Babe Carano wasn’t your typical sitcom lead. When Game Shakers premiered on Nickelodeon in 2015, most people expected the usual "teenagers doing wacky things" trope, but Babe, played by Cree Cicchino, brought something else to the table. She was twelve. She was ambitious. She was, quite frankly, a little terrifying to her business partners.
While the show focused on a group of kids building a gaming empire in Brooklyn, Babe was the undisputed engine. Without her, Sky Whale—the fictional app that started it all—would have probably just been a coding project gathering dust on Kenzie Bell's laptop. Babe didn't code. She didn't compose the music. What she did was sell. She had that "New York hustle" that made her feel more like a junior CEO than a middle schooler.
Honestly, it’s rare to see a female lead in a kids' show whose primary character trait is being a ruthless negotiator. Usually, the "smart" girl is the one who likes books, but Babe’s intelligence was purely tactical. She knew how to manage Double G, the eccentric rapper played by Kel Mitchell, and she knew exactly how to keep their company, Game Shakers, from folding under the weight of its own chaos.
The Evolution of Babe Carano and the Brooklyn Hustle
The series kicks off with a science project gone right. Babe and her best friend Kenzie create Sky Whale, and suddenly they’re millionaires. But the show isn't just about the money. It's about the power dynamics. Babe is the creative director and the "muscle" of the operation. She’s the one who stands up to the legal threats from Double G when he discovers they used his music without permission.
Most kids' shows would have the protagonist cower in that situation. Babe? She invites him to be a partner. That’s a boss move.
Cree Cicchino played Babe with a specific kind of frantic energy that felt grounded. She wasn't just "sassy" for the sake of the script. Her intensity came from a place of wanting to win. Whether she was crushing on Mason Kendal or trying to outsmart a rival gaming company, Babe was always playing the long game. She had this wardrobe that screamed "Brooklyn cool"—lots of layers, leather jackets, and boots—which mirrored her tough exterior.
Why Babe and Kenzie Worked (And Why They Didn't)
The relationship between Babe and Kenzie Bell (Madisyn Shipman) is the backbone of the series. It's a classic foil. Kenzie is the logic; Babe is the impulse.
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- Kenzie handled the backend, the coding, and the technical limitations of their hardware.
- Babe handled the branding, the PR, and the sheer force of personality required to make people care about a game where a narwhal eats donuts.
It wasn't always a smooth partnership. Babe could be incredibly selfish. She often pushed Kenzie to the breaking point, demanding impossible deadlines or ignoring Kenzie's social anxieties. But that’s what made the character human. She wasn't a "Mary Sue" who was perfect at everything. She was a flawed, sometimes pushy leader who learned (slowly) that her team was her greatest asset.
Hudson Gimble and Triple G provided the comedic relief and the bridge to the celebrity world, but the core of Game Shakers was always the girls. It was a show about young women in tech before that became a major talking point in mainstream media. Even if the "tech" was goofy mobile games, the business lessons Babe learned were surprisingly real.
The Cultural Impact of Cree Cicchino’s Performance
You can't talk about Babe without talking about Cree Cicchino. She brought a rhythmic, almost staccato delivery to her lines that made the comedy land. If you watch the episodes "Sky Whale" or "Revenge at Tech Fest," you see her range. She can go from a hyper-fixated business mogul to a nervous teen in seconds.
There's a reason fans still post about Babe Carano on TikTok and Instagram years after the show ended in 2019. She represented a shift in how Nickelodeon portrayed girls. She wasn't just the love interest or the "responsible" one. She was the one taking the risks.
Actually, the show's cancellation after three seasons left a lot of fans frustrated. We never got to see Game Shakers become a global conglomerate, and we never got a definitive ending for Babe's romantic subplots. But in a way, that fits the character. She’s always moving, always onto the next pitch.
Misconceptions About the Character
A lot of people remember Babe as "the loud one." That’s a bit of a disservice. If you actually re-watch the series, her volume is a tool. She uses it to command a room, especially when dealing with Double G’s massive ego.
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Another misconception is that she didn't contribute to the games. While she wasn't writing the C++ code, she was the one designing the "vibe" of the games. In the industry, we call that a Product Manager or a Creative Lead. Babe had an intuitive sense of what was "cool," which is arguably harder to learn than coding. She understood the market. She understood the "user experience," even if she didn't use those specific words.
Real-World Takeaways from Babe’s Career
If you’re looking at Game Shakers as more than just a sitcom, there are actual professional lessons buried in Babe’s antics.
- Pivot when necessary: When Double G sued them, Babe didn't shut down the company. She turned an enemy into an investor.
- Know your strengths: Babe never tried to pretend she was a genius coder. She stayed in her lane of marketing and leadership, letting Kenzie shine where she was best.
- The "No" is just a starting point: Whether it was getting a celebrity endorsement or a spot at a major convention, Babe treated every "no" as a challenge to be overcome.
The show was produced by Dan Schneider, and while his legacy is complicated, the character of Babe Carano stands out as one of the more empowered female protagonists from that era of Nickelodeon. She wasn't defined by her relationship to a boy, even when she had crushes. She was defined by her ambition.
Moving Beyond the Screen
For those who grew up watching Babe, the next step isn't just nostalgia. It's looking at the current landscape of the gaming and tech industries. The "Babe Carano" types are the ones running indie studios and startup incubators right now.
If you want to revisit the character, the series is still widely available on streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Netflix in certain regions. Watching it through an adult lens, you realize how much of the "kid" humor was actually masking a pretty solid satire of the tech industry.
To really understand the impact, look at Cree Cicchino’s later work in Mr. Iglesias or the Big Sky series. You can see the DNA of Babe’s confidence in her later roles, proving that the character wasn't just a fluke of casting but a well-developed persona that resonated with a generation of girls who wanted to be the boss, not just the assistant.
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If you're a creator or an aspiring entrepreneur, take a page out of the Babe Carano playbook: be loud, be bold, and don't be afraid to ask for a seat at the table—or just build your own table entirely.
Next Steps for Fans and Creators:
Check out the official Nickelodeon "Game Shakers" app archives if they're still hosted in your app store. Many of the games featured in the show, like Sky Whale and Nasty Goats, were released as real, playable titles. Analyzing the gameplay of these "fictional" games gives you a direct look at the creative vision Babe was supposed to have spearheaded.
Research the history of female leads in "kid-coms" from the 2010s. Comparing Babe to characters like Carly Shay or Jade West shows a distinct evolution toward professional ambition.
Follow the cast on social media. Cree Cicchino often shares insights into her time on the show, and seeing the trajectory of the actors provides a realistic look at the transition from child stardom to adult professional life in the entertainment industry.