Executive Producer Ciro Nieli Discusses Nickelodeon 'TMNT' Animated Series

Executive producer Ciro Nieli was 10 years old when he was first introduced to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and he is now introducing them to kids with the new Nickelodeon animated series. The new Nickelodeon TMNT animated series airs Friday nights at 7 PM ET/PT and stars the katana-slinging leader Leonardo (voiced by Jason Biggs), nunchucks-swinging fun guy Michelangelo (Greg Cipes), bo-staffed gadget man Donatello (Rob Paulsen) and sai-wielding brawler Raphael (Sean Astin).

The four turtles haven't changed much since being created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, from video games to live-action movies, and Nieli's animated show, which has already been handed a third season when it hasn't even finished its first yet. Nieli recently talked about the show and he gave some inside information on what viewers and fans can expect soon. He does go into some great details so we'll try and keep the spoilers to a minimum.

Baxter Stockman is going to finally break out of his shell and do more than just grunt work for Shredder. The upcoming episode deals with Baxter and shows some of the inner machinations of the criminal mastermind.

With the season finale coming up, viewers will learn more about Turtle confidant April O'Neil and the story line with the Kraang pays off a little more.

Mutagen Man will return! This character has always been a favorite for Nieli's and wants the return to be something special. Mutagen Man, who plays a big role in the second season but will appear near the end of the first, had a distinctive look from the old '80s cartoon and toy, and the TMNT producers didn't want to get too wacky with a new design.

A reunion is in the works with the new turtles and the old turtles. No, they won't be seeing doubles but the second season will feature a one-hour special with special cameos by the original voice actors from the 1987 cartoon in their old roles, including Cam Clarke (Leonardo), Townsend Coleman (Michelangelo), Barry Gordon (Donatello) and Paulsen (Raphael). The story will bring the classic and current Turtles together.

Source: USA Today