The truth, according to The Troop: monsters are real. They spew goo, prance around like they own the place, and need to be stifled like a giggle at a funeral.

That’s where the secret organization The Troop marches in. Nickelodeon’s new live-action series plays like the 1997 flick Men in Black, but set in a high school and built around a typical teen.

Jake (Nick Purcell) draws dragons in his spare time, spars with his surly sunglasses-wearing neighbour Mr. Brinker, and has a knack for battling the baddies.

Joined by his crush Hayley (Gage Golightly) and socially awkward pal Felix (David Del Rio), and led by Mr. Stockley (John Marshall Jones), he stops a rampaging Basilisk from turning people into stone in the first episode.

What happens to the captured monsters? They’re stored in cubicles under the gym floor, where they spit buckets of the aforementioned goo at passers-by.

The premise isn’t new in the kiddie genre — we’ve seen kids saving the world in the 2003 movieAgent Cody Banks and 2001’s Spy Kids, and TV shows including Powerpuff Girls or Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in the day.

But The Troop has a certain charm. The CGI monsters are as believable as possible, there are touches of whimsy (like a Superman-like theme as Jake rushes to catch the bus) and jokes that could strike an adult’s fancy.

For example, Jake’s sister tells him “I believe in you,” prompting him to ask “really?” She then retorts, “No, that’s just something people say on TV.”

Mr. Brinker’s distain for his wife is also ripe for comedic jabs: she says she’ll be back from the beauty spa the next day; he says it’s not long enough.

There’s also a dig at a celeb or two — Hayley explains that some monsters can be reformed and released back into the world: “Mickey Rourke doesn’t bother anyone anymore.”

Packed with action sequences and cool technologies, The Troop is a fun romp that easily blends fantastical elements and the daily doldrums of high school.

Maybe it’ll even make you think twice before you dismiss the boogeyman under your bed for a pile of dirty tube socks.

The Troop makes its Canadian debut with back-to-back episodes, Saturday, Jan. 2, 8 p.m. ET on Nickelodeon.