Tag Archives: Nelvana

Nelvana and Lambur Productions are on the case as production is underway on the new live-action series, The Hardy Boys

From a media release:

Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, along with Lambur Productions, announced today that production is underway on a new live-action Canadian original series, The Hardy Boys (13x60min). Based on Edward Stratemeyer’s bestselling classic children’s books, the mystery-drama features the principal characters in their teen years. Production for the teen series continues to shoot in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area until January 2020.

Slated to premiere on YTV in Canada and premium streaming platform Hulu in the U.S. next year, the hour-long serialized action-packed series stars an all-Canadian main cast including James Tupper (Big Little Lies) as Hardy boys’ father ‘Fenton Hardy,’ Rohan Campbell (Mech-X4) as ‘Frank Hardy,’ and Alexander Elliot (Detention Adventure) as ‘Joe Hardy.’ The Hardy Boys joins Hulu’s established library of licensed and original book-to-television adaptations including The Handmaids Tale, Looking For Alaska, Killing Eve and Friday Night Lights.

After the tragic death of their mother, Frank Hardy, 16, and his brother Joe, 12, are moved from the big city to their mother’s hometown of Bridgeport for the summer. Their father, Fenton, is convinced his wife Laura’s death was no accident and leaves the boys with their aunt as he chases down a lead. Frank and Joe set out to solve the mystery themselves only to find the secret runs deeper than they could have ever imagined. The task of fitting into their new environment is made even harder when the boys begin to believe their mother’s killer is in Bridgeport and suddenly everyone in town is a suspect!

The Hardy Boys is executive produced by Joan Lambur; Peter Mohan, who also serves as head writer; and Jason Stone, who also serves as lead director. Madeleine Lambur serves as creative producer and Paula Smith is Supervising Producer. For Corus and Nelvana, Kathleen Meek is production executive and Doug Murphy, Pam Westman, and Athena Georgaklis are executive producers.

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WOW Unlimited Media’s Mainframe Studios debuts new productions

From a media release:

WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. continues to make inroads in the competitive marketplace of kids and youth entertainment. Mainframe Studios, WOW’s Vancouver based animated and live-action television production studio, is about to debut projects that reach a broad demographic. While it continues to offer traditionally accessible fare, the company is embracing the new digital options that showcase its innovation and production expertise.

Mainframe Studios’ highly anticipated hybrid live-action /CG animated series ReBoot: The Guardian Code, will premiere as a Netflix original series worldwide on March 30th, followed by Canadian distribution on YTV in June. Created by Studio Head Michael Hefferon, the action comedy follows the adventures of four teenagers who discover on the first day of high school that they have been selected to become the next generation Guardians of Cyberspace with the help of Vera, an artificially intelligent bio-constructed teenage girl. ReBoot: The Guardian Code is the first television series to create visually stunning animation using the Unreal Game Engine with 4K resolution and features a mix of character-driven stories, humour, and adrenaline pumping action to captivate and engage a wide audience of viewers. ReBoot: The Guardian Code is distributed by Nelvana and produced by Mainframe Studios.

Mainframe is currently developing The Anybodies, a 6-11 animated comedy/adventure series about a 12-year-old girl who discovers her powers as a shapeshifter when reunited with her real family after being switched at birth. The series is based on the successful book trilogy by author Julianna Baggott (aka N.E. Bode), as adapted by writers David H. Steinberg & Keetgi Kogan Steinberg (Yo Kai Watch), who will be executive producers. Emmy award-winning director Mark Risley is on board to direct the series.

Mainframe Studios will also continue its longstanding relationship with Mattel and Barbie. It is in production on a 26-episode TV series entitled Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures. The studio has produced 30+ animated Barbie movies with Mattel over the past 17 years.

 

 

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Strong girls battle evil in YTV’s animated adventure Mysticons

When it came to finding a critic for his new series, Mysticons, creator Sean Jara didn’t have to go far. He turned to his young daughter.

“She is definitely a fan,” he says with a laugh. “We started watching the animated storyboards and she’s seen every iteration of them … she’s getting a crash course in animation school.” Jara, whose resumé includes writing for Degrassi: The Next Generation, Falcon Beach, Naturally, Sadie and Johnny Test has made a splash with the high-profile animated fantasy program Mysticons, about a quartet of fierce girls who become legendary heroes and battle a dangerous foe.

Airing Sundays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on YTV, Mysticons comes from Corus Entertainment’s legendary Nelvana and promotes strong, confident, smart and funny girls. The 40-episode series boasts the voices of Alyson Court as Arkayna Goodfey, Drake City’s princess who just wants to be a regular teen; Nicki Burke as Zarya Moonwolf, a street-smart gal with charm (and a pet foz named Choko); Evany Rosen as Emerald Goldenbraid, an engineer and Arkayna’s best friend; and Ana Sani as Piper Willowbrook, an optimistic street kid who is best buds with Zarya.

And while Mysticons is aimed at young girls, the project didn’t originally start out that way. At its inception, the project was boy-centric to focus on a male audience.

“I was hired because I’m one of the go-to people when it comes to boy’s action, but after a few years of development Nelvana saw an opportunity to develop a more girl-centric show,” Jara explains. “We talked about it, made the decision and went full-steam ahead with this new point of view.” Jara says his original idea—based on the game Dungeons & Dragons—was scrapped and he thought, “What would my daughter watch?” The result is something that became much more special and awesome.

(l-r) Piper, Zarya, Arkayna and Em

“It was about giving girls a really good adventure show,” he says. “And then we focused on the friendship between the heroes. You don’t often have that in a hero group; you usually have four or five guys and one girl.” Jara also overhauled his writing room once the gender shift happened, hiring on scribes like Shelley Scarrow, Amanda Spagnolo, Sandra Kasturi and Elise Morgan to get key insight into female friendships and break thrilling stories.

There is a lot jammed into Mysticons‘ first episode. We quickly establish the futuristic world of Drake City and are introduced to our quartet of future warriors. Turns out there was once a group of Mysticons who fought evil but they’re no longer around. That’s when evil descends on Drake City in the form of Baron Dreadbane (voiced by Mac Heywood) and an army of skeletons bent on taking over. Arkayna, Zarya, Em and Piper—after getting their hands on the fabled Dragon Disk—are transformed into a new team of Mysticons who defend their fair city and its citizens.

“It’s a fast-moving pilot and I’m really proud of it,” Jara says. “There is an A and a B story running simultaneously … I’m really happy with the way it came out.”

Mysticons airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on YTV.

Images courtesy of Corus.

 

 

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