Taina (TV series)
Taina is an American sitcom created by Maria Perez-Brown. It ran on Nickelodeon from January 14, 2001 to May 11, 2002. Originally filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, it was the last sitcom to be filmed there before being moved to the Nickelodeon on Sunset in Hollywood for its second season. Despite high ratings, the series only lasted for two seasons before being cancelled in 2002. Premise. Taina Morales is a young Puerto Rican teenager who aspires to be a singer and actress. She and her best friend Renee Jones attend the Manhattan High School  of the Performing Arts, where they reunite with Lamar, whom they haven't seen since elementary school. The girls' nemesis Maritza Hogg, who knew them before high school, also attends the performing-arts school and hopes to be a singer/actress. Every episode features Taina daydreaming of eventual superstardom and occasionally performing a new song. Development and production. Production on the show began sometime around the summer of 2000. The pilot was partially shot at the Laguardia Performers School in 1999 and finished at Nickelodeon on Sunset. Season 2 was shot from December 2001 – January 6, 2002. The show premiered  on January 14, 2001 on Nickelodeon where ratings grew. New episodes would eventually move into the TEENick block at launch on March 4, 2001 starting with its eighth episode and lasted for two seasons. Taina was scheduled to air every Sunday at 6pm. The show was even put on Nickelodeon's SNICK lineup on Saturday nights from January to May 2002, where ratings more than doubled in its second season. Despite its popularity, (the show garnered Nickelodeon its highest ratings in 3 years) the show was cancelled that summer. CBC reran the show for a few months in 2003 . Cancellation. In July 2002, Nickelodeon quietly cancelled "Taina" after two seasons. There were reports that the show was only appealing to a female demographic, as well as the show starting to get too expensive to produce (according to Josh Cruze). However, according to Vidal in a later interview, the real reason why the show was cancelled was due to behind-the-scenes business decisions and the network clashing with Vidal's management team, which included her mother. Scripts for a third season and a made-for-television movie of the series were already written before Nickelodeon cancelled the show. Vidal  says Nickelodeon replaced the show with "Romeo!" Home releases. The series has seen no DVD releases in North America, however a single-release VHS/DVD was released by Maverick Entertainment in the United Kingdom in March 2004 named "Be Careful What You Wish For"', which features the first four aired episodes. The show is also currently not available to view or stream on Paramount+, where many of it’s Nickelodeon counterparts are streaming. However, the entire series is viewable on YouTube and is currently the only means of accessing the program. Soundtrack. "Taina: Original Television Soundtrack" is the official soundtrack  for the series. It was released on February 19, 2002 by Nick Records distributed through now-defunct Jive Records/Zomba Recording Corporation and MTV Networks. The album contains songs featured in the show's second season, such as "Feel Good" and "I'm In Love With Me" and none from the first season, with the exception of "Gonna Be A Star", the show's theme. The songs are performed by the show's stars Christina Vidal and LaTangela with additional songs performed by 3LW and Dream (previously featured on their respective albums "3LW" and "It Was All a Dream ), as members of both groups made appearances during the show's first season. Additionally, the soundtracks boasts writing and production from legendary R&B group and production team Full Force (known for working with show star Lisa Lisa) as well as Nate Butler, Lindy Robbins and Kevin Paige. Note: The album actually credits the artists as their characters with the exception of Dream and 3LW." Pop Culture. American rapper and singer, Shelley FKA DRAM's 2015 hit single "Cha Cha" made reference to Taina in the song's chorus where he sang: "I like to cha cha (yeah), I like to  cha cha (yeah), with a Dominican that resembles Taina".