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Children's Programming, Featured

Blue Ant Studios announces Season 2 greenlight of Nippon TV’s Old Enough! with TVO

From a media release:

Old Enough!, the hit series, based on the wildly popular Japanese format from Nippon TV, is back for another season with six brand new 30-minute episodes. Co-produced by TVO and Blue Ant Studios, the new installment will premiere on TVO across Canada in 2025. The news was jointly announced at MIPCOM today by Matthew Hornburg, Co-President of Blue Ant Studios, Natasha Negrea, Head of Programming at TVO and Akane Alex Inoue, Global Format Licensing, Nippon TV.

Building on the success of its first season, Old Enough! returns with a fresh cast of children aged 3-5. This time you can expect more precocious kids getting their first taste of independence while embarking on even more impressive errands than before.

Matthew Hornburg, Mark J.W. Bishop and Donna Luke from Blue Ant Studios are Executive Producers for the series. Stefanie Haist is the Supervising Producer. Mitch Burman (Undercover High, Extreme Babysitting) serves as Series Producer and Showrunner. For TVO, Natasha Negrea is the Head of Programming, Kirsten Hurd is the Commissioning Editor, TVOkids and Alexandra Roberts is the Commissioning Editor, TVO Docs. For Nippon TV, Naoko Yano and Akane Alex Inoue are Executive Producers. Kiyotaka Tokunaga (Masquerade) is the Chief Director and Ayaka Isshiki is the Producer for the original Japanese series. Tom Miyauchi (Sokkuri Sweets/Eye Candy, Mute it!) is the Format Producer and Yuko Nakano is the Flying Producer. Blue Ant Studios oversees the international tape distribution of the Canadian version. Old Enough! was produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Production begins on Season 2 of APTN’s Red River Gold

From a media release:

Saxon de Cocq, Hannah Hermanson and Ell McEachern of 3 Story Pictures are pleased to announce that filming has started on Season 2 of the 13x 30 min documentary series, Red River Gold. 
 
Production commenced on September 10, 2024, and will continue through to the end of October. The series will air on APTN (in English), APTN Languages (in Michif) and be available on APTN lumi in both English and Michif at a later date.
 
In 1870, a trove of gold coins worth $1,000,000 disappeared without a trace. The coins were on their way to fund a British military force marching across Canada to stop Louis Riel and the Métis during the Red River Resistance. The gold has never been recovered and the Royal Mint of England still considers it lost or stolen. And now, a group of Métis treasure seekers want to find it!
 
After returning from the bog, the team waits for the ice to thaw and mosquitos to reappear before heading to the very start of the Dawson Road, at the edge of the Northwest Angle. Here, they discover the evidence of an old Métis village, that was used as a trading and transportation hub. With rumors of the gold being hidden by an old building, this has the team excited to start digging, knowing full well there are other historical treasures to find.  
 
Red River Gold is directed by Saxon de Cocq (Treaty Road Season 1 & 2, Red River Gold Season 1, The Other Side), Berkley Brady (Dark Nature, The Secret History of: The Wild West), Sam Karney (Going Native, Nation Untamed) and Lisa Unrau (Staying Wild Seasons 1,2,3, Landing: Stories from the Cultural Divide), written by Saxon de Cocq, and is produced by Hannah Hermanson (Treaty Road Season 1 & 2, Red River Gold Season 1, Staying Wild Season 1,2 & 3, Zarqa Season 2), Ell McEachern (Treaty Road Season 1 & 2, Red River Gold Season 1, Staying Wild Season 1,2 & 3, Zarqa Season 2), Saxon de Cocq and Sam Karney. The series will be executive produced by Doug Cuthand (Guardians: Evolution, Van Life, Searchers, Big Bear).
  
Red River Gold will be filmed in rural Manitoba for the searching (Ste Anne, Richer, Falcon Lake, Northwest Angle, Lake of the Woods), as well as the Mint in Whales and at the Tower of London. Cinematography by Sam Karney and editing by Kolby Kostyniuk (Staying Wild, Treaty Road, Dirt Farmers). 
 
Red River Gold was commissioned by APTN and produced with additional financial support from Canada Media Fund and Creative Saskatchewan.  

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Children's Programming, Featured

CBC Kids and CBBC original series Gangnam Project returning for Season 2

From a media release:

Lights, camera, K-pop! Canadian prodcos Pillango Productions and Academy Award® and Emmy Award® nominated Aircraft Pictures announced today that the coming-of-age, original series GANGNAM PROJECT (10×30) is set to return for a second dynamic, high-stakes season. The series, co-commissioned by CBC Kids and CBBC, recently wrapped production on Season 2 in Hamilton, Ont. and Seoul, South Korea.

The 10-episode season follows the young stars from Season 1 as they transition from One Mile Entertainment trainees through the excitement and make-or-break journey of becoming professional K-pop idols. But while the highs are high, the lows can be even lower – it’s not easy suddenly being in the spotlight. With pressure from OME, expectations from the fans, and dealing with creative differences as a group, friendship and commitment are tested like never before.

Joining the cast this season is newcomer Ryan Jacob Kong as Young-Jae, alongside returning cast members Julia Kim Caldwell as Hannah, Taran Kim (“Rock of Ages”) as Leo, Brianna Kim (So Help Me Todd) as Chan-Mi, Joshua Lee (XO, Kitty) as Supreme, Angela Son as Sun Hee, Kylie Haasz (The Next Step) as Mina, Sean Baek (Reacher) as Ken Yoon, Paul Seungbin Lee as Auzzy, Zeboria Peters (The Haunted Museum) as Rook, and M.J. Kang (The Bequeathed) as Sandra.

