Netflix is buddying up with Keith Chapman, creator of PAW Patrol and Bob the Builder, for a new early preschool series. Chapman serves as an executive producer on the upcoming animated show Buddi.
The series will launch globally with the streaming giant on March 20, and is designed to be a calming escape from the stresses and uncertainties young children often face.
“It’s all about friendship and emotional journeys, but done in a unique way,” says Chapman. “It has the same originality that Teletubbies had when it launched [and] I could see the younger end of preschool viewers being enchanted by this show.”
Buddi comes from series creator Jason Jameson and London-based Unanico Studios, in association with Shanghai Motion Magic, GCI Film, FroG-Land Production and Spider Eye Studios. In addition to Chapman, executive producers include Graham Appleby, Erica Darby, Morgan Francis, Mara Leighton, Alan Duncan Ross and Adam Stanhope. The show was developed by Jameson and Barbara Slade, with Slade serving as head writer.
Buddi is not the only show Chapman is making for the younger set right now. In October, he inked a development deal with Canadian animation studio Island of Misfits Media Ventures for the new preschool series Farmer Mars. The 52 x 11-minute CGI-animated show tells the story of a young Earth boy who gets a job farming fruits, vegetables and flowers on the red planet.
Additionally, Chapman’s new preschool series with Spin Master, Mighty Express, was also picked up by Netflix. The 52 x 11-minute series will debut globally (excluding Canada) in September and focuses on a group of kids who run train stations.