The first season hasn't even premiered yet, but Nickelodeon is betting big on RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. News just hit Rock Father™ HQ that the reimagined 2D-animated series just got the greenlight for a second season of 26 episodes. Having seen a preview alongside the new action figures and playsets from Playmates Toys (which are fantastic) at New York Toy Fair earlier this year, I don't think that Nick is out of line by doubling-down on this new telling of the TMNT legend. The action-comedy follows the band of brothers, Raph, Leo, Donnie and Mikey, as they discover new powers and encounter a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City. Season two will begin production this fall at Nickelodeon’s headquarters in Burbank, Calif.

After a five-year run, Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to a close at the end of 2017, but as that chapter finished, fans knew that there was an all-new series coming down the pipeline. At Toy Fair in NYC last month, I got a first-look at all the new toys on the way from Playmates, presented by a few of the folks involved with the new series. Now, the first trailer for Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is here, and fans are getting their first real look at this 2D re-imagining. It's a whole new look for the Turtles and their world, as their origin has a new spin. Check it out...

It seems like everything in entertainment is divisive these days. If you keep things the same, it's too much like what's come before it. Change things up and go in new directions, and you've ruined a franchise. At least, that's what certain very vocal fans tend to say. The TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES franchise to me is a lot like BATMAN (who they've actually teamed-up with before). Since 1984, it's seen constant reinvention with different looks and new takes on familiar characters that sometimes inhabit an unfamiliar form. Most of the time, it works. Now, after running nearly six years in a CGI incarnation on Nickelodeon (which ran parallel to a vastly different-looking live action film series), the TMNT crew is being reinvented once more for RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.

In 1984, the world was first introduced to two teams of heroes, both based out of New York City, and each comprised of four members with a distinct set of talents. Operating in two different dimensions (and under different rights holders), the odds of the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES working alongside the GHOSTBUSTERS seemed unlikely. Defying the odds, that's exactly what happened back in 2014, when IDW Publishing brought the whole crew together for an interdimensional adventure in comic book form, released as a 30th anniversary celebration for the two franchises. Now, in 2017, they've come back together for a comic book sequel, and for the first time ever... toys. From Playmates Toys comes NINJA GHOSTBUSTERS, a collection action figures that features the Turtles as their Ghostbusters counterparts! Sent to us for review, NINJA GHOSTBUSTERS land not only in my annual Halloween countdown, but also on the 2017 Holiday Wish Guide™!

As the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have evolved over the past few decades, they've had a habit of stepping into their own version of the "monster mash" on more than a few occasions. Mikey, Leo, Donnie and Raph have not only battled all manor of supernatural beast, but they've also become them at times. In a tale that finds a quartet of reptiles mutated into humanoid form, few things are off-limits as the story sometimes becomes multi-dimensional. Have they really become monsters, or are they simply wearing costumes? Depends on the time, but years ago Playmates Toys issued some crossover figures in which The Universal Monsters were mashed-up with the Turtles themselves. Now, that general spirit is back with TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MONSTERS + MUTANTS, a recent four-episode arc of the hit Nickelodeon series (now in its final season), and with that comes some fantastic new action figures from the folks at Playmates!

The world of the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES has evolved numerous times throughout the past few decades, and through countless adventures that have sometimes jumped dimensions, the Turtles have occasionally crossed paths with a Ronin rabbit called Miyamoto Usagi, perhaps better-known as Usagi Yojimbo. Created in the 1980s by Stan Sakai, the character has appeared alongside the TMNT crew in several different versions, particularly becoming a cult favorite based on the original 1987 animated series. Now, in Nickelodeon's TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, Usagi is back, and a recent three-part story arc found the Ninja Turtles transported to an alternate dimension in which they fight as samurai alongside the mysterious Ronin rabbit. Of course, being back on the radar for a new generation means the right time to be reintroduced to the toy line, and Playmates has stepped-up with a fantastic Samurai-themed collection of new TMNT action figures, a sampling of which arrived here at Rock Father™ HQ for review.