The Loud House is an American animatedsitcom created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only son in a large family of 11 children. It is set in a fictional town in southeastern Michigan called Royal Woods, based on Savino's hometown of Royal Oak. The series was pitched to the network in 2013 as a two-minute short film entered in the annual Animated Shorts Program. It entered production the following year.[3] The series is based on Savino's own childhood growing up in a large family, and its animation is largely influenced by newspaper comic strips.
Since its debut, the series has gained high ratings, becoming the top-rated children's animated series on American television within its first month on the air.[4] The series has received considerable media attention and nominations at both the 28th and the 29thGLAAD Media Awards for its inclusion of Howard and Harold McBride, two supporting characters who are an interracialgay married couple. Their introduction into the series was reported in the news as being historic and caused a rating surge.[5] In May 2017, the characters of Lincoln Loud and Clyde McBride were featured on the front cover of Variety as an example of diverse characters in children's television.[6]
Lincoln Loud is the middle child and only boy in a family of eleven children residing in the fictional town of Royal Woods, Michigan. He has ten sisters, each with a distinctive personality: bossy eldest child Lori, ditzy fashionista Leni, musician Luna, comedian Luan, athletic Lynn Jr., gloomy poetic goth Lucy, polar opposite twins Lana and Lola, child genius Lisa, and baby Lily. Lincoln often breaks the fourth wall to explain to the viewers the chaotic conditions and sibling relationships of the household, and continually devises plans to make his life in the Loud House better.
During the first four seasons, Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan were in high school, Lynn was in middle school, and Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa were in elementary school. In the fifth season, the Loud siblings aged up a year, with Lori entering college, Lincoln going to middle school, and Lily starting preschool.[7]
The Loud House was created by Chris Savino for Nickelodeon. Savino based the series on his own experiences growing up in a large family.[8] Early in development, the Loud family was going to be composed of rabbits, but this was terminated when an executive, Jenna Boyd, asked Savino to make them human.[9][10] The idea of the Loud family being rabbits became used as Lincoln's dream in the Season 3 episode "White Hare". He pitched the idea to Nickelodeon in 2013 as a 2+1⁄2-minute short for their annual Animated Shorts Program.[11] In June 2014, Nickelodeon announced that The Loud House had been picked up for a season of 13 episodes.[12] The episode order was later increased to 26.[13] On May 25, 2016, Nickelodeon announced that the series had been picked up for a second season of 14 episodes later increased to 26.[14] On October 19, 2016, the series had been picked up for a third season of 26 episodes.[15] Savino has cited Peanuts and Polly and Her Pals as influences on the show's characterizations and animation. Newspaper comic strips are also influences on the show's background art.
On October 17, 2017, Cartoon Brew reported that Chris Savino was suspended from the studio due to allegations of sexual harassment, the report noting that rumors of Savino's behavior have existed for "at least a decade".[16] On October 19, a Nickelodeon spokesperson confirmed that Savino had been fired from the studio, and that the series will continue production without him.[17] Six days later on October 23, Savino spoke for the first time since his firing saying he said he was "deeply sorry" for his actions.[18] Alongside the announcement of the series being greenlit for a fourth season, it was revealed that story editor Michael Rubiner had now been named executive producer and showrunner.[19] On May 30, 2018, Savino was suspended from The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, for one year.[20]
Broadcast
The series debuted on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016, with new episodes premiering every weekday that month.[21] The first trailer for the series premiered on March 13, 2016.[22] The series also aired on AFN Family.
The Loud House has received positive reviews, specifically for its animation, voice acting, characterization, and the heartwarming themes of each episode. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media praised the show's voice cast and thematic messages, writing that "kids will come to The Loud House for the laughs, but they'll return for the ensemble cast and the surprisingly heartwarming themes that dominate every story."[57] Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club gave the series a B+, noting that "the female characters are defined by their traits, but never judged for them."[58]
In the show's later years, it received heavy criticism for its long-running status and growing amount of spin-offs and extended media, with critics and audiences alleging the series was experiencing a decline in quality. Ryan Lewis of CBR.com wrote that "Nickelodeon tried too hard to match SpongeBob's influence and immediately took to creating spin-offs, a Netflix movie, and countless merchandise. These efforts may have been justified had The Loud House not been written with one-note stock characters making up its main cast."[59]
LGBT representation
As with other animated series of the decade, The Loud House has been noted for its strong implementation of LGBT themes, including same-sex relationships and people of color. The characters of Howard and Harold McBride have received praise for being a positive representation of an interracialgay married couple.[60] They are the first married gay couple to be featured in a Nicktoon.[61][62] Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair stated that The Loud House "handles the topic [of same-sex marriage] in exactly the right way...this kind of casual representation in children's programming is a milestone."[63] De Elizabeth of Teen Vogue wrote, "The best part is that the show doesn't treat these characters any differently, or even introduce them with a heavy asterisk about their marital status."[64]The Frisky's Tai Gooden mentioned that "kids who have two dads (or moms) will be more than thrilled to see a family they can identify with on TV."[65]Time reported that "people are thrilled about Nickelodeon's decision" to include a gay couple.[66] Some conservative groups, by contrast, have criticized the introduction of the characters. The One Million Moms division of the American Family Association objected to scenes featuring the McBride parents and unsuccessfully pushed for the episode in which they first appeared to be edited to exclude the couple,[67] saying that "Nickelodeon should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda."[68] The Kenya Film Classification Board also called for the suspension of the series on pay television service DStv, saying that the animated series "promotes the Lesbian, Gay and Transgender agenda."[69]
Kenya's film and classification board (KFCB) has called for the suspension of several US-produced children's programs running on channels provided by TV company MultiChoice. The board said the cartoons featured "disturbing content glorifying homosexual behavior" which was not suitable for children.
It's wasn't immediately clear if the supposedly offending Nickelodeon episodes ever aired in Kenya. Viacom Africa, which licenses the Nickelodeon shows said last July it would not be airing such shows in South Africa and the rest of sub Saharan Africa.
The Loud House became the number-one children's animated series on television within its first month on the air.[4] Throughout May 2016, it received an average of 68% more viewers in its target audience of children aged 6–11 than broadcasts on Nickelodeon in May of the previous year.[71] As of June 2016, it was Nickelodeon's highest-rated program, beating SpongeBob SquarePants with an average Nielsen rating of 4.9 among the 2–11 demographic at the time.[72]
The Los Angeles Times cited The Loud House as a major factor in maintaining Nickelodeon's position as the highest-rated children's network in summer 2016.[73] During the show's fourth week of premieres, Cyma Zarghami announced that it was continuing to draw more viewers than any other program on the channel.[74]
The show's highest-rated episode, with 2.28 million viewers upon its premiere, is "Two Boys and a Baby".[75] This was the first episode to air after it was announced that Howard and Harold McBride would be debuting on the program. The first episode of The Loud House shown at prime time, "11 Louds a Leapin'", was the seventh most-viewed telecast across all U.S. households on November 25, 2016.[76]
