# Middle School Moguls

Middle School Moguls is an American animated television miniseries created by Gina and Jenae Heitkamp. The series stars Laurie Hernandez, Daniella Perkins, Haley Tju and Jade Pettyjohn. The series premiered on September 2 on Nickelodeon, and aired through September 29, 2019. Gina and Jenae Heitkamp originally started the idea for the series as "a doll and book line" sold in Target stores in 2016, and they were contracted by Nickelodeon afterward.

## Plot

Mogul Academy is an entrepreneurial school where its students work to make their businesses come true. Students Valeria, Winnie, Yuna, and Celeste work to establish their businesses and make them come true.

## Characters
### Main

* Valeria (voiced by Laurie Hernandez) is a budding inventor of sports gear.
* Winnie (voiced by Daniella Perkins) is an aspiring chef of food for pets.
* Celeste (voiced by Jade Pettyjohn) is an inventor of "smart tech."
* Yuna (voiced by Haley Tju) is an aspiring multiracial fashion designer who has two moms, one who is Chinese and another who is White.

### Guest stars

* Wren (voiced by Tim Gunn) is a professor at Mogul Academy who runs a fashion contest in the episode "Mo'gul Money, Mo Problems". They have been confirmed as a non-binary character. Wren is also the head of the school's fashion department.
* Victoria Steele (voiced by Jane Lynch) is the headmaster of Mogul Academy and former businesswoman.
* Josie (voiced by JoJo Siwa) as a communications business person and the head journalist for The Daily Juice, the school's blog.
* Finn (voiced by Ricardo Hurtado) is a student and athlete.
* Ethan (voiced by Alex Wassabi) is the Resident Advisor for the story's four protagonists.
* Kheris (voiced by Kheris Rogers) is a fashion mogul and a beautiful woman.
* Marci Stern (voiced by Nicole Sullivan) is the head of the athletic branch at the academy.
* Winnie's parents, Mrs. Pierre (voiced by Garcelle Beauvais) who is Haitian-American, and Mr. Pierre (voiced by Sean Patrick Thomas), who is also Haitian.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "The Making of a Mogul" | William Reiss | Adeline Colangelo | September 2, 2019 (2019-09-02) | 101 | 0.40 |
| 2 | "Mo'gul Money, Mo Problems" | William Reiss | Emilia Resella-Howard | September 15, 2019 (2019-09-15) | 103 | 0.51 |
| 3 | "Mogulize, and a Side of Fries" | William Reiss | Sarah Eisenberg & Becky Wangberg | September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22) | 102 | 0.73 |
| 4 | "Mogul on a Mission" | William Reiss | Adeline Colangelo | September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29) | 104 | 0.58 |

## Reception

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described the show as likable and praised its "themes of diversity and perseverance." She also pointed out that the values of "thinking big and working hard" can apply to any situation, with any "failures" as an opportunity for success in the future as a major theme in the show, along with characters which challenge stereotypes. This includes, she argues, a female student is a "tech whiz," one character has two mothers, a non-binary teacher, and a new designer who draw inspiration from herself to "create fashion choices for body types that run the gamut," meaning that the show shares the message of "being unique, challenging stereotypes, and following your dreams." Producer, writer, and teacher Gina Catanzarite noted that show's scripts "are peppered with business terms," with the teenage characters using their skills to solve problems, and celebrates smart girls who "exhibit the skills, vision, and persistence" to achieve career goals.