Deleted Scenes From Nickelodeon Shows The Network Couldn't Show Us

For many, Nickelodeon's programming was the television of their childhood. The network's original programming dates back to the early 1990s, with cartoons like "Doug" and "Rugrats" airing alongside live-action shows like "Hey Dude" and "Kenan and Kel." Over the next few decades, the Nickelodeon brand has grown into one of the biggest children's media empires in the entire entertainment industry. Some of their most influential programs have included "SpongeBob SquarePants," "All That," and "iCarly," some of which are still airing to this day. 

While many of those who grew up in various eras of Nickelodeon cartoons may never forget some episodes and moments they've seen, the company itself feels otherwise. Over the years, several programs have been subject to scrutiny by network executives, resulting in scenes being cut before or after airing. Whether it was for time constraints or content policing, many moments from these Nickelodeon shows have been kept hidden from the network's general audience. 

Naturally, some of these deleted scenes and cut moments have made their way onto the Internet, either by hardcore fans recovering ancient footage or the original cuts still being available on DVD releases. Other moments are lost to time, while some have even been shared by Nickelodeon themselves via their online presence. These 14 scenes from Nickelodeon's history span the cutting room floor of their biggest live-action series and animated shows, and at times they offer insight into how the network has changed over time.

"Ren & Stimpy" was one of Nickelodeon's earliest series, premiering in 1991 on the same day as "Doug" and "Rugrats." Created by John Kricfalusi, it was quite a divisive show, mostly for utilizing dark comedy and adult innuendos. Most episodes follow the misadventures of the titular duo, but one of the many recurring characters in the series is Haggis McHaggis, a Scotsman whose actions towards others are not unlike Mr. Krabs from "SpongeBob SquarePants." 

Season 4, Episode 9 ("A Hard Day's Luck") centers solely on Haggis, with neither Ren nor Stimpy making an appearance, as it follows a leprechaun willing to grant Haggis one wish if he accomplishes tasks that display values like courage or kindness. In one cut scene recovered from DVR recordings, the leprechaun puts Haggis through a test of generosity, where Haggis is asked to give money to a dying clam. The image of the clam's tongue drying up makes it easy to understand why it was removed from DVD releases. 

It was far from the only moment to be cut from "Ren & Stimpy" in its entire run. According to Kricfalusi, Nickelodeon's official DVD releases of the show removed his creative oversight, telling IGN, "If every show is not completely intact it's because long ago Nick misplaced or lost the originals." Another example comes in Season 2, Episode 2 ("Ren's Toothache"), where Stimpy oddly brushes his teeth and spits them into a jar, keeping them as keepsakes.

As one of Nickelodeon's most popular and longest-running animated series, "SpongeBob SquarePants" took many cues from predecessors like "Ren & Stimpy" and "Rocko's Modern Life," especially the use of dark humor. Nevertheless, some of these darker moments weren't immune to criticism from not just audiences, but even from higher-ups at Nickelodeon who protest some of the episodes' content. This was especially prevalent in the early seasons of the show, such as the Season 3 episode, "Just One Bite." 

In the episode, SpongeBob encourages Squidward to try a Krabby Patty for the first time, which Squidward ends up loving, albeit not wanting SpongeBob to know. In need of more burgers, Squidward sneaks into the Krusty Krab in the middle of the night. During a deleted sequence, Squidward enters the Krusty Krab, confronting their security system: a bucket of gasoline and a robotic arm dropping a match, causing an explosion. It happens again when Squidward enters the kitchen on his way to the Patty Vault.

The gasoline-and-match content from the episode has since been edited out of future airings of the episode. Some TV fans speculated this was due to the episode airing shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, although this has been disproven. Vincent Waller, longtime "SpongeBob SquarePants" writer and showrunner, alleged on Twitter that the edit came from Nickelodeon's Standards and Practices, who disapproved of a scene in a kid's show involving such a dangerous activity.

As "Just One Bite" indicates, "SpongeBob SquarePants" would not shy away from darker situations for its characters, which ended up the bane of several moments from the Season 2 episode, "Procrastination." The episode follows SpongeBob being assigned to write an 800-word essay about what not to do at a stop light for boating school. The only problem is, SpongeBob gets hit with writer's block, and finds himself struggling to write more than one word: "The..."

One series of sequences in the episode were removed from airings by Nickelodeon in the mid-2000s, though they were later put back into the episodes in network airings from 2019 onwards. The first sees SpongeBob staring out the window at the fun he could be having outside instead of writing the essay, including Patrick applying suntan lotion on Sandy and inviting SpongeBob to join them, which appears quite promiscuous. Another scene involves SpongeBob picturing a real-life race car crash as he dreams about getting his boating license. 

The final of the three sequences also sees SpongeBob doing calisthenics to loosen up for the essay, involving a movement of his nose that some Nickelodeon executives may have viewed as inappropriate. Nevertheless, the scenes are all viewable in the episodes wherever they're available to see today, and have even been re-uploaded by fans of the series on YouTube. It's surprising these scenes were cut, given there's also a disturbing nightmare sequence in the episode that wasn't cut. 

"The Fairly OddParents" was another animated series from Nickelodeon's golden age, centering on grade-schooler, Timmy Turner, who is given two fairy godparents that can grant his every wish. It was created by Butch Hartman, who devised the premise within 15 minutes so that he could do a show that incorporates magic, allowing him the freedom to do whatever he wanted with the characters (via The New York Times). This was the initial impetus behind "Channel Chasers," a "The Fairly OddParents" TV movie.

Premiering on the network in 2004, the hour-long episode finds Timmy wishing for a magic TV remote so he can retreat into the world of television and away from his parents. The episode is filled with references to other television shows like "The Simpsons," "Sesame Street," and "Dragonball Z." However, one extended musical sequence, containing many references to some shows that Hartman grew up on, was cut from the episode.

Hartman later released the fully-animated sequence on his YouTube channel, featuring Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda singing "If I Lived In TV," about how Timmy wants to escape his reality and explore the various TV shows he loves the most. The music video also contains loads of references to shows like "Saturday Night Live," "Happy Days," and "American Idol." The two-minute sequence was also included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the episode which was also released in 2004. 

Dan Schneider has an infamous presence in Nickelodeon's history, as the creator behind some of their biggest live-action hits, as well as the well-documented allegations of abuse toward actors and crew members throughout his time working for the network. Nevertheless, among Schneider's biggest hits in the 2000s was "Zoey 101," a single-camera comedy starring Jamie Lynn Spears as the titular Zoey, who attends a boarding school in southern California. 

The show also featured a cameo from another controversial figure in Nickelodeon history: Drake Bell. Bell was a frequent star of Nickelodeon programs like "The Amanda Show" and "Drake & Josh," while also cameoing a Season 1 episode ("Spring Fling") as himself. The episode centers on Zoey and her friends trying to raise money to convince Bell to perform at their school's annual Spring Fling event, eventually convincing him to do the show by offering him a T-shirt design.

One moment that was left on the cutting room floor centered on Zoey's brother Dustin, played by Paul Butcher. During Bell's performance at the end of the episode, Dustin joins the Nickelodeon star on-stage to sing with him, but sadly the show's creators didn't end up using that take. Nevertheless, it likely made for a fun moment on the show's set, giving Dustin a rare moment to shine, though Butcher continues to flex his singing skills with a music career like many Nickelodeon stars before him. 

Although Drake Bell and Josh Peck were the stars of "Drake & Josh," another one of Dan Schneider's popular Nickelodeon sitcoms, many of the show's funniest moments came from the two single parents who united them as step-brothers. Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein co-starred in "Drake & Josh" as Drake's mom and Josh's father, respectively. While audiences knew Josh's father as Walter, the adorably clumsy weatherman, Sullivan's character remained nameless and without a specified occupation for the entirety of the show's run from 2004 to 2007. 

That is, until the series finale, "Really Big Shrimp," which aired in 2007. The episode takes place at the wedding of Helen, played by Yvette Nicole Brown, which the joint Nichols-Parker family attends. At one point, Schneider had written a line where someone casually approaches Sullivan's character, addressing her as "Audrey" and asking about her catering business, though he eventually opted against including it in the episode to maintain the mystery of the character that fans seemed to enjoy.

However, Nickelodeon eventually officially confirmed that it was Audrey through their website. Given the character's importance to the series as a whole, in hindsight, it seems like quite the oversight to exclude it from the entire show for the sake of a bit, especially when her significant other's name is often used. 

While Miranda Cosgrove began "iCarly" already a Nickelodeon star thanks to her role as Megan in "Drake & Josh," the series also introduced audiences to two new faces: Nathan Kress and Jennette McCurdy. Kress played Freddie, Carly's next-door neighbor who pines for her affection, resulting in him agreeing to help her and Sam (McCurdy) produce a web series together. Although Freddie eventually has an unlikely romantic storyline with Sam, he spends most of the show crushing over Carly.

In fact, this character detail led to Kress being nixed from a "Drake & Josh" episode in its fourth season. The episode, "Battle of Panthatar," takes place at a classmate's sweet 16 party, which Drake and Josh attempt to infiltrate. Another attendee of the party is played by Kress, who, similarly to Freddie, unsuccessfully tries to flirt with Megan. However, by the time the episode was set to air, Kress had been cast in "iCarly," resulting in his scenes being cut, albeit Kress can be spotted in the background of some scenes. 

Kress would later cite his appearance, or rather lack of, in "Drake & Josh" as a turning point in his career, telling Scholastic that thanks to his performance, the "iCarly" creator "realized [he] fit the part to play Freddie." It's quite fortuitous for Kress, who continues to play Freddie in the Paramount+ "iCarly" reboot which carries on his will-they-won't-they with Carly.

"Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" was one of the most critically-acclaimed live-action Nickelodeon shows of its era, centering on the middle school life of the titular Ned Bigby, who breaks the fourth wall and instructs viewers on various struggles of the teenage years. Although it ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2007, it remains all the more relevant nowadays thanks to the show's three stars — Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw, and Daniel Curtis Lee — who reunited for a podcast titled "Ned's Declassified Podcast Survival Guide," in 2023. 

One of the more memorable side characters from the show is Coconut Head, a fellow classmate of Ned, Moze, and Cookie who sports a coconut-esque bowl cut. The character often serves as comic relief throughout the series, being targeted by bullies and practical jokes on numerous occasions. Despite the character's popularity, Coconut Head's real name was never confirmed, and unlike the mom in "Drake & Josh," it wasn't even planned to be the big reveal for the character in the series finale.

In an interview with MTV, the actor underneath Coconut Head's hair, Rob Pinkston, recounted an idea that at the very end of the show — Coconut Head would return to school with a different haircut, suddenly becoming the coolest kid there. However, Pinkston is "kind of glad they didn't go that way," given that it preserved the character's lovable goofiness forever. 

"iCarly" first premiered in 2007, quickly becoming one of Nickelodeon's most popular sitcoms, especially among teenage audiences. The series' first episode, "iPilot," sets up the core premise: best friends Carly and Sam gain popularity at their school for a viral video of them making fun of their teacher. Spurred on by their potential as a comedic duo, Carly and Sam recruit Carly's next-door neighbor, Freddie, to help them produce a web series, which continues to grow and expand as the show continues. 

The duo's first webcast, which takes place towards the end of the episode, is the culmination of their rebellious attitudes and sense of humor. In one moment, Carly and Sam encourage viewers to send them hilarious clips for the chance to appear on their show and threaten that those who don't will get their homes teepeed (which refers to the practical joke of covering someone's home or trees with toilet paper). Despite its showcase of Carly and Sam's senses of humor, this moment was axed from future airings of the show.

One might assume the scene was cut so as to not encourage viewers to teepee other people in real life, but that's not the case. In the "iCarly" Season 1 boxset, there's an extended cut of the pilot that's 27 minutes long, before it was cut down to 22 minutes for television. The extended cut also includes many other deleted jokes from the episode. 

"Victorious" was another Dan Schneider-led addition to the Nickelodeon sitcom canon, premiering in 2010 and running for a total of four seasons. The series stars Victoria Justice as Tori, who fills in for her sister, Trina (Daniella Monet), at the last minute during an audition to attend Hollywood Arts, a prestigious performing arts school in California. This sibling rivalry becomes one of the series' major conflicts, as well as Tori's various relationships and friendships among her fellow classmates at Hollywood Arts.

One deleted scene from the series pilot was meant to examine Tori and Trina's opposition to each other, according to Matt Bennett (via Seventeen), who played the fan-favorite character, Robbie. The version of the pilot that aired saw Tori working on a science experiment with her classmate when Trina interrupts like a whirlwind, informing her about her need to rehearse for the Hollywood Arts audition. However, the original cold open would've taken a look at the characters' past lives.

Apparently, the original scene would've been a flashback, finding Tori and Trina as children, getting into a fight over singing a song from "Annie" in front of their parents. Although Bennett asserts it was shot, the scene got cut and has never seen the light of day. It's quite a shame, considering it would've made for a much better set-up of the series-long conflict between Tori and Trina's dreams of being performers. 

"The Loud House" is a relatively recent hit for Nickelodeon, originally debuting in 2016 and continuing to this day. The show follows the 11 children of the Loud family, with middle child Lincoln serving as the protagonist amongst his ten rambunctious sisters. "The Loud House" hasn't been removed from controversy, particularly revolving around accusations of creator Chris Savino's inappropriate workplace behavior, resulting in his firing by Nickelodeon in 2017. 

