The Troop is an action-comedy children's television series centered around a trio of teenagers who fight monsters that invade the fictional town of Lakewood. Created and executive produced by Max Burnett, Greg Coolidge and Chris Morgan, the series premiered on Nickelodeon on September 12, 2009. The second season premiered on June 25, 2011, and Nickelodeon cancelled it midway through its airing. The remaining episodes premiered sporadically on NickToons throughout 2012 and 2013.

Premise

The show revolves around Jake, a high school student who, after scoring well on an aptitude test, is recruited by his administrator to join "The Troop", a secret worldwide organization which protects the world from monsters and other supernatural phenomena. Additional team members include his fellow students, Hayley, the most popular girl in school, and Felix, the school's main nerd. Teenagers are chosen for The Troop because their young minds are malleable to the strange things of the world, but old enough to understand the responsibilities such a job entails, as it is depicted the older one gets the more frightening monsters become. The show has been described as "Men in Black at a suburban high school".

Episodes

Characters

Main

Recurring

Production

The initial pilot was shot in 2008 before being re-shot with a new cast (minus Purcell). The show premiered to 3.5 million viewers on September 12, 2009 (premiering as a "Special Preview") right after iCarly's "iThink They Kissed". The show officially premiered a week later. A companion website, troopgrid.com, was launched alongside the show, featuring character and creature profiles based on real concept drawings the crew used to model the monsters. In March 2010, the series was picked up for a second season. On October 15, 2010, it was announced that Malese Jow and Matt Shively would join the second season's cast. In January 2011, David Del Rio announced that he would not be renewing his contract for the second season due to other commitments and would become a recurring cast member after episode 28.

Broadcast

The Troop aired on Nickelodeon and premiered in the United States on September 12, 2009. On August 6, 2011, Nickelodeon put the series on permanent hiatus before officially cancelling the show in 2012. The second season ended with the remaining 7 episodes left unaired. On October 29, 2012, the series was moved to NickToons to air the remaining episodes. The final episode aired on May 8, 2013.

Awards

Won

Nominated

Reception

Common Sense Media compared the series to Men In Black, saying "the concept isn't exactly original, but the good news is that the likable cast and great special effects make up for any shortage of creativity."