Nickelodeon Pulls "Made By Maddie" From Schedule Over Plagiarism Claims

Source: Nickelodeon/ Nick Jr. / Courtesy Viacom

RuhRoh… Looks like “Made By Maddie” will not be coming to Nick Jr. next weekend after all.

Earlier this week we told you about a new kids show coming to Nickelodeon called “Made By Maddie,” that looked just as precious as can be, but as images from the show hit the internet, comparisons began to pour in about how much the show’s characters resembled Matthew Cherry’s Oscar award winning animated short “Hair Love”

Yes Matthew Cherry noticed the resemblance as well…

Waheed Alli, CEO of Silvergate Media, the production company behind the show, initially denied any plagiarism on their part in a statement to Entertainment Weekly:

“Made by Maddie is a preschool show about an 8-year-old girl who uses her fashion sense and design ingenuity to solve problems. Silvergate Media has been working on the series for the last five years and throughout the production has taken steps to ensure a diverse production team and an appropriate voice cast lending their expertise and talent. As creators ourselves, we have the utmost respect and admiration for Matthew A. Cherry and Hair Love, and our hope is that when people watch our show, they will see it is its own story with its own adventures.”

But by Friday, Nickelodeon followed up with a statement of their own, which revealed the network had decided not to run the show as scheduled:

“Made by Maddie is a show we acquired several years ago from Silvergate Media, a renowned production company we have previously worked with on other series. Since announcing the show’s premiere date this week, we have been listening closely to the commentary, criticism and concern coming from both viewers and members of the creative community.

In response, and out of respect to all voices in the conversation, we are removing the show from our schedule as we garner further insight into the creative journey of the show. We are grateful to Silvergate Media for all of their work. And we hold Matthew A. Cherry and the wonderful and inspiring Hair Love in the highest regard.”

We’re glad that the network ultimately listened to the many people concerned about the theft of black creatives. We hope that Nick Jr./Silvergate cuts Matthew Cherry a check AND still moves forward with releasing a preschool age show featuring black characters because it’s not like people don’t want to see more than one show about a black family.