Recording artist, songwriter, producer, and musician August Rigo returns with a fresh and infectious new original soundtrack for Season 2. Rigo has written songs for global K-pop sensations BTS (“Black Swan” and “On,” amassing over 1 billion views combined on YouTube), “U Smile” for Justin Bieber and “Gotta Be You” for One Direction.

GANGNAM PROJECT is co-commissioned by CBC Kids and CBBC and produced by Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures with the financial participation of Shaw Rocket Fund and the Canada Media Fund. Series creator Sarah Haasz serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside head writer Jennica Harper and Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, with Justin Wu, Gloria Kim, and Samantha Wan directing.

Federation Kids & Family is handling worldwide sales, with Season 1 acquisitions thus far including France Télévisions (France), ABC (Australia), YLE (Finland), TV3 Group (Baltics) and NRK (Norway), to name a few.

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Featured, Industry News

Laura Jabalee Johnston joins Hitsby Entertainment as partner and executive producer

From a media release:

Hitsby Entertainment proudly announces the addition of seasoned media executive Laura Jabalee Johnston (pictured top left) as Partner and Executive Producer. Laura joins Founder Andrew Morris (pictured top right) at the Toronto-based independent production company, bringing her wealth of experience to an exciting new chapter for Hitsby.

Laura most recently served as General Manager of Find Your Fun, a Wizards of the Coast company, where she led the mobile-gaming studio and navigated the Canadian business unit through massive organizational change. Prior to that role, as Secret Location’sDirector of Business Affairs, Laura drove the Emmy award-winning studio’s integration into and subsequent spin off from its parent companies, eOne and Hasbro. Her leadership extends back to her time at Bizable Media, working alongside company founders and high-profile clients like ICF Films (Saving Hope, Burden of Truth), Halfire Entertainment (Alias Grace), and Redcloud Studios (Future History).

“I’m beyond excited to join Hitsby at such a dynamic time,” says Laura Jabalee Johnston. “Andrew and I are dedicated to telling bold, underrepresented stories and ensuring the creative process respects the needs of the storytellers. It’s about shaping the production process around the creators rather than asking them to bend to outdated industry norms. ‘That’s how it’s always been done’— my least favourite line in this business.”

“While Laura and I share the same production values, she’s also got a great storytelling sensibility,” says Andrew Morris. “With her joining the team, Hitsby strengthens its commitment to pushing boundaries and reimagining what Canadian content can be.”

Together, Andrew and Laura are developing a slate of scripted comedy and drama series, with announcements and talent reveals to come. Hitsby’s debut scripted comedy series, The Squeaky Wheel: Canada, aired on AMI-tv over the summer and is a finalist for the 2024 MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards for Representation of Disability in the scripted category.

About Hitsby Entertainment
Hitsby is a Toronto-based media company focused on producing bold, contemporary, and unapologetically premium content. The company partners with smart, cheeky new voices to develop unique properties for a global audience.

Laura Jabalee Johnston image courtesy of Sam Gaetz.

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Children's Programming, Featured

The new TVOKids original series Trading Skills introduces the skilled trades to Gen Alpha

From a media release:

Did you know that Canada is experiencing a growing labor shortage? In 2022, the Canadian federal government predicted that around 700,000 of the country’s skilled trade workers would retire by 2028, leaving important vacancies to fill*. The new live-action TVOkids Original series Trading Skills (13 x 11′) gives kids a sneak peek into the vibrant and rewarding world of skilled trade jobs that viewers could consider for their own future – and potentially very lucrative – careers. Stream Trading Skills across Canada starting Tues., Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. ET on TVOkids Digital platforms including TVOkids.com, TVOkids YouTube channel and Smart TV services. The series has its broadcast premiere on Tues., Oct. 15 at 4:05 p.m. ET on TVO.

From their special workshop, kid hosts Akeylah James and Brody Agmon introduce viewers to a new skilled trade in every episode. They dive into different trades, taking turns meeting passionate tradespeople and giving viewers an inside look at their expertise. Through one-on-one interviews and hands-on activities, each episode highlights a trade from the kid hosts’ unique perspectives—crafted specifically for young audiences.

The series features a range of skilled trade jobs including auto service technician, electrician, ironworker, goldsmith, baker-patissier, horticulturist, mining millwright, welder, dairy herdsperson, construction craft worker, chef, hairstylist, and an arborist.

The Trading Skills production team worked to intentionally feature a wide representation of tradespeople so that kids can see themselves on the screen and learn their stories. For example, auto service technician Nhu Nguyen is the only female in the world with a Porsche Classic certification and ironworker Jamie McMillan became an ironworker in 2002 when women only represented 2% of the trade workforce across Canada and the United States. Tammy Maki, a renowned Indigenous pastry chef, is also featured.

Riverbank Pictures filmed the series at locales across Ontario to shine a light on the province and its wonderfully diverse skilled tradespeople. Locations include the Greater Toronto Area, Vaughan, Hamilton, Waterdown, Sudbury, the Niagara region, the Caledon area, the Kitchener area, and Collingwood.

A Riverbank Pictures original production, Trading Skills is produced in association with TVOKids and is made with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund. The series is produced by Francis Mitchell, David Mitchell, Johnny Mitchell and written and directed by Johnny Mitchell and Emma Fox.

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