Everything about Children’s Programming, eh?

WildBrain Television announces three more original greenlights from Canadian producers exclusive to Family Channel

From a media release:

WildBrain Television, one of Canada’s most-loved kids’ and family broadcast networks, announces that Family Channel, its flagship broadcast network, has greenlit three new content projects across live-action and animation, in partnership with independent Canadian producers. Exclusive to WildBrain Television in Canada, the new content will begin rolling out across the company’s broadcast and digital channels this September, continuing into 2023. WildBrain has also acquired global distribution rights for all three properties.

Heading up the live-action slate is Life with Luca, the 90-minute spin-off feature film of the beloved franchise, Life with Derek. Produced by Shaftesbury as an original commission by WildBrain’s Family Channel, the movie recently wrapped filming in Southern Ontario and will premiere on the network in early 2023. WildBrain is also now the exclusive worldwide distributor of the classic Life with Derek library (70×22′) and an earlier spin-off film, Vacation with Derek (1×90′).

­WildBrain Television’s animation lineup features Slugterra: Ascension, produced in partnership with Epic Story Media. The shorts will premiere exclusively on WildBrainTV in Canada in a sneak peek on September 5 at 2:50 p.m. ET, with new episodes beginning September 18 at 11:45 a.m. ET, before rolling out globally across WildBrain Spark’s Slugterra YouTube channels. Also newly greenlit is an expanded order of five half-hours to the popular new series Summer Memories, produced in partnership with A&N Productions, Aircraft Pictures and Yeti Farm Creative. Summer Memories debuted on Family Channel this summer, and the new stories will begin airing on Family Channel in 2023.

Life with Luca­ ­(1 x 90′) – coming to Family Channel early 2023

Life with Luca is the spin-off of the long-running, beloved franchise Life with Derek. The movie picks up fifteen years later and follows Derek (Michael Seater) and Casey (Ashley Leggat) as they each navigate parenthood and raise distinctly different teenagers. Derek is a successful musician in Paris and the single dad of a 14-year-old girl named Skyler (Isabel Rose Silva) who is smart, funny, and studious and who has recently been testing the boundaries set by her father. Casey is a lawyer and a married mother of three in Toronto and is quite comfortable setting limits, though her eldest, 14-year-old Luca (Marcus Cornwall)—lover of pranks, gaming, and skateboarding—is constantly crossing them. Both Derek and Casey spontaneously decide to surprise their own parents at their recently constructed ‘forever home’ in rural Ontario but encounter each other instead. Casey and Derek are happy to see each other, but the teenaged cousins—who have barely seen each other over the years (and never really liked what they saw)—don’t get along at all, uniting only to get into serious trouble.

The 90-minute live-action film is produced by Shaftesbury, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and Shaw Rocket Fund, as an original commission by WildBrain’s Family Channel. The movie is set to debut on Family Channel in February 2023.

Life with Luca was created by Life with Derek series creator, Daphne Ballon and Life with Derek writer, Jeff Biederman. Ron Murphy (Jann, Trailer Park Boys) directs. Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Liz Levine, and Jennifer McCann are executive producers, and Marek Posival and Alex House are producers.

Slugterra: Ascension ­(20 x 4′) – coming to WildBrainTV and Family Channel fall 2022

The wait is over! For the first time in six years Eli Shane, Trixie Sting, and the slugs are back with more comedy, action, and exciting escapades in Slugterra: Ascension. After a rockslide leaves them trapped alone with only a few of their slugs, Eli and Trixie have to be smart and strategic to outwit and outrun villainous twins Locke and Lode and their deadly gattler blasters—that is until they find the legendary Universal Slug! At first glance “Uni” looks like any derpy little flopper. But once transformed, this powerful creature can imitate any slug’s strongest move! Too bad it comes with a price Eli and Trixie won’t be happy about paying. The twenty brand-new four-minute CG-animated shorts will join the classic library of Slugterra episodes, the fan-favourite adventure series set deep underground where fierce opponents collect, train and battle it out with their arsenals of fantastical transforming slugs.

Slugterra was created by Asaph Fipke, and Slugterra: Ascension is produced in association with Epic Story Media’s Ken Faier, acting as executive producer, along with showrunner Nancy Lees. The new series was animated at Island of Misfits (IOM) in Halifax. Additional executive producers include WildBrain’s Josh Scherba, Stephanie Betts and Anne Loi, and IOM’s Meaghan Clark. The series was directed by IOM’s Don Urquhart and produced by Epic Story Media’s Christine Cote and Marlene Schmidt.

Summer Memories ­(5 x 30′) – new episodes coming to Family Channel in 2023

Summer Memories adds five half-hours to the popular new series Summer Memories which launched this summer on Family Channel. The new stories dive further into the world and characters, following the adventures of best friends Jason and Ronnie as Jason looks back on the most pivotal summer of his life (which was just a few weeks ago). This is Jason’s summer of change…and he fears change. Lucky for him, he has charismatic, life adventurer Ronnie at his side. Summer Memories transcends time, space and memory—the good and the bad—as it chronicles Jason and Ronnie’s sweet, fun-filled relationship.

Summer Memories was created by veteran animator/producer Adam Yaniv and produced by A&N Productions, Aircraft Pictures and Yeti Farm Creative, with the financial support of the Canada Media Fund and Shaw Rocket Fund.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Hit mystery series The Hardy Boys returns with Season 2 on YTV

From a media release:

Secrets of the past continue to haunt Bridgeport and layers of mystery are revealed in the second season of The Hardy Boys (10x60min), premiering Monday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on YTV. New episodes will roll out every Monday at 8 p.m. and will be available to stream live and on-demand on STACKTV. Based on the beloved books by Franklin W. Dixon and nominated for a Daytime Emmy® Award and three Canadian Screen Awards, the popular mystery series is developed and produced in Canada by Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor, and licensor of children’s animated and live-action content, and Lambur Productions, in association with Corus Entertainment.