Nevertheless, "The Loud House" has continued on stronger than ever, although the first season contains moments that didn't make the final episodes. One of those moments happens in the Season 1 episode, "April Fools Rules," which finds Lincoln attempting to outsmart his little sister Luan from her April Fool's Day pranks. Some of Luan's pranks include shaving their pets' hair and covering the floor in grease, but one truly devious act had to be cut for time.

As depicted by unused storyboards for the sequence, Lincoln wakes up in the morning to find his bedroom covered in cups of water, forcing him to drink his way out. However, when he gets to the hallway, he finds even more cups of water covering the area. By the time he drinks all the water to get to the bathroom, Lincoln, unfortunately, learns that Luan has unscrewed the doorknob, leaving him unable to relieve himself. It's probably for the best it got cut, as it's too good of an idea for viewers to not re-use.

Many other storyboarded sequences from "The Loud House" sadly haven't seen the light of day, but for reasons that aren't just the episode's running time. One of the most infamous of those moments occurs in the Season 2 episode, "Lynn-er Takes All." The episode centers on Lincoln's sister Lynn, whose over-the-top competitiveness and sore-winner attitude with the other siblings have begun to dampen family game night, forcing her siblings to devise a strategy for how to beat her. 

In one sequence in the episode, Lynn starts to go overboard with this aspect of her personality, trying to outdo every other sibling in mundane activities like drinking milk and doing dishes. One moment sees her proving she can brush her teeth faster than her little sister Lola, only for one of her teeth to fall out as a result. However, in the episode's original storyboard, this moment was a lot more disturbing.

Notably, rather than her tooth falling out, the consequence of Lynn aggressively brushing her teeth was going to be excessive gum bleeding. It's not surprising that the moment didn't make the final cut, given that "The Loud House" is a kids' show, and Nickelodeon likely wants to avoid showing a character bleeding in any capacity. Still, some fans of the series lamented what would've been a morbidly funny moment from the series, despite the potential it had to upset younger audiences. 

Following the end of both "Victorious" and "iCarly," Dan Schneider united two of both series' fan-favorite characters for a brand-new show: "Sam & Cat." The spin-off starring Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande only ran for one season from 2013 to 2014, with its behind-the-scenes drama being a well-documented series of conflicts between McCurdy's treatment by Schneider and the network, as well as Grande's burgeoning pop star status. 

With these behind-the-scenes troubles plaguing the set of "Sam & Cat," it's no surprise the series' episodes were subject to a lot of edits, which Schneider often detailed on his blog "Fun Facts!." One edition of Schneider's blog detailed the episode, "#TheKillerTunaJump," a one-hour special reuniting Sam and Cat with characters from both "iCarly" and "Victorious," particularly Freddie, Jade, and Robbie. According to Schneider's blog, "the special was long, and some cuts (edits) had to be made to get the show to proper time," which included a moment where Robbie called Freddie "yoked." 

Another moment from the episode that got cut saw Sam grabbing a turkey leg from the fridge before leaving, though in the long run, these time constraints probably didn't hurt the overall episode as much as the behind-the-scenes controversy. At the very least, McCurdy got to tell her side of the story in her 2022 memoir, "I'm Glad My Mom Died," which has definitely painted the show in a different light even for fans. 

Nickelodeon's live-action sitcom roster has remained strong, although the network has traded the high school drama for several series following teenage superheroes. The first of them was "The Thundermans" in 2013, following a family of superheroes centering on the conflict between Phoebe and her little brother, Max, who have different ideas of using their powers for good or evil. In 2014, the Schneider-run "Henry Danger" premiered on the network, following a 13-year-old boy who is hired as the sidekick to the heroic Captain Man. 

Naturally, since the network had two superhero shows running simultaneously, they took advantage of the opportunity to have the characters cross paths. In 2016, "Danger & Thunder" premiered as a one-hour episode of "Henry Danger," which features guest appearances from Kira Kosarin and Jack Griffo, who play Phoebe and Max on "The Thundermans." The special finds Phoebe and Henry teaming up to stop a meeting of supervillains, including Max. 

This time around, Nickelodeon has been more open about the content that got cut from the episode, mainly due to their ability to showcase cutting room floor material with their Internet presence. A series of deleted scenes from the special was uploaded to Nickelodeon's YouTube channel, including one moment where Captain Man boldly assumes that Phoebe's father is dead, but when she tries to correct him by informing him her father is alive, Captain Man hilariously replies, "Right, he'll always live on in here," pointing to his heart.