The Greatest Nickelodeon TV Show Ever:

Nickelodeon is one of the most well known American television channels of all time, and for good reason. It is home to several popular kids shows still referenced and relevant today, such as Henry Danger, Spongebob, iCarly, and Victorious. Despite this channel’s numerous successes, there’s one sublime show that has consistently flown under the radar in the eyes of today’s youth: The Thundermans. This show is a masterpiece, and with a movie adaptation on the way, there is no better time to reintroduce audiences to the wonderful world of The Thundermans and explain what makes this show so special.

The Thundermans, created by Jed Springarn, is a superhero comedy series that ran for four seasons from 2013 to 2018 on Nickelodeon. This show takes place after superheroes Thunderman and Electress retire and relocate their family from the superpowered city of Metroburg to the boring suburban town of Hiddenville. It focuses on the oldest children, twins Maximus Octavius Thunderman and Phoebe Monica Rachel Thunderman, which are their real full names. They are forced to navigate high school and life in suburbia while keeping their and their family members’ true identities as superheroes under wraps. This plot already sounds pretty exciting, with plenty room for wacky hijinks and hilarious misunderstandings to ensue. It combines the action of superhero adventures that have been popular in our society for decades with the humor and charm of a classic coming of age Nickelodeon sitcom. But there’s a twist that elevates this story from good to great. Although these twins are similar in appearance and have the same superpowers (telekinesis, heat breath, and freeze breath), they have polar opposite personalities. Phoebe is a straight-A student and teacher’s pet training to become a superhero just like her parents. Her brother Max is a genius inventor, slacker, and prankster, secretly training with the world’s most dangerous supervillain, Dark Mayhem, to become a supervillain. 

Despite Max’s allegiance with Dark Mayhem being a surprise, Max’s affinity for evil is in no way secret. His entire family knows about his idolization of supervillains and his hobby of creating evil gadgets but they all wave it away as “just a phase,” leaving Max desperate to prove he really is evil. Throughout the first three seasons of the show, he commits villainous acts ranging from trying to start an elephant stampede to attempting to poison Hiddenville’s water supply. This constantly puts him at odds with Phoebe, a superhero in the making and the sworn protector of Hiddenville. The relationship and conflict between the twins is a driving force throughout the entirety of the show. The development of their relationship is tied directly to the rich and compelling character growth of both characters throughout the show. Over the course of the show, Phoebe learns to balance the normalcy and the extraordinariness of her life without sacrificing either, while Max learns to let go of his pointless sibling rivalry and embrace the good within himself. Together, they each learn the importance of the bond they share with each other as twins, and the bonds they share with the rest of their family. Viewers get to watch as the sibling dynamic between Max and Phoebe grows over the course of the series from blatantly antagonistic, to begrudgingly collaborative, and finally, to caring and supportive. 

The main characters aren’t the only ones who develop over the course of the series. Another strength of The Thundermans is the strength of its side characters. A sitcom requires an entertaining ensemble cast to be good, and lucky for its viewers, this show delivers on that spectacularly. Aside from Max and Phoebe, the Thunderman family includes younger brother Billy, a sweet and enthusiastic yet gullible goofball with super speed; younger sister Nora, a tough and spunky powerhouse with heat vision; baby sister Chloe, a precocious and sassy sweetheart with teleportation; and overzealous parents Hank and Barb, with flight/super strength and electrokinesis respectively. In standard episodes, these characters engage in light-hearted shenanigans to create fun and entertaining B plots that add to the enjoyment of the entire show. Besides them, there’s one other character of the main cast that stands out in not only characterization but also character design and comedic effect. His name is Dr. Colosso, and he is a bunny. Before he became a bunny, he was a supervillain and Thunderman’s arch nemesis. After Thunderman turns Dr. Colosso into a bunny with the Animalizer, a weapon of his own design, Dr. Colosso becomes Max’s pet, evil mentor, and best friend! He is essential to Max’s character development by acting both as a bad influence leading Max down a path of villainy and a good influence encouraging Max and helping him with his inventions and pranks. Dr. Colosso is also very sarcastic and mischievous, making him one of the funniest characters in the show. He’s a wicked bunny with a sense of humor, what’s not to like?

Deep characterization aside, what really sets this show apart is its humor. The relatability of the characters mixed with the absurdity of the situations they are placed in really allows the comedic value of The Thundermans to shine through. With several clever references to superheroes, sitcoms, and pop culture in the form of the episode titles—and in some cases, characters names—being parodies of movies or tv shows, jokes, the humor in this show manages to feel natural and topical without feeling dated. The Thundermans also utilizes several common Nickelodeon sitcom tropes. One example is the quirky blonde best friend archetype, filled by hilariously airheaded Cherry Seinfeld whose name is a very subtle reference to comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Another example is the use of hilarious catchphrases by several characters, the most notable being Hank Thunderman’s “Thunderman Away!” everytime he uses his power to fly, a reference to Superman’s “Up, Up, and Away!”, and Chloe Thunderman’s pattern of ending every sentence with the word “baby!” The Thundermans’ style of humor was very weird and absurdist, which was a style of humor very popular during this era of kids tv, especially on Nickelodeon. Even the incessant laugh track, terribly outdated special effects, and cheap costumes only made possible by a live action Nickelodeon show budget don’t subtract from the humor. If anything, the corny touches, reminiscent of classic superhero shows, such as the 1950s Adventures of Superman and the 1960s Batman, add to it. 

All these details, along with the upbeat and super catchy theme song that plays at the beginning of every episode, create a perfectly unique tone for a creative show that seamlessly blends superhero action, wacky humor, and family. Combining stellar acting and writing, this show truly stands out as one of, if not the best, Nickelodeon shows of all time. The Thundermans is a fantastic show—soon to be a fantastic movie (The Thundermans Return)—and since it’s rated G, it’s fun for the whole family! It is available for streaming on Peacock, which is also where the movie will be premiering in March 2024. So if you want to be prepared for what is sure to be one of the greatest movie-watching experiences of your life, watch the show The Thundermans.