Kid 'n Play (TV series)

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Kid 'n Play is a 1990 American animated TV show based on the real hip hop duo Kid 'n Play. It aired on NBC for one season, from September 8 to December 8, 1990, with 13 episodes. In the cartoon, Kid and Play are teenagers along with their friend Jazzy, their producer Hurbie, and their DJ Wiz. Their music careers stay the same as in real life, and the real duo appears in live-action clips between the cartoons while voice actors sing for the animated versions. Marvel Productions and Saban Entertainment produced the series.

The show promotes positive messages, teaching kids how to get along and stay out of trouble. Play is the less responsible member who comes up with schemes, while Kid is the more responsible one who often has to clean up the messes. Sometimes their girlfriends or an elderly jazz musician named Old Blue help solve problems. Old Blue wears a blue beret and even sends Kid back in time to the jazz era of the 1920s to learn about the roots of hip hop. Hairy, Kid’s Mohawk-wearing pet dog, is also part of the crew.

Marvel Comics published a nine-issue tie-in comic in 1992. The show was created by John Semper Jr. and Cynthia Friedlob, who also served as showrunners and writers; they later worked on Kid ’N Play’s third live-action movie, Class Act. Semper later produced and wrote for Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The series was canceled after one season due to a new rule requiring more educational programming. In 2001, Disney gained ownership when it bought Fox Kids Worldwide, which included Marvel Productions.