Hell Yes, Kel Mitchell Is Returning to Nickelodeon

“Is it true?” you might ask, echoing the hallowed words of our sweet knight. Oh, it is so true. Champion of goodburgers and orange soda Kel Mitchell will return to Nickelodeon to appear in a new show, Game Shakers.

Just look at how excited he is. We’re excited too, Kel! We’re the ones who are #blessed. I’d love to celebrate with you over five of those donuts, though I’m not sure why they’re there.

But Nickelodeon has always been a youth-oriented network, and Kel’s role on Game Shakers will, alas, mark his—our—departure from the halcyon days of childhood. Such is the cruel and swift passage of time.

From the A.V. Club:

“Mitchell will play the token grown-up in the sitcom, which premieres this September and follows two 7th grade girls, Babe and Kenzie, who, after they invent what Entertainment Weekly calls a ‘wildly successful mobile music app,’ start a gaming company in Brooklyn. Mitchell will play Double G, a rapper who goes after the kids for using one of his songs without permission and ultimately forces his way into becoming a partner in the company.”

It’s cool nonetheless to know that Game Shakers will focus on sharp, enterprising preteen girls. And Mitchell promises “great physical comedy” on his part, so I am unabashedly stoked. (Growing up, I wasn’t allowed much time in front of the television, and I probably spent 75 percent of my precious minutes with Kel Mitchell, with The Secret World of Alex Mack receiving the other 25 percent. I also once dragged my entire family to Goodburger, an incident I hope they have forgotten, as I was the only one who enjoyed it.)

So on that note, let’s wrap up with a little vintage Kel, a scene I love and whose subject—Kel’s love for orange soda—I can’t revisit without some discomfort. But the unselfconscious effervescence? The utter dweebiness? Man, I love that. Welcome back, Kel.