Henson Independent Properties (HIP), the Jim Henson Company’s third party licensing banner, is set to debut the first episodes of the new 52 x 11-minute CGI series Elias: Rescue Team Adventures at next week’s MIPTV market in Cannes, France.

Elias: Rescue Team Adventures is a follow-up to the original series, which first gained popularity as a children’s picture book by Alf Knutsen and Sigurd Slåttebrekk. The book spawned a 39-episode TV series that aired on Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster (TV2) in 2005, as well as two full-length movies.

Norway’s Animando is producing the preschool show in partnership with the Icelandic animation studio Coaz Animation.  And Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) started airing Elias last month.

HIP represents the media distribution rights to the new series together with global consumer products rights under a deal announced last year.

Toys have always been synonymous with the brand’s success – at least in Norway, a country with a population of roughly five million. To date, more than 300 different consumer products have hit the Nordic region, with retail sales totaling more than US$70 million.  Almost one million toys and 700,000 original Elias DVDs have sold to date.

Henson will also be meeting with new broadcast partners for its own series, Doozers, as well as the HIP-represented Driftwood Bay.