16 Stars You Forgot Were On TEENick Shows

Not to be confused with later evolutions The N or TeenNick, or the earlier iteration SNICK, TEENick was a programming block focusing on teen-centric shows that aired on weekend nights on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2009. For eight years, Nickelodeon premiered new teen sitcoms or dug some old favorites out of its archives to appeal to an audience slightly older than its typical demographic. Many major stars appeared on shows like Drake & Josh, Clarissa Explains It All, True Jackson, and VP, among others. In honor of the program's 15th anniversary, see which celebs dropped by TEENick, ahead.

Jessica Alba got her first television role on the first season of The Secret World of Alex Mack in 1994, a show TEENick replayed in syndication. Alba played the superficial and cruel Jessica, the girlfriend of protagonist Alex Mack’s crush. Alba appeared in three episodes of the show before she left to star in the Flipper reboot series.

ABC’s spin-off series of the popular teen movie Clueless found home in syndication in the TEENick programming block. While the show replaced most of the main characters from the movie, Paul Rudd does make an appearance in one episode of the series as Sonny.

Keke Palmer is blowing up recently thanks to starring roles in Scream Queens and Grease: Live, but she had already landed her own successful sitcom in 2008 on Nickelodeon with True Jackson, VP. Palmer played the title character True Jackson for the show’s three seasons and sang the show’s theme song.

Fox was already a well-established star by the time she appeared as True Jackson’s mom on True Jackson, VP. Although she played the title character’s mother, Fox was only in one episode of the show.

The same episode of True Jackson, VP that featured Vivica A. Fox also had John Cena as a guest star. The wrestler played himself, holding a meet-and-greet for fans in promotion for one of his upcoming movies.

The Dawson’s Creek star’s first ever on-screen role was a guest spot on Clarissa Explains It All. Van Der Beek played Clarissa’s love interest in one episode of the show.

Like her Scream Queens co-star Keke Palmer, Emma Roberts helmed her own TEENick sitcom for three seasons. Roberts starred as a middle school-aged aspiring singer named Addie Singer.

Vanessa Hudgens’ Disney past is no secret, but within weeks of her starring role in High School Musical she was on two brother-centric shows re-run on the TEENick programming block: The Brothers Garcia and Drake & Josh. She appeared on one episode of each show, playing a love interest to one of the main characters.

Lucy Hale is famous for her starring turn in Pretty Little Liars, but her first acting roles were in two TEENick shows: Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide and Drake & Josh. Hale played a jealous ex on Ned’s and one of Drake’s dates on Drake & Josh.

Though he’s now the go-to actor for indie films and John Green adaptations, Nat Wolff actually got his start in Hollywood as the lead on the TEENick series The Naked Brothers Band. The show, which followed a movie of the same name, was a semi-autobiographical mockumentary on Nat and his brother Alex’s rise to fame as a band.

One of Meagan Good's first gigs as a series regular was on was the puppet-centered TEENick series Cousin Skeeter. Good played the show’s female lead, the fast-talking Nina.

That’s right; Mr. Miyagi himself, of Karate Kid fame, was actually a series regular on The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, which played in syndication on TEENick. The show centered on a teen detective. Morita played Shelby Woo’s grandfather, a retired police detective.

Elisha Cuthbert has made a name for herself as a TV and film star thanks to roles in 24, Happy Endings, and Love Actually, but one of her first television roles was on Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Cuthbert appeared in the original series for one episode, going on to became a regular when the show was revived.

Michelle Trachtenberg has history with Nickelodeon. Before she starred in the Nickelodeon movie Harriet the Spy, she appeared in an episode of Clarissa Explains It All as Elsie Soaperstein, Clarissa’s young neighbor whom she babysits.

He may be a recognizable Twilight star now thanks to his role as Eric Yorkie in the film franchise, but to fans of TEENick, Justin Chon is Tony Lee from the short-lived show Just Jordan. Tony is one of Jordan’s best friends, although he started as his rival on the basketball court.

Before becoming Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen was acting in a string of children's horror story shows in the late '90s. The young actor did an episode of Goosebumps, Real Kids, Real Adventures, and also acted in an Are You Afraid of the Dark? story. Christensen played Kirk, a boy who battles an evil ghost while on a ski trip in order to save his friend.