Middle School Moguls

Middle School Moguls
Genre	Children's series Action-adventure Comedy Fantasy
Created by	Gina Heitkamp Jenae Heitkamp
Directed by	William Reiss
Voices of	Laurie Hernandez Daniella Perkins Jade Pettyjohn Haley Tju
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producers	Gina Heitkamp Jenae Heitkamp
Producer	Louis J. Cuck
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Gengirl Media Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	September 2 (2019-09-02) – September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)

Middle School Moguls is an American animated television miniseries^[1][2] created by Gina and Jenae Heitkamp. The series stars Laurie Hernandez, Daniella Perkins, Haley Tju and Jade Pettyjohn. The series premiered on September 2 on Nickelodeon,^[3][4][5] and aired through September 29, 2019. Gina and Jenae Heitkamp originally started the idea for the series as "a doll and book line" sold in Target stores in 2016,^[6][7] and they were contracted by Nickelodeon afterward.^[8][9]

Plot

Mogul Academy is an entrepreneurial school where its students work to make their businesses come true. Students Valeria, Winnie, Yuna, and Celeste work to establish their businesses and make them come true.^[10]

Characters

Main

• Valeria (voiced by Laurie Hernandez)^[2][11] is a budding inventor of sports gear.
• Winnie (voiced by Daniella Perkins)^[2][12] is an aspiring chef of food for pets.
• Celeste (voiced by Jade Pettyjohn)^[2] is an inventor of "smart tech."
• Yuna (voiced by Haley Tju)^[2][12] is an aspiring multiracial fashion designer who has two moms,^[3] one who is Chinese and another who is White.

Guest stars

• Wren (voiced by Tim Gunn)^[2][13] is a professor at Mogul Academy who runs a fashion contest in the episode "Mo'gul Money, Mo Problems". They have been confirmed as a non-binary character.^[14] Wren is also the head of the school's fashion department.^[15]
• Victoria Steele (voiced by Jane Lynch)^[2][14] is the headmaster of Mogul Academy and former businesswoman.
• Josie (voiced by JoJo Siwa)^[2][16] as a communications business person and the head journalist for The Daily Juice, the school's blog.
• Finn (voiced by Ricardo Hurtado)^[2][12] is a student and athlete.
• Ethan (voiced by Alex Wassabi)^[2][8] is the Resident Advisor for the story's four protagonists.
• Kheris (voiced by Kheris Rogers)^[2][17] is a fashion mogul and a beautiful woman.
• Marci Stern (voiced by Nicole Sullivan)^[2][12] is the head of the athletic branch at the academy.
• Winnie's parents, Mrs. Pierre (voiced by Garcelle Beauvais)^[2][18] who is Haitian-American, and Mr. Pierre (voiced by Sean Patrick Thomas),^[2] who is also Haitian.

Episodes

No.	Title [19][20]	Directed by	Written by	Original air date [19][20]	Prod. code [19]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"The Making of a Mogul"	William Reiss	Adeline Colangelo	September 2, 2019 (2019-09-02)	101	0.40[21]
2	"Mo'gul Money, Mo Problems"	William Reiss	Emilia Resella-Howard	September 15, 2019 (2019-09-15)	103	0.51[22]
3	"Mogulize, and a Side of Fries"	William Reiss	Sarah Eisenberg & Becky Wangberg	September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22)	102	0.73[23]
4	"Mogul on a Mission"	William Reiss	Adeline Colangelo	September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)	104	0.58[24]

Reception

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described the show as likable and praised its "themes of diversity and perseverance."^[25] She also pointed out that the values of "thinking big and working hard" can apply to any situation, with any "failures" as an opportunity for success in the future as a major theme in the show, along with characters which challenge stereotypes. This includes, she argues, a female student is a "tech whiz," one character has two mothers, a non-binary teacher, and a new designer who draw inspiration from herself to "create fashion choices for body types that run the gamut," meaning that the show shares the message of "being unique, challenging stereotypes, and following your dreams." Producer, writer, and teacher Gina Catanzarite noted that show's scripts "are peppered with business terms," with the teenage characters using their skills to solve problems, and celebrates smart girls who "exhibit the skills, vision, and persistence" to achieve career goals.^[26]

See also

• Secret Millionaires Club, another show which is also about businesses and has similar plots.

