The year was 2004, and children's TV was getting bigger and bigger. Sesame Street turned 35, Barney moved from school/treehouse to park, and shows like Blue's Clues and Teletubbies hit it big.
That same year, Scott Schultz (Majestic) and Christian Jacobs (The Aquabats) had kids - Schultz had Oliver, Maxon, Harper, and Davy, while Jacobs had Penelope and Oskar. Both Schultz and Jacobs' kids watched TV, a few of which included big Purple Dinosaurs, big Yellow Birds, and furry Red Monsters. But there was a problem - no shows featuring musical guest artists!!!
In 2005, with inspiration from Sid and Marty Krofft and Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Schultz and Jacobs filmed a pilot episode in Schultz's garage for Yo Gabba Gabba!. They sold tapes of the pilot in 2006.
The pilot was to feature Biz Markie performing simple beatboxes, and Lance Robertson hosting the show. But little did Jacobs and Schultz know, no one picked it up! That was until Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) saw the pilot and recommended it to Nickelodeon's Brown Johnson. Johnson told Jacobs and Schultz that she liked the pilot due to its trippiness, and decided to pick up 20 full episodes for the series, which would premiere in 2007 on Nickelodeon and Noggin. The series was developed by Kay Wilson Stallings.
The first episode aired on August 20th, 2007, guest starring Elijah Wood, as well as Mark Mothersbaugh, who drew pictures which would become a segment on the show.
All 20 episodes of Season 1 were a success, that Simon Schuster was thinking of publishing tie-in books, Target and Toys R Us were thinking of selling toys for the show, and there were plans for a music CD (Music is Awesome! Volume 1) and a live tour. Yo Gabba Gabba! was gaining bigger with 1 season and lots of great reviews.
