Yo Gabba Gabba! - History

History

Unlike most children’s shows, Yo Gabba Gabba was not developed by network executives. Instead the show was developed by two Southern California fathers with no previous experience writing for television let alone children’s broadcasting or education. They simply shared a mutual disappointment in kids' television. They both wanted to design a kids' show that was entertaining while featuring real artists and real performers. The pair first started working together as teenagers, producing and directing skateboarding videos. After doing some odd jobs here and there, Jacobs (also known as the MCBC of The Aquabats) and Schultz decided to try something different.

In 1999, after becoming parents themselves, the pair started playing around with ideas for children's television. They later produced a pilot independently financed by small loans from friends and family. Even after producing the pilots, Yo Gabba Gabba did not get much attention until it started circulating on the Internet. It happened to get viewed by Jared Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, who then phoned Brown Johnson, the executive vice president and executive creative director of Nickelodeon Preschool and told her to check it out. Yo Gabba Gabba finally found its home on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2007.