Paramount Plus and Jojo Siwa, the pop and social media starlet, are teaming up for a live-action musical movie called The J Team, which will premiere exclusively on the streaming service on Sept. 3.
Jojo Siwa gained notoriety when she appeared on the TV show Dance Moms. She subsequently went into the music business, and has become most known for her singles “Boomerang” and “Kid in a Candy Store.” She has long been with Nickelodeon (owned by ViacomCBS) and appeared on other TV series, but The J Team will mark her first leading role in a feature film; she is also serving as an executive producer.
The J Team follows a fictionalized version of Jojo, whose life is turned upside down when her dance coach Val decides to retire and is replaced by a strict new instructor named Poppy. Jojo and her friends try to toe the line as they work toward competing in a big dance competition, but when Jojo is ultimately kicked out of the dance troupe for being unable to hide her sparkle, she must rediscover what dancing really means to her.
Siwa is joined in the cast by Tisha Campbell-Martin, Laura Soltis, Julia Marley, Kerrynton Jones and Kiara T. Romero. Michael Lembeck is directing the film.
A quick teaser trailer was also shared, which you can watch below. An original soundtrack for The J Team will be released on Aug. 27.
Being a child of the ‘90s and early 2000s, I remember watching Disney Channel and Nickelodeon original movies (such as classics like Johnny Tsunami and Brink). It feels like The J Team is trying to have that kind of vibe for the kids of the streaming age.
Paramount Plus has developed a number of kid-centric originals as part of its streaming lineup. This has included The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and the new SpongeBob series Kamp Koral, as well as a nostalgia play with the rebooted I, Carly series on Paramount Plus.
ViacomCBS has set the Paramount Plus price at $4.99 for an ad-supported version of the streaming service and at $9.99 for its premium, ad-free version.
