Montreal-based Sardine Production’s animated comedy series ToonMarty has been picked up by Discovery Networks Italy in a deal brokered by Barcelona-based distributor GoldBee. The 40 x 11-minute series will air on Discovery’s free-to-air Italian channel K2 starting later this spring.

GoldBee also signed a deal with DHX Media’s digital kids network WildBrain to launch and develop ToonMarty content on YouTube.

Produced by Sardine Productions with support from the Bell Fund, the Canadian Media Fund, the CPTC, the Shaw Rocket Fund and the SODEC, the series was originally commissioned by Corus Entertainment for its French and English Teletoon networks, where it premiered in May 2017. It was then picked up by France Télévisions’ France 4 channel and Nickelodeon for its international channels and digital platforms, excluding North America, China and Japan. The show will also begin airing on CITV in the UK later this year.

In Toonville, where all cartoons live, Marty is the only employee at Toonmart and he loves to stick his nose in everybody’s business, often leading to zany adventures. ToonMarty was developed in tandem with an interactive online game entitled Marty’s Special Delivery that charges players with serving the eccentric customers who inhabit Toonville.