Zixx returning in Summer 2008

From Thunderbird Films:

Production completed on third season of Popular Live-Action/CG Animated YTV series Zixx: Level Three

Thunderbird Films announced that the third season of the half-hour children’s series Zixx has completed live action production in Vancouver. The series will premiere on YTV as Zixx: Level Three in Summer 2008.

“We’ve been deeply involved in Zixx from the earliest stages of development, and are very proud to continue to support this popular and original show”, said Bonita Siegel, Director, Original Productions YTV.

Zixx: Level Three is the third season of the half-hour offering that blends live action with animation following the journey of Zixx Phunkee Zee (Barbara Mamabolo) as she tries to save the universe from evil aliens with the help of her team of human teens.

Season three continues the show’s successful meld of sci-fi thrills traveling through both a real-world setting and an original computer-generated animated world. The stakes are higher this season for the band of young allies – their enemies are stronger, their challenges greater and their quest more dangerous.

“We are happy to be working with YTV Canada again on this popular and innovative animation/live-action hybrid series,” said Michael Shepard, President of Thunderbird Films.

Mamabolo is well known to young audiences through her work with Lindsay Lohan in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and Canadian productions Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and Renegade Press.com.

She teams up with Ephraim Ellis, as Riley, previously seen as troubled teen Rick Murray on Degrassi: The Next Generation and more recently as Danny on Falcon Beach.

Back this season is Reece Thompson as Dwayne, a young actor also making a splash on the big screen in the films In the Land of Women, and as the lead in the recent Sundance Film Festival hit, Rocket Science.

Returning as Meghan is Brenna O’Brien, who recently won a role on the new Warners/ABC pilot “The Middle”. Also joining the team this season as Tarphex, Zixx’s best friend from the Network Academy, is T-Roy Kozuki who has appeared in Battlestar Galactica and more recently in Whistler.

Seasoned Actors joining the Zixx team include Peter Abrams, David Lewis, Tammy Hui, Britt McKillip and Sheila Paterson. Michael Eklund returns to reprise the wildly popular Earl character from Season Two.

Zixx has been sold to Cartoon Network in the U.S. and the UK, and is being distributed internationally by Rainmaker Animation and Echo Bridge Entertainment.

“Zixx is coming back with another thrilling season,” said Rainmaker Executive Producer Rick Mischel. He adds, “Level three of Zixx will be full of new puzzles and challenges to the delight of its fans.”

Adds Paul Gertz, Executive Vice President, Rainmaker Animation, “Rainmaker is proud to continue our association with Thunderbird and YTV Canada on the production of these new episodes for the Zixx series. Our team is very excited about taking on the creative challenges.”

Zixx: Level Three also introduces the talents of Vancouver animation and effects house Digital Alchemy, which is working closely with Rainmaker Animation, building on the ambitious season two look and feel to create a unique environment for Level Three.

Producer Ron McLeod and co-producers Tara Twigg and Barb Harwood round out the executive producing team with Alexandra Raffé (I Heard the Mermaids Singing, Flower and Garnet), Michael Shepard & Tim Gamble (Desolation Sound), Debbie Nightingale (Bailey’s Billions, Get Outta Town) and Sarah Dodd. Dodd steps up to showrunner from Executive Story Editor on previous seasons.

Zixx is produced by Thunderbird Films in association with YTV Canada and Rainmaker Animation, as well as with the support of the Shaw Rocket Fund and the Independent Production Fund. Zixx was developed by Savi Media and The Nightingale Company in association with YTV.

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