References

1. Whyte, Alexandra (August 22, 2019). "Nickelodeon tries on middle school miniseries". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
2. "Nickelodeon's Middle School Moguls Premieres Sunday, Sept. 8, at 11 a.m. (ET/PT)" (Press release). Nickelodeon. August 21, 2019. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
3. Schuster, Kat (September 13, 2019). "Local sisters' new Nickelodeon show aims to shape young entrepreneurs". Press Telegram. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2021. "Our fashion designer Yuna has two moms and I think the way that it's handled in the show I feel is just perfect," Jenae [Heitkamp] said. "It's not a storyline, it just like 'these are my moms and they are supportive and affectionate.'"
4. Hardaway, Kaila-Marie (August 27, 2019). "Nickelodeon Empowers Young Girls with 'Middle School Moguls'". The Daily Brief. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
5. Keller, Joel (December 3, 2018). "Nickelodeon Greenlights GenGirl's 'Middle School Moguls' Animated Series". UCI Beall Applied Innovation. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
6. Basheda, Lori (February 2, 2020). "From Irvine startup to Nickelodeon". Irvine Standard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
7. "Middle School Moguls". UCI Beall Applied Innovation. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
8. Heitkamp, Gina; Heitkamp, Jenae (August 13, 2019). "'Middle School Moguls' Creators Gina and Jenae Heitkamp Talk Empowerment & Their New Nickelodeon Show – Exclusive!". Feeling the Vibe Magazine (Online). Interviewed by Kari Highman. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
9. "Middle School Moguls - Lemon Sky Studios". Lemon Sky Studios. 2020. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
10. TV News Desk (August 21, 2019). "Nickelodeon to Premiere MIDDLE SCHOOL MOGULS on September 8". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
11. Jones, Sarah (September 9, 2019). "Laurie Hernandez Hopes To 'Inspire' KidsWith New Show & Talks 2020 Olympics:'I'm In Full Training Mode'". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
12. Milligan, Mercedes (August 21, 2019). "Nickelodeon's 'Middle School Moguls' Get Down to Business". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
13. Kurtz, Judy (September 4, 2019). "Tim Gunn to play non-binary character in animated Nickelodeon special". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
14. Darwish, Meaghan (October 30, 2019). "First Look at Jane Lynch & Tim Gunn's 'Middle School Moguls' Characters (PHOTOS)". TV Insider. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
15. Brokaw, Francine (2019). "Nickelodeon's new show 'Middle School Moguls'". Family Choice Awards. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
16. Damon Cap (August 2019). "Nickelodeon's Middle School Moguls Just In Time For School With Guest JoJo Siwa And Others". BSC Kids. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
17. Rogers, Kheris (September 12, 2019). "So excited that this Sunday at 11 am I will be featured on @nickelodeon Middle School Moguls! ⁣⁣🚨GIVEAWAY ALERT🚨 Do you want to be…". Instagram. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
18. Lunion Suite (December 18, 2018). "Garcelle Beauvais Joins Nickelodeon Animated Mini-Series 'Middle School Moguls' as Haitian Character Mrs. Pierre". Medium. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
19. "Middle School Moguls Episode Listings". The Futon Critic.
20. "Middle School Moguls Episode Guide". Zap2it.
21. Mitch Metcalf (September 4, 2019). "Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.2.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
22. Mitch Metcalf (September 17, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.15.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
23. Mitch Metcalf (September 24, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.22.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
24. Mitch Metcalf (October 1, 2019). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.29.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
25. Ashby, Emily (November 11, 2020). "Middle School Moguls [Review]". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
26. Catanzarite, Gina (2020). "Middle School Moguls". Parents Choice Foundation. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Middle School Moguls at IMDb