January 04, 2008

Jamie Lynn Spears' Zoey 101 Show Staying On The Air, Program Spokesman Says

By Jennifer Vineyard (MTV.com)

She's already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could Jamie Lynn Spears get into? Nothing involving her show Zoey 101, according to Nickelodeon, which set the record straight Thursday (January 3) regarding rumors the network was yanking the show in light of Spears' much-publicized situation.

"No truth to that rumor," the show's spokesman Dan Martinsen told MTV News. "We have not made any change to our schedule."

The fourth and final season of the show, which has already completed production, is set to begin airing in February. On Friday, the network will air a Zoey 101 TV movie, Goodbye Zoey?, that explores whether Spears' character will move to London with her parents or remain at boarding school with her friends.

In an interview with The Associated Press that appeared just before her pregnancy announcement last month in OK! Magazine, Spears hinted that the show could be continued without her - although she might have made those comments to hype the cliffhanger aspect of the episode. "I don't know, I don't know," she teased at the time. "Something definitely happens. But I guess you'll just have to wait and see what comes of it all."

The network had been considering addressing the Spears pregnancy via one of its Nick News children's specials, hosted by Linda Ellerbee. The special would be focusing on sex and love, but Martinsen said, "There is no Nick News special scheduled at this time."

Ellerbee told AP, "Right now what Nick is trying to do - and what I am trying to do - is figure out what is the best thing to do for kids."

Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom, MTV's parent company.