OMG! Nickelodeon's hit show Sam and Cat has yet to be renewed for a second season -- unusual for a hit show, and, industry insiders suggest, a sign that there is tension behind the scenes. Sam and Cat was a huge success for the network, pulling in more than 4 million viewers on average.
The show stars actress Jennette McCurdy as Sam and Boca Raton-bred Ariana Grande as Cat -- two young women who run a babysitting service together. Some entertainment writers have suggested the network wasn't so pleased with sexy pictures of McCurdy that leaked earlier this year. But others say there's a showdown over salary. Grande -- who is also a fast-rising singer -- has a whopping 14.3 million followers on Twitter and reportedly gets paid more. McCurdy has a respectable 5.1 million Twitter followers and sings country-pop.
McCurdy reportedly boycotted the Kids' Choice Awards because she was upset with the network. Sam and Cat won Favorite TV Show at the awards, making the network's noncommittal stance on a second season announcement even more odd. Could the network really pull the kids' favorite show after one season?
A Nickelodeon rep told us "there is no connection" between the photos of McCurdy leaking and the show's break; she blamed it on a long production cycle and the crew needing a break.
Grande, a graduate of Coconut Creek's North Broward Preparatory School, is rumored to earn a considerable amount more than McCurdy.
Earlier in the week McCurdy hinted on Twitter that she wasn't too happy with Nickelodeon:
"A lot of you guys are asking why I didn't attend the KCAs... I wish I could explain everything as thoroughly as I would like to, but unfortunately a simpler explanation is all I can write. I was put in an uncomfortable, compromising, unfair situation (many of you have guessed what it is) and I had to look out for me.
I chose to not go because sticking up for what is right and what is fair is what my mom taught me is ALWAYS the most important thing. I want to thank those of you who have reached out with kind words of support, McCurdians and Arianators alike. No matter who or what you support, I believe in supporting fairness first. If you have done that, thank you."
Grande had her own controversy this week, albeit a manufactured one. Pictures allegedly showing a topless Grande surfaced on social media this week, but the photos turned out to be an April Fool's prank.
Grande took home the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Best TV Comedy Actress.
She did not say anything about McCurdy or the show's future on Twitter.
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