • Michael Wolff stars as Dad (also known as "Mr. Wolff" or "Sonny"), Nat and Alex's inept accordion-playing widowed father. He embarrasses his sons on many occasions; for example, he sometimes tries to appear in the band's performances by playing the accordion. Sonny has performed at the Hoboken Rathskeller restaurant, and he dates an estranged woman named Betty, but she later breaks up with him for his twin brother Miles. Recurring characters (In order of appearance): • Daniel Raymont plays the role of the music video director, appearing and talking quite similar to Borat Sagdiyev in the first season; Wing during the second season; and Abdul in the third-season episode titled "Valentine Dream Date". • Tuffy Questell stars as Tuffy, the band's tour bus driver during the first two seasons. He was also featured during the third season. • Tim Draper portrays Joe Schmoke, the principal of Amigos Elementary, Middle, and High School. • Billy Draper, Adam Draper, and Coulter Mulligan play the roles of Billy, Donnie, and Johnny Timmerman, all of whom are nonsensical. Together, they formed The Timmerman Brothers, an initially quite successful musical group whose popularity diminished after their voices deepened during puberty. • Teala Dunn stars as Juanita, Alex's skateboard buddy and female interest. • Catherine Curtin portrays Betty, the noted estranged lady who wears a blonde wig. Although initially being hired by Cooper as a maid, she made excuses by explaining how she is technically a "cleaning specialist", and therefore, does not "actually clean"; rather, she "guides others on how they should clean." Betty then dates Sonny and plays the ukulele in their two-member band, The Honey Bunnies. However, the other characters strongly dislike their music. In the second-season episode "Uncle Miles", Betty leaves Sonny for his jazz musician twin brother Miles before reappearing again in the third-season episode "Valentine Dream Date". • Emily Richardson plays Patty Scoggins, Cooper's romantic interest. Initially known as "Ms. Scoggins", she first appears as the representative for Little Kids Rock in the first season television movie "Battle of The Bands". • Eleanor Draper and Lisa Mulligan portray Tessy and Bessy, Jesse's sisters and the dancing girls in some of the band's music videos during the second season. • Kristina Reyes stars as herself, first appearing in the third season television movie "Naked Idol". When she is chosen to fulfill Rosalina's spot as the band's bassist, Nat initially acts disrespectful to her because he is upset about the departure of, and his break up with, Rosalina. However, Nat and Kristina have a talk and a friendship forms between them. During their chat, she explained to Nat how she always dreamed of playing in the band and admired him dearly after hearing his song "Rosalina" broadcast on the radio when she was ten years old. In the television movie "The Premiere", Rosalina asks to rejoin the band and they decide to keep Kristina as the bassist, with Rosalina returning as their second guitarist. Special appearance The series often features celebrities making cameo appearances, most of whom play themselves. ==Release==
Release
National broadcast Season debut and release TV movie premiere and home media Other mediaThe Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game was released into stores on October 20, 2008. ==Reception==
Reception
Albie Hecht foreshadowed the success of the series after watching the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival. "If you're the parent of a preteen, you'll assume the Nakeds are this century's Hanson. Yet after perpetual exposure, you'll appreciate the difference — the Nakeds have more psychedelic leanings, and Nat has a McCartneyesque way with a melody — and ultimately agree that they're cuter than anything ever." The Associated Press even states "I could see there was an audience for this. They're real kids, real brothers, making real music." Draper received a Writers Guild Award nomination for the episode "Nat is a Stand-Up Guy" in the section of Children's Episodic and Specials in 2008. The following year, in 2009, the television movie "Polar Bears" won Draper a WGA for Children's Script — Long Form or Special; it was the only one nominated in the category. In 2007, Nat was nominated for Best TV Actor at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the United Kingdom. Moreover, the adult Wolff and his sons received a Broadcast Music, Inc. Cable Award for their work on the show's music. In 2008, the series' cast performed at the KCAs in United States; the following year, Nat was nominated for Favorite TV Actor. Soundtrack and online merchandise On February 17, 2007, "Crazy Car" sold more than 100 thousand downloads online; it was placed on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for seven weeks, and the track was featured on ''Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice, Vol 3. The first and second season soundtrack albums, The Naked Brothers Band (2007) and I Don't Want to Go to School (2008), also ranked the 23rd spot on the top 200 Billboard'' charts, accumulating over 500 thousand sales. The producers of the albums were Michael Wolff and Michael A. Levine, and distributed by Nick Records and Columbia Records. On October 8, 2007—the day before The Naked Brothers Band debut album released into stores, the band had an autograph signing for 1,500 fans at Virgin Megastore in Times Square, New York City; they also performed their original song "I'm Out" to a live audience on Good Morning America. Additionally, the group's first MTV music video released for their song "If That's Not Love". It was also broadcast four times, producing a total viewership of 14 million. When the show debuted on the channel, it aired two episodes, averaging out to a total viewership of 3.7 million. The first, "VMA's", drew 3.5 million viewers. "Wolff Brother's Cry Wolff" then followed which garnered a total of 3.8 million viewers; the episode gave the channel its most favorable ratings in seven years, and was among the quickest starts for the network. It also acquired the channel as favorable for children aged 6–11; Nielsen Media Research calculates—of in that age range—2 million have tuned in to the series' premiere, with 1.3 million watching the following 8 episodes. According to a PRNewswire article in 2007, The premiere of the second season television movie "Sidekicks" aired to a total of 3.6 million viewers, with the season's finale television movie "Polar Bears" drawing 1.7 million viewers for children aged 6–11; the latter was the second most watched show for the week in that age group. The series reached its peak with the debut of the third season television movie "Mystery Girl", producing a total viewership of 4 million. A month later, the television movie "Operation Mojo" was broadcast to an audience of 2.8 million viewers. When the season three episode "Valentine Dream Date" aired, it was also successful; 3.2 million people watched it. Although the show's viewership ratings remained consistently high over the course of its full three season run, network bosses wanted the family to shoot thirty television movies for the fourth season. Nevertheless, prior agreements had already been stipulated between Draper, Wolff, and the management at Nickelodeon that filming would not conflict with the boys' school schedule by ensuring production be limited to approximately thirteen episodes each season. When network executives chose no longer to adhere to these terms, Draper and Wolff opted to cancel the series in 2009. Details of the cancellation remained undisclosed by both parties involved until Nat revealed the incident to the press in 2013. ==References==
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