Nickelodeon orders second season of ‘Dora and Friends: Into the City!’

Nickelodeon wants to stay in business with its aged up Dora Marquez.

The network has ordered a 20-episode second season of its “Dora the Explorer” spinoff series “Dora and Friends: Into the City!”

The companion preschool series, the first season of which launched in August, showed the world-renowned bilingual pipsqueak as a 10-year-old girl. She’s taller, has longer hair, an updated wardrobe and, perhaps more subtly, now has ears and eyebrows. And the curriculum is centered on community service, as well as emotional skills.

Tweaking the beloved children’s character was a risky move for the Viacom-owned network. But it’s a move that has proved successful so far.

Since its Aug. 18 launch, “Dora and Friends” has joined the sandbox of the top five preschool programs on all television, according to the network.

Teri Weiss, the network’s executive vice president of preschool programming, said in a statement: “Dora and her new friends have been met with huge enthusiasm from preschoolers who are embracing their camaraderie and community spirit, and we look forward to bringing kids along on even more adventures in season two.” Created by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes (“Dora the Explorer,” “Go, Diego, Go!”), the half-hour series airs weekdays at 9 a.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon.

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