The N catches a three-show wave with MarVista and BME

L.A.’s MarVista and That’s So Raven producer Brookwell McNamara Entertainment haved landed a deal to develop and produce three new live-action shows for tween/teen network The N. The three-series deal has already spawned Boarding School, a 22 x half-hour teen drama about five girls trying to go pro in the male-dominated sport of surfing. Production is slated to begin in spring 2005 for a fall ’05 launch.

Michael Jacobs, president of production and distribution at MarVista, says the other two series will likely be live-action comedies. Although he wasn’t able to go into specific details, Jacobs hints that MarVista and BME are brainstorming a single-camera comedy and a stage-based sitcom. Sarah Tomassi Lindman, The N’s VP of production and programming, adds that these two shows will likely debut in Q2 2006 and Q1 2007 if they’re greenlit.

This is the first presale for MarVista and BME, which forged their co-production and distribution partnership in March 2004.

CBBC and Cloud 9 suit up on Britt Allcroft’s scuba show

Hot on the heels of Australia’s Cloud 9 coming on-board as a co-producer, Britt Allcroft’s Scoobs has found its first on-air home. CBBC will make a splash with the live-action series in fall 2006, subject to cast and location approval. The ocean adventure show for six- to 11-year-olds centers around a group of deepsea-diving kid sleuths. Scoobs will head into production in January 2005 in Australasia, and worldwide distribution will be split between Britt Allcroft Productions and Cloud 9’s distribution arm, Cumulus.

Marvel taps Antefilms for Fantastic Four tube foray

With the big screen and retail shelves covered, Marvel Enterprises is now gearing up to take its Fantastic Four franchise to the small screen with a little help from France’s Antefilms. The animation house behind Code Lyoko and Funky Cops has agreed to fund, produce and develop a 2-D/3-D show based on the superhero quartet. Set to debut in fall 2006, the 26 x half-hour series will be distributed internationally by Antefilm’s sales unit, Moonscoop, while Marvel will manage TV and DVD rights in the U.S.

Anime heavyweights form U.S. triumvirate

Looking to pool their resources and expertise in an effort to build on a combined 70% share of the State-side anime video market, the three largest genre specialists in the U.S. have teamed up in a new joint production venture. Houston, Texas-based ADV Films (which also owns the Anime Network), Fort Worth’s FUNimation Productions (Dragonball Z’s creator) and Geneon Entertainment (owned by Tokyo-based advertising behemoth Dentsu) out of Long Beach, California will work together to develop, produce and market new anime series for kids and young adults that will play out as TV and home entertainment properties.