Nickelodeon okays 3rd season of "T.U.F.F. Puppy"

Nickelodeon has picked up a third season of T.U.F.F. Puppy, the newest animated series from Nicktoon hitmaker Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents), Brown Johnson, president of animation for Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group, announced Friday.

The network is adding 20 episodes to the series, bringing the total number to 60. T.U.F.F. Puppy, starring iCarly's Jerry Trainor as Dudley, currently ranks as the number-two animated program with kids 2 to 11, only behind SpongeBob SquarePants.

"Currently, our second highest-rated animated series, T.U.F.F. Puppy, has been a huge success on Saturday mornings right out of the gate, which is no surprise coming from the incredibly talented Butch Hartman, the only creator at Nick with three shows under his belt -- The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and now T.U.F.F. Puppy," said Johnson. "The show is laugh-out-loud funny in no small part due to iCarly's Jerry Trainor, who brings his incredible comedic sensibility to the role."

"I am truly thrilled to be able to make a brand-new litter of T.U.F.F. Puppy episodes," said Hartman. "I love working on the show, and I'm looking forward to expanding the world of Dudley Puppy with more villains, more gadgets, and even some surprises from Dudley and Kitty's past."

A hit since its October premiere, T.U.F.F. Puppy ranks as the number-two animated program on television with kids 2 to 11 (behind only SpongeBob SquarePants) so far this year. The series currently averages 3.6 million total viewers.

T.U.F.F. Puppy will be launching internationally on Nickelodeon Australia later this month, with all other international channels premiering the series in August.

T.U.F.F. Puppy follows Dudley Puppy (voiced by Trainor), a gung-ho, dim-witted dog who finds himself accidentally thrust into the role of secret agent when he's recruited by the super-secret crime-fighting organization T.U.F.F. (Turbo Undercover Fighting Force). He partners with Kitty Katswell, a feline superspy who is an amazing kung-fu and weapons expert. Naturally, they don't get along, but together, they protect their hometown of Petropolis and the rest of the world against the evil animal organization D.O.O.M. (Diabolical Order of Mayhem).

In addition to Trainor as Dudley, the T.U.F.F. Puppy cast features Grey DeLisle (The Fairly OddParents) as Kitty Katswell, Jeff Bennett (The Penguins Of Madagascar) as Keswick, Daran Norris (The Fairly OddParents) as Chief, and Matthew Taylor (Open Season) as Snaptrap.

Hartman began his animation career as an assistant animator on An American Tail. He directed cartoons and created his own shorts for What a Cartoon!, and also wrote and directed episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, Cow & Chicken and Johnny Bravo.

Hartman joined Nickelodeon in 1998, where he created and produced several cartoon shorts for the Oh Yeah! Cartoons series, including the Emmy Award-winning The Fairly OddParents, which is celebrating its 10th snniversary this year with a the live-action/CG animated A Fairly Odd Movie, Grow Up Timmy Turner! that premiered July 9. Hartman also created Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom, and is the only creator in Nickelodeon's history who has had three hit animated shows on the network.