Picture: Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon’s new live-action series Erin & Aaron (Season 1) will stream on Netflix US and other regions starting in Fall 2023.
Previously, Deadline had reported that the full first season would premiere on Netflix internationally in the fall. New information, from a source close to the production, now tells us the series will also stream domestically in the United States too.
What’s Nickelodeon’s Erin & Aaron About?
Erin & Aaron is an all-new musical series starring Ava Ro and Jensen Gering as the similarly named titular characters, Erin and Aaron. It tells the tale of a newly-blended family and two hesitant siblings who find common ground in their love for music.
The supporting cast includes their TV parents, David S. Jung and Larisa Oleynik, as Chuck and Sylvia. Larisa is making her grand return after a 25-year absence to Nickelodeon live-action television. She originally starred in the unforgettable 90s series, The Secret World of Alex Mack, where she played a young girl who gains weird powers due to a chemical spill. Rounding out the cast is Pyper Braun plays the youngest child, Natasha, while Luca Diaz and Celia Mendez play Hunter and Vivian, Erin and Aaron’s best friends.
Why is Erin & Aaron Coming to Netflix?
It appears the new Nickelodeon series has a similar deal to That Girl Lay Lay which permits it to stream on Netflix worldwide but without Netflix Original branding in the US.
Netflix has a long history of collaborating with Paramount on Nickelodeon shows and movies, including the original series Glitch Techs, the brilliant original film Rocko’s Modern Life Static Cling, and the upcoming SpongeBob Universe spin-off, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie.
As you may know, Netflix formed a multi-year output deal in 2019.
Erin & Aaron | Picture: Paramount / Nickelodeon
Netflix also pays Paramount Global an annual licensing fee to stream the series, which translates to more money for a company currently struggling with plunging stocks and ever-diminishing free cash flow. At a time when only Netflix and Hulu are profitable, it makes sense for Paramount to hang onto those additional revenue streams. The extra licensing revenue from Netflix incentivizes Paramount to renew this series for additional seasons, which fans will surely appreciate.
One of the biggest titles to come from this multi-year deal thus far is Nickelodeon’s That Girl Lay Lay which has performed quite well on Netflix’s Kids Top 10 list and is currently in the middle of a massive 39-episode second season, likely extended due to the success driven by its presence on Netflix. Erin & Aaron will hopefully benefit similarly.
Erin & Aaron | Picture: Paramount / Nickelodeon
Will Erin & Aaron Stream on Paramount+?
Erin & Aaron will stream on Netflix worldwide this fall. However, Nickelodeon is owned by Paramount Global. When will it stream on its own streaming service?
If this program follows the pattern of That Girl Lay Lay season 1, which started streaming on Paramount+ around the same time Season 2A premiered on Netflix in February 2023, there is a 1-year exclusivity window for each season. We can only provide an educated guess, but we’d expect Paramount+ US to gain access to the first season of Erin & Aaron in the Fall of 2024.
Oddly enough, Paramount+ faces the industry’s longest television window for new episodes that air on their cable networks, such as MTV, VH1, CMT, and Nickelodeon. It takes 1.5-2 years for new episodes to stream on Paramount+. In the meantime, they are exclusively available on-demand or via DVR. Erin & Aaron‘s expected streaming date on Paramount+ will likely be accelerated by six months to 1 year, similar to That Girl Lay Lay‘s availability.
It remains unknown why That Girl Lay Lay and Erin & Aaron’s contracts with Netflix allow them to bypass the 2-year delay.
We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more concrete information. While you await the series’ arrival on Netflix, keep an eye on our handy resource that tracks the availability and removals of all Nickelodeon titles on Netflix.