O'Grady

***O'Grady*** is an original series created by Noggin for its nighttime programming block, The N, which was aimed at teenagers. It is an animated series set in the fictional town of O'Grady, where in each episode, an unexplained force called "The Weirdness" causes a new bizarre phenomenon.

The show premiered on July 3, 2004, on Noggin during The N block. It ran for two seasons. Although Noggin made several earlier shows with a mix of animation and live-action, *O'Grady* was advertised here as "Noggin's first original animated series."

## History

The show was created by Tom Snyder. Noggin first partnered with Tom Snyder in December 1999, when he planned to make an educational children's show for Noggin. Noggin released an article about Tom Snyder's project, which said:

*"An educator of 20 years, the creator of the witty 'Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist' and 'Squigglevision' will infuse his Noggin project with both his flair for comedic storytelling and his impressive educational expertise, as he takes on written and spoken language, etymology, and quite possibly the first-ever kid-friendly program that teaches Latin word roots."* (source)
Tom Snyder's educational Noggin series was never completed and never aired on TV. However, through his partnership with the network, Noggin discovered a series of short animations that Snyder made for the website Shockwave. They were called *O'Grady High*, and the story was about high school teachers turning into pods. Noggin liked the webisodes and bought the idea for *O'Grady* a few years later, planning to turn it into a long-form show for their teen programming block, The N.

In development, Noggin thought that the show would need to introduce new weird ideas in each episode to hold viewers' attention, which led to the development of "the Weirdness." According to Holly Schlesinger in this interview, the character Harold was created by Noggin's creative team. She said, "Noggin also wanted to give the characters more back-story and added the character Harold, played by Patrice O'Neal."

## Summary

The show follows the lives of O'Grady's high school students as they deal with "the Weirdness." Its effects range from talking backwards to temporary rapid aging to animals being able to speak. On top of these strange phenomena, the teens of O'Grady also deal with typical high school drama in a funny way.

## Characters

The students of O'Grady High are:

* **Kevin Harnisch**, a slacker and aspiring rockstar who constantly finds ways to scam other students.
* **Abby Wilde**, a stubborn and determined student whose judgemental attitude often gets her in trouble.
* **Harold O. Jenkins**, a drummer, wannabe playboy, and Eets-A-Pizza employee, who somehow always gets roped into Kevin's schemes.
* **Beth Briggs**, an optimistic vegetarian and activist who works at the local health food store, the Magic Soybean.
* **Philip**, the smartest student at O'Grady High, who speaks in a British accent and often attempts to unravel the Weirdness or tattle on student mischief.
* **Iris**, a neurotic German exchange student with a chocolate obsession, who occasionally participates in Kevin's schemes.
* **Pete Klesko**, the most popular guy at school, and Abby's crush throughout the series.

The staff members of the school are:

* **Donald Lipschitz**, the seemingly permanent substitute teacher who talks in a slow, monotone voice - likely the only teacher remaining in the school
* **Dr. Myers**, the school principal who wears braces and tries desperately hard to fit in with the kids, all while underpaying and overworking Mr. Lipschitz

KevinAbbyHaroldBethPhilipIris
## Episodes

The show has two seasons and 19 episodes in total.

## Online

The show had its own page on Noggin's website for The N. The website released a series of exclusive webisodes based on the show.

## Gallery

Crossover commercialHoliday promo for *O'Grady* from December 20042005 promo