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Children's Programming, Featured

Groundbreaking Stanley Dynamic bounds onto YTV

Acceptance of others is a common theme in family programming, but The Stanley Dynamic certainly breaks new ground in the way it’s done. Debuting Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on YTV, the live action series boasts a two-dimensional star: Luke Stanley, an animated 14-year-old who interacts with his three-dimensional family and world.

“This is a gentle nod to inclusion, diversity and acceptance,” says Michael Souther, co-founder of Amaze Film + Television, the show’s production company. “No one bats an eye at Luke. He is one of the family, he’s at school, he has crushes, but he’s different. And no one focuses on his difference.” At least, not in a negative way. There are plenty of positives to having an animated kid around: his twin brother, Larry (Charles Vandervaart, Murdoch Mysteries), appreciates the fact his sibling can stretch out his arms to reach the cookie jar on a faraway shelf.

Amaze is most recently known for producing four seasons of the ribald, adult comedy Call Me Fitz. Souther says he was interested in creating a family show that was different from everything already in the genre. They quickly settled on a new approach, combining animation with live action in a multi-camera series. With co-creator Ken Cuperus (Mr. Young) on board, Souther says the 26-episode first season is consistently entertaining.

It hasn’t been easy from a production standpoint. Taylor Abrahamse (Beyblade: Metal Fusion), who voices Luke, rehearsed and did initial takes with his TV family—cartoonist dad, Lane, (Michael Barbuto, Banner 4th of July), who chronicles the family’s adventures in his online comic strip, “The Stanley Dynamic”; mom Lisa (Kate Hewlett (Remedy); Larry; and bug-obsessed, genius sister Lori (Madison Ferguson)—before stepping off-stage during real takes. The next process involved inserting Luke’s action into scenes—in Thursday’s debut he squishes himself into a high school locker and is squeezed in a group hug—a time-consuming gig that is keeping Cuperus busy long after cameras stopped rolling.

The result is astounding: Luke has shadows behind him, makes eye contact with his co-stars and fits seamlessly into the world around him. Just like he’s supposed to.

The Stanley Dynamic airs Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on YTV.

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Children's Programming, Featured

The Next Step hits the dance floor for Season 3

Spoiler alert: not every member of the A-Troupe dancers will last until the end of Season 3 of The Next Step. That shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise for anyone following the tween drama—kids get older and graduate all the time—but this exit will be a bit of a shock nonetheless.

We were on the show’s Scarborough, Ont., set during filming, and watched that pivotal scene from a vantage point just out of camera range. We won’t give it away, but the announcement sends shock waves through the group. How it all happens, and how it affects the crew going into Internationals, rolls out when The Next Step returns to Family Channel on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.

To watch filming of an episode of The Next Step is to see television production set at double speed. Unlike most series that take a week to film one episode, The Next Step does it in just over a day and lines are written in a different manner too.

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“Traditionally, you write a script and then you find actors to read the material,” says writer and executive producer Frank van Keeken (The Kids in the Hall, Winging’ It). “We write very involved outlines, and on the day of shooting we talk about the scene and then we just start playing.” The result? A serialized drama that feels very real and authentic.

Returning to The Next Step Dance Studio are, among others, Brittany Raymond as Riley, Victoria Baldesarra as Michelle, Alexandra Beaton as Emily, Trevor Tordjman as James, Lamar Johnson as West, Jennifer Pappas as Chloe, Brennan Clost as Daniel, Zac Vran as Hunter, Bree Wasylenko as Kate, Natalie Krill as Phoebe and So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 4 winner Jordan Clark as Giselle. Newbies include Ella Gilling, a semifinalist from Season 2 of the UK talent television show Got To Dance. Each one—when they weren’t celebrating the show’s catering or discussing injuries and the bonding element on-set—spoke of how van Keeken is a mentor to them. It’s a label he isn’t comfortable wearing, but understands the sentiment.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, so there are certain skill sets I’ve developed,” he says. “Because they’re green, or were, I had to spend the time just educating them. It’s been a good relationship. After they saw the cuts they realized, ‘He just cuts the bad bits.’ Once you make that transition as an actor then they just go.”

As for who exits the troupe early? You’ll just have to tune in to find out.

The Next Step airs Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel.

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Children's Programming

DHX Media orders tween series Make it Pop for YTV

From a media release:

DHX Media Ltd. (“DHX” or the “Company”) (TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B), a key player internationally in the creation of content for families and children, has been commissioned by Nickelodeon in the US and YTV in Canada to produce a new, live-action musical-comedy series, entitled Make It Pop. The half-hour sitcom, which is targeted at the tween audience, is currently filming 20 episodes at DHX’s Epitome Studio, in Toronto, Canada. DHX Media will also handle global distribution and brand management for Make It Pop, as well as merchandising and licensing through appointed agency, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group Ltd. (CPLG).

Make It Pop is a comedic, music-infused sitcom about three unique girls who come together to start their own K pop-inspired band. Randomly selected to room together at boarding school, three freshman girls meet and bond over music. With the help of fellow boarding school classmate and DJ hopeful, Caleb, the girls grow from roommates to bandmates as their band, XO-IQ, becomes a school-wide sensation and they compete for a place in the upcoming school musical. The series, which will feature original songs and performances in every episode, is co-created by Thomas W. Lynch and Nick Cannon and produced by DHX Media.

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Children's Programming

YTV’s Some Assembly Required headed to Netflix

From a media release:

Thunderbird is pleased to announce an agreement with Netflix, which will see all episodes of its hit comedy Some Assembly Required exclusively available in all Netflix territories outside of Canada, where the show was commissioned as an original production for YTV and is currently #1 on the network.

Some Assembly Required is shot in front of a live-studio audience in Burnaby, BC and centres on an eclectic group of teenagers who run a toy company. As the new owner of Knickknack Toys, fourteen-year-old Jarvis Raines hires a group of friends from school to help him create awesome new toys. Following the teens’ comedic day-to-day adventures, this live-action series created by Dan Signer (A.N.T. Farm, Mr. Young) and Howard Nemetz (Mr. Young, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody), stars Young Artist Awards nominee, Kolton Stewart, and 2015 Canadian Screen Awards nominee, Charlie Storwick.

Some Assembly Required is slated to start streaming on Netflix this summer.

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