Wikipedia

Radio Free Roscoe

Radio Free Roscoe is a Canadian teen comedy-drama television series created by Will McRobb and Douglas McRobb. The series follows four high school students in the fictional town of Roscoe who start an underground pirate radio station to challenge their school's conformist culture. It starred Nathan Carter, Ali Mukaddam, Nathan Stephenson, and Kate Todd.[2]

Radio Free Roscoe
GenreTeen drama
Comedy drama
Created byWill McRobb
Douglas McRobb
Starring
Theme music composerJono Grant
Opening theme"Radio Free Roscoe Theme"
Ending theme"Radio Free Roscoe Theme"
(Instrumental) (some episodes)
ComposerJono Grant
Countries of origin
  • Canada
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Steven DeNure
  • Neil Court
  • Beth Stevenson
  • Will McRobb (S1, S3–4)
  • Douglas McRobb
ProducerJohn A. Delmage
Production locationsToronto, Ontario
Nutley, New Jersey (pilot)[1]
CinematographyGeorge Hosek
Editors
  • Richard Wells (S1)
  • Mark Sanders (S2–3)
  • Richard Wells (S4)
Running time20–22 minutes
Production companyDecode Entertainment[a]
Original release
NetworkFamily Channel (Canada)
Noggin (The N block; U.S.)
ReleaseAugust 1, 2003 (2003-08-01) –
May 25, 2005 (2005-05-25)

Produced by Decode Entertainment and filmed in Toronto, the series premiered on Family Channel on August 1, 2003. It also aired on Noggin's teen block The N in the United States, which co-funded the second season. The series ran for 52 episodes over four seasons, ending on May 27, 2005. Radio Free Roscoe won the Gemini Award for Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program in 2005.[3]

Premise

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Four teens in the fictional town of Roscoe start attending Henry Roscoe High School. Fed up with their school's official radio station (Cougar Radio) dictating how students should live, and the overbearing Principal Waller who favors the popular students, they create their own pirate radio station called Radio Free Roscoe. Lily Randall, Ray Brennan, and Robbie McGrath are old friends who find a new ally in Travis Strong when they form the station. They assume radio aliases to conceal their identities from the school administration.

Development

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The series was originally conceived as Radio Free Nutley, with a pilot filmed in Nutley, New Jersey featuring an entirely different cast.[1] When the pilot was not picked up, Decode Entertainment moved production to Toronto and recast the show.

Broadcast history

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Radio Free Roscoe premiered on Family Channel in Canada on August 1, 2003. In the United States, the series aired on Noggin's teen block The N. The series ran for 52 episodes over four seasons, concluding in 2005. Reruns aired on The N and TeenNick until September 8, 2013.[4]

Cast and characters

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Main

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Each main character uses a pseudonym while broadcasting to remain anonymous and prevent the administration from shutting down the station.

Supporting

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Guest stars

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Episodes

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The series consists of 52 episodes. On Family Channel, the episodes aired as two seasons; on The N, they aired as four seasons.

Media releases

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  • Radio Free Roscoe: Season One - Greatest Hits – DVD compilation, VSC Corporation (Video Services Corp.)
  • Radio Free Roscoe, Volume 1 – CD compilation

Awards and nominations

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YearAwardCategoryResult
2004New York FestivalsTelevision Programming & Promotion – Teen Programs (ages 13–17)Won (Silver World Medal)
Gemini AwardsBest Children's or Youth Fiction Program or SeriesNominated
2004Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Television Series, Recurring Young Actor (David Rendall)Nominated
2004Parents' Choice AwardsRecommended Television SeriesWon
2004Gemini AwardsBest Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series (Ali Mukaddam)Nominated
Best Sound in a Dramatic SeriesNominated
Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or SeriesNominated
2005Gemini AwardsBest Children's or Youth Fiction Program or SeriesWon[3]

International broadcast

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Country/Region Channel Language
 Australia ABC (now moved to ABC2) English
 Russia Teen TV Russian
 Italy Rai Gulp and Rai 2 Italian
 Canada English
Canada Canada VRAK.TV French
 Portugal Panda Biggs European Portuguese
  Latin America Boomerang Latin American Spanish
Brazil Brazil Boomerang Brazilian Portuguese
Poland Poland
  • ZigZap
  • TVP2
 Polish
United Kingdom United Kingdom Nickelodeon English
 United States The N (block on Noggin) English
France France France 2 and Canal J French
Finland Finland YLE TV2 English (with Finnish subtitles)
 Israel Arutz HaYeladim English (with Hebrew subtitles)

References

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  1. 1 2 Christie, Jocelyn. "The Name Game: Deconstructing the fine art of kids show titling" (PDF). Kidscreen. Brunico Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 16, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Radio Free Roscoe (TV Series 2003–2006)". IMDb. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Radio Free Roscoe (TV Series 2003–2006) - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Toon Zone - Shows - Current Schedule". www.toonzone.net. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  1. ↑ As DECODE/Nutley Productions Inc. (Series 1) or DECODE/Roscoe Productions 2 Inc. (Series 2)
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