The Substitute (American TV program)

The Substitute is an American reality television program that aired on Nickelodeon from April 1, 2019 to February 25, 2021. The program features pranks and celebrities going undercover as substitute teachers to surprise students, with $25,000 donations being made to each school they visit. The series was renewed for a second season hosted by Juanpa Zurita.

The Substitute
Genre	Reality
Presented by	Juanpa Zurita
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24
Production
Producers	Eli Holzman Aaron Saidman
Running time	23 minutes
Production company	The Intellectual Property Corporation
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01) – February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)

Production

On February 14, 2019, it was announced that The Substitute would be a part of Nickelodeon's 2019 slate. The program is a production of The Intellectual Property Corporation, Eli Holzman, and Aaron Saidman, with Mike Harney serving as showrunner.^[1][2] On March 20, 2019, it was announced that the program would premiere on April 1, 2019, with Jace Norman guest starring in the premiere.^[3] A sneak peek of the first episode aired immediately following the 2019 Kids' Choice Awards on March 23, 2019.^[4] On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Lilly Singh would guest star in an episode airing on May 18, 2019.^[5] On August 28, 2019, it was announced that Nickelodeon ordered a full series pickup of The Substitute, with a 10-episode order for an October 2019 premiere.^[6] On September 18, 2019, it was announced that John Cena would guest star in an episode airing on October 4, 2019.^[7] On November 15, 2019, it was revealed that Ne-Yo would guest star in a holiday episode airing on November 30, 2019.^[8]

On January 17, 2020, it was revealed that Brie and Nikki Bella would guest star in an episode airing on January 31. It was also revealed that additional guest stars for future episodes would include Rico and Raini Rodriguez, Asher Angel, Shaun White, JoJo Siwa, Johnny Orlando, Kel Mitchell, and Cooper Barnes.^[9]

On October 23, 2020, it was announced that a second season would premiere on October 31 with Ariel Martin, Chloe Kim, and Chris Paul among the guest stars in the season. The season also added a new host, Juanpa Zurita.^[10]

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	12		April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)	March 28, 2020 (2020-03-28)
2	12		October 31, 2020 (2020-10-31)	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)

Season 1 (2019–20)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [11][12]	Original release date [11][12]	Prod. code [11]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Jace Norman"	April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)	101	0.87[13]
2	2	"Lilly Singh"	May 18, 2019 (2019-05-18)	102	0.75[14]
3	3	"John Cena"	October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04)	103	0.71[15]
4	4	"Ne-Yo"	November 30, 2019 (2019-11-30)	104	0.47[16]
5	5	"The Bella Twins"	January 31, 2020 (2020-01-31)	110	0.39[17]
6	6	"Rico & Raini Rodriguez"	February 7, 2020 (2020-02-07)	106	0.36[18]
7	7	"Asher Angel"	February 8, 2020 (2020-02-08)	107	0.46[19]
8	8	"Shaun White"	February 15, 2020 (2020-02-15)	108	0.42[20]
9	9	"JoJo Siwa"	February 22, 2020 (2020-02-22)	105	0.55[21]
10	10	"Johnny Orlando"	March 7, 2020 (2020-03-07)	112	0.43[22]
11	11	"Cooper Barnes"	March 14, 2020 (2020-03-14)	109	0.51[23]
12	12	"Kel Mitchell"	March 28, 2020 (2020-03-28)	111	0.51[24]

Season 2 (2020–21)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [11][25]	Original release date [11][25]	Prod. code [11]	U.S. viewers (millions)
13	1	"Baby Ariel"	October 31, 2020 (2020-10-31)	202	0.27[26]
14	2	"Chloe Kim"	November 7, 2020 (2020-11-07)	201	0.27[27]
15	3	"Chris Paul"	November 14, 2020 (2020-11-14)	203	0.20[28]
16	4	"Gabriel Iglesias"	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)	208	0.29[29]
17	5	"The Miz"	January 7, 2021 (2021-01-07)	205	0.26[30]
18	6	"DeAndre Jordan"	January 14, 2021 (2021-01-14)	206	0.38[31]
19	7	"Peyton List"	January 21, 2021 (2021-01-21)	204	0.44[32]
20	8	"Zedd"	January 28, 2021 (2021-01-28)	207	0.26[33]
21	9	"Lele Pons"	February 4, 2021 (2021-02-04)	210	0.44[34]
22	10	"Why Don't We"	February 11, 2021 (2021-02-11)	209	0.24[35]
23	11	"Ty Dolla $ign"	February 18, 2021 (2021-02-18)	212	0.20[36]
24	12	"Juanpa Zurita"	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)	211	0.23[37]

Special (2020)

Title [11][12]	Original release date [11][12]	Prod. code [11]	U.S. viewers (millions)
"Top 10 Wildest Pranks"	May 9, 2020 (2020-05-09)	999	0.40[38]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of The Substitute

Season	Episodes	First aired		Last aired		Avg. viewers (millions)
		Date	Viewers (millions)	Date	Viewers (millions)
1	12	April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)	0.87[13]	March 28, 2020 (2020-03-28)	0.51[24]	0.54
2	12	October 31, 2020 (2020-10-31)	0.27[26]	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)	0.23[37]	0.29