The second season picks up six months after the events of Season 1, building on the mystery and drama of the inaugural season and welcoming new friends and suspects. In Season 2, when a Bridgeportclassmate mysteriously disappears, Frank (Rohan Campbell) and Joe Hardy (Alexander Elliot) drop their new normal routine to get back to detective work. But when they discover the mystical relic they destroyed last year is still in play, it becomes clear their simple missing person case is actually part of something far more sinister. The Hardy boys and their friends must quickly learn who they can and can’t trust as they race against time to unravel the truth, and ultimately realize that no one is safe from their past.

Filmed in Toronto and Southern Ontario, the series features an all-Canadian cast and crew. The Hardy gang is back in action with returning cast Rohan Campbell (Virgin River) as ‘Frank Hardy,’ Alexander Elliot (Locke and Key) as ‘Joe Hardy’, Keana Lyn (The Yard) as ‘Callie Shaw’, Adam Swain (A Million Little Things) as ‘Chet Morton’, Cristian Perri (A Simple Favor) as ‘Phil Cohen’, and Riley O’Donnell (Big Top Academy) as ‘Biff Hooper’. Joining the cast this season are Canadian actors Krista Nazaire (Before We Crash) as ‘Belinda Conrad’ and Sadie Munroe (Workin’ Moms) as ‘Lucy Wayne’.

The first season of The Hardy Boys received industry-wide recognition, recently earning three Canadian Screen Award nominations for Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series, Best Direction, Children’s or Youth and Best Photography, Drama, in addition to a Daytime Emmy® Award nomination for Outstanding Young Adult Series, two DGC Award nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and Best Picture Editing, and a CSC Award nomination for Best Cinematography in TV Drama. The Hardy Boys also secured the #1 program spot last spring on YTV* and is currently the #2 streamed YTV show on STACKTV**.

YTV can be streamed via STACKTV, available on Amazon Prime Video Channels, Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream. The network is also available through all major TV distributors, including Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel.

*Source: Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, SP’21 (Jan 4 – May 30/21) confirmed data, 3+ airings, Ind. 2+ AMA(000), YTV

**Source: Amazon Video Central Reporting

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: ‘Popularity Papers’ young adult book series scores TV adaptation from Aircraft Pictures, WexWorks Media

Link: ‘Popularity Papers’ Young Adult Book Series Scores TV Adaptation From Aircraft Pictures, WexWorks Media
Scrapbook-style book series “The Popularity Papers” is getting the TV treatment. Amy Ignatow’s award-winning middle-grade novels will be adapted for the screen by Corus Media-backed Aircraft Pictures, the Oscar-nominated producers behind “The Breadwinner,” and Emmy-nominated production company WexWorks Media. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Knowledge Network announces Knowledge Kids’ first-ever original animated series Luna, Chip and Inkie: Adventure Rangers Go

From a media release:

British Columbia’s trusted viewer-supported public broadcaster, Knowledge Network, is excited to announce the debut and first-look of their first ever original animated series Luna, Chip & Inkie: Adventure Rangers Go, featuring their longtime mascots of the same name. The series, for children aged 3-6, will premiere in Spring 2022 on Knowledge Network in B.C., and across Canada on the Knowledge Kids app and website. TFO is excited to air the series in French beginning September 2022. Along with the announcement, the Knowledge Network has released a first-look image and teaser video of the new series.

The made-in-Canada production has the financial support of the Canada Media Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund and Epic Story Media, who is also the global distributor of the series. The music-filled series is based on the well-known animated characters, Luna the owl, Chip the beaver, and Inkie the octopus, who have appeared in Knowledge Kids branding, books and video games since 2008. In each episode, the trio of enthusiastic helpers tackle problems in their town, but not before they experience some hilarious flops that require them to look for different ways of unlocking a solution.

“Creative problem-solving, resilience and teamwork are central to the mission of Knowledge Kids content,” said Michele Paris, Senior Manager of Children’s Programming and Executive Producer on the series. “Luna, Chip and Inkie will help kids see new ways of approaching a problem and persevering to get the job done!”

Set in the forests, mountains, lakes and ocean near the fictional town of Eagle Creek, the series is inspired by the rugged, natural beauty of the Pacific West Coast. “Kids worldwide have spent more time than usual indoors lately,” said Paris. “This series is a love-letter to nature. We hope it’ll remind kids of the incredible adventures that await them when they head outdoors.”

The beautifully animated 2D series is written and produced entirely in Canada. Paris is joined by Pat Ellingson, retired head of TVO Kids, in script development with Executive Story Editors Shelly Hoffman and Rob Pincombe (Ollie and Moon, Camp Lakebottom). Renowned education and child development consultant Cheryl Gotthelf is advising on scripts, as is J’net Ayayqwayaksheelth, an Indigenous Arts Educator from the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe on Vancouver Island. Series writers include a number of preschool veterans, along with a diverse group of emerging writers, including graduates of the BIPOC TV & Film Kids TV Writing Bootcamp. Composer on the music-driven series is the Emmy-nominated Daniel Ingram (“My Little Pony”). Each episode includes an original song, which will also stream on the Knowledge Kids platforms in short music videos, encouraging kids to sing along.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail