Tag Archives: TVOKids

BGM Sphere announces new pre-school series “Gabby’s Farm” to debut on TVOkids on May 17

From a media release:

Premiering May 17, 2021 on TVOkids, Gabby’s Farm is an engaging new preschool series from award-winning production company BGM, part of Sphere Media. TVOkids has also greenlit BGM’s Backyard Beats for a second season. This Canadian Screen Award-nominated music and arts series will be hosted again by Monica Brighton of That TVOkids Show.

TVOkids Original Gabby’s Farm (30×7) guides young viewers who are three-to-five years old through the world of farming and agriculture, encouraging their curiosity about nature, food, animal care and more. Hosted by Gabby, an adventurous six-year-old girl who’s passionate about farming, her family, and learning about all about the exciting things that happen on the farm, the series will give viewers a close look at all of the animals, equipment and activity that Gabby encounters on her family farm. Gabby’s Farm will introduce preschoolers to Gabby’s friends and neighbours, as well as farm activities like milking cows, riding tractors and exploring beehives.

Gabby’s Farm will be accompanied by the short-form series Count with Gabby! (20×2), which explores Gabby’s love of math and counting while exploring the farm.

BGM and TVOkids are also pleased to announced That TVOkids Show host Monica Brighton will return for season two of the Kidscreen Award-winning and Canadian Screen Award-nominated series Backyard Beats. Picking up on the fun and games from season one, Brighton will show school-age kids in Grades 1-3 how to create their own DIY “craft-struments” using common household items. She’ll also be joined by professional musicians who demonstrate their skills on various instruments.

Watch Gabby’s Farm on TVOkids and the TVOkids YouTube channel starting May 17, 2021. Season two of Backyard Beats will premiere Late Fall 2021.

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Rotating Planet Productions’ Zamzoom’s Animal Adventures comes to TVOkids

From a media release:

TVOkids and Montreal-based Rotating Planet Productions proudly present Zamzoom’s Animal Adventures—an imaginative, educational and hilarious new television program for ages five and up.

A 2D animation/live-action hybrid series (21 episodes X 4 minutes), Zamzoom’s Animal Adventures takes kids on an unforgettable wildlife adventure across planet Earth. In each episode, we join Zamzoom, an enthusiastically impulsive space-alien explorer, and Orbie, his sharp-as-a-whistle robot partner, as they spin the globe, point and go! Light years from home, they land in some of Earth’s most stunning landscapes, such as the expansive grasslands of East Africa and the humid rainforests of South America. Coming face-to-face with an eclectic cast of real-life animals, Zamzoom and Orbie learn about what makes each species unique—from the secret language of marmots to the diving skills of northern gannets. They also answer questions such as “Why do hyenas laugh?” and “How do bees make tasty honey?”

Though they’re very different from one another, Zamzoom and Orbie make one intrepid duo! While Zamzoom jumps into any and all experiences without reservation, Orbie accesses Earth’s database to provide amazing facts and vital information that keeps Zamzoom out of trouble. (Although sometimes Orbie resorts to physically yanking Zamzoom out of trouble with the extendable robo-arm!) Together, Zamzoom and Orbie provide bite-sized brain snacks of science and loads of laughs as they embark on an intergalactic expedition of a lifetime!

Colourful, vibrant and entertaining, Zamzoom’s Animal Adventures captures the excitement of nature and wildlife and the sense of exploration and curiosity that comes hand-in-hand with growing up. Anything is possible, and the universe is open to be discovered!

Rotating Planet Productions, based out of Montreal, Quebec, produces and distributes a vast catalogue of wildlife and social documentaries, TV series, short films and children’s programs. Ari A. Cohen, producer and director, has created award-winning and internationally-acclaimed programs for more than twenty years, collaborating with the writers of Zerby Derby and The Adventures of Napkin Man! to bring this new Canadian series to life.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

It’s My Party! premieres on TVO on June 26

From a media release:

It’s My Party!, a new TVOkids Original series that takes viewers on a fascinating journey of discovery into different communities within Canada, premieres on Tuesday, June 26 at 6 p.m. From Diwali to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa to Oshogatsu, It’s My Party! (13×22-minute episodes) offers a fresh take on the celebrations, exploring the origins and meaning behind different elements – all from a child’s perspective.

Hosted by Emily Agard (Gastroblast, Ride or Wrong), each episode pairs up two kids who have never met before: one is the party guide, and the other is the VIP guest. These two newfound friends jump in feet first into new cultural experiences, participating in challenges and games linked to the food, fashion and festivities of the dynamic celebration. Each episode culminates in a lively performance.

The June 26 premiere episode focuses on the Punjabi winter celebration Lohri, where viewers are invited to experience bhangra dancing, Indian sweets and dhol drumming.

A companion game called Party Time! enables kids to explore, customize and design their own unique celebrations. Players can personalize and interpret their party by selecting and mix-matching cultural elements from the many events in the show.

The series is produced by Bristow Global Media, in association with TVO, with the financial participation of the Shaw Rocket Fund​ and the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Key executives include executive producers Julie Bristow, Marlo Miazga and Daniel Bourré for Bristow Global Media, as well as Marney Malabar and Marianne Lambert for TVO. Distribution360 has partnered with Bristow Global Media on international distribution, also overseeing format rights worldwide.

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TVO’s Opie’s Home catches up with the energetic lad during summer break

My orange-skinned preschooler buddy has got himself a spinoff! Yes, Opie, who has been taking the fear out of kindergarten for kids and parents with Hey Opie! on TVO for the past couple of years, leaves school for a new series setting him at home.

Opie’s Home, debuting Tuesday at 10:50 a.m. on TVO, sends the friendly four-year-old—performed by Jordan Lockhart—home for the summer to spend time with his mom (Aisha Alfa), dad (Jim Annan), Gram (Claire Riley) and next door neighbour, Mr. Kabashio (Graham Greene).

TVO Kids, marblemedia and The Jim Henson Company have got educational and truly entertaining kids’ programming down pat and Opie’s Home is no exception. The first seven-minute instalment introduces trust and responsibility in an interesting way as Opie is allowed to handle his dad’s cell phone so he can take a “big boy” selfie. There are a few near-misses along the way—running on stairs with electronics in your hand isn’t the safest—but Opie is successful in landing “the funnest fun” selfie ever with some help from Snackasaurus. Episode 2 gets a little more serious, as kale smoothies don’t sound like fun at all to Opie and Gavin.

Opie’s Home airs Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:50 a.m. on TVO and anytime on TVOKids. The series will premiere later this fall across Canada on Knowledge Kids and CityTV Saskatchewan.

Images courtesy of TVO.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

TVO’s Canada Crew celebrates the country’s 150th in style

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be everywhere. Running behind a group of students prepping for their prom in Vancouver, kayaking up to supporters outside their cottage … I almost expect to see him in line with me at Starbucks. So, it’s nice to see Sophie Grégoire Trudeau getting some airtime as well, as one of several guests on TVO’s newest kid’s series Canada Crew.

Created by Ben Mazzotta and executive-produced by Maria Kennedy, Canada Crew—debuting Monday—is part of the public broadcaster’s Summer of Canada lineup that includes Opie’s Home and Kid Diners; both of those series bow on Tuesday. Mazzotta and Kennedy were meeting with Marney Malabar, TVO’s director of kids TV, to go over ideas for Now You Know when she asked for content tied to Canada’s 150th birthday. The independent producers batted around ideas in the car ride home.

“We were saying, ‘What if we did this? What if we did that?'” Mazzotta recalls. “We came up with an idea that morphed into what we see now.”

“We went with our strengths,” Kennedy says. “We know puppets through Now You Know and having high-profile guests on a show. We wrote a concept based on that.” Canada Crew‘s puppet hosts are Bebe the Beaver, Mo the Moose and Gavin the Canada Goose; the trio travels to every province and territory introducing kids the things that make Canada what it is: people and places, food, pastimes, animals and nature, and the national anthem. Big-name guests in the 26 seven-minute instalments include, aside from Trudeau, celebrity chef Susur Lee, hockey great Darryl Sittler, Olympic kayaker Adam van Koeverden, WE Day founder Craig Kielburger and Major Indira Thackorie of the Royal Canadian Air Forces Snowbirds team.

“Bebe is excited by everything,” Mazzotta says. “She’s precocious, she’s really funny, energetic and not afraid of anything. Mo is a little more cautious, studious and uses an iPad to research facts. And Gavin is a little more of a bumbling character, falling and tripping and forgets he can fly.” Together, they aim to educate viewers not only about the history of this country and what makes us unique from the rest of the world but to entertain too.

Mission accomplished.

Canada Crew airs at 8:20 a.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on TVO Kids and is available on TVOKids.com.

Images courtesy of TVO.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail