Spacetoon, the MENA kids channel, has teamed up with 26-year-old celebrity chef Abir El-Saghir for the animated series Abir and the Little Prince, based on her flashy culinary style. 

Spacetoon, one of the most popular MENA kids broadcasters, produced the 10 x six-minute series. In the 2D-animated series for six to 12s, El-Saghir stars as a chef with the magical power to heal people with her recipes. The series will launch sometime in Q3 2025 on Spacetoon’s linear channels, its Spacetoon Go streamer and its YouTube channel (12 million subscribers). 

Spacetoon is banking on the popularity of cooking and El-Saghir by partnering with her to turn the show into a full-blown franchise. The network plans to expand Abir and the Little Prince into an L&M program that spans toys, events and location-based experiences. 

Spacetoon teamed up with El-Saghir due to her popularity among kids and families and her passion for inspiring children, said Spacetoon Entertainment GM Ahmed Weiss. 

El-Saghir has roughly 60 million followers across social media, making her one of the most popular celebrity chefs and influencers in the region, according to Spacetoon. In 2023, the Lebanese chefluencer hosted the 10-episode live-action series Abir’s Kitchen for MENA channel STC TV and its streamer Jawwy TV.

Spacetoon, which broadcasts across the Middle East, grew its footprint in July by hiring a former Disney Channel Turkey exec to lead a new free-to-air channel in Turkey. Spacetoon carries a variety of original programming and international acquisitions, such as The Smurfs, Bluey and Naruto. 

Image courtesy of Spacetoon.