By: Ryan Tuchow and Sadhana Bharanidharan 

With tighter budgets and greenlights scarce, producers are arriving at MIPCOM with only their very best bets queued up in the pitch deck. Here are some of the strongest new projects we’ve seen vying to cut through the clutter and make their mark in Cannes.

Beyond the Leap (pictured above)
Target: 8 to 11
Producer: Turnip + Duck (Ireland)
Format: 10 x 22 minutes
Style: CG animation
Budget: US$7.5 million
Status: A pitch deck and artwork are available, and a pilot script will be ready by the end of October. The studio is looking for broadcasters, financing and co-producers.
Delivery: Q3 2027

During an American family’s wild road trip across Ireland, 13-year-old Luke discovers that his grandfather is secretly a magical thief from another realm who stole powerful Mystic Stones and fled to the real world years ago. Now Luke has to find the stones to save his grandpa’s life. It’s a crazy adventure that sees him dodging monsters and hunting for ancient artifacts, while enduring his goofy family’s vacation antics. The producers liken this concept to The Mitchells vs. the Machines meets Trollhunters, describing it as a show for kids who aren’t old enough for Stranger Things, but want something a little bit edgy. Seasoned producers Colm Tobin and Aidan O’Donovan (Maddie + Triggs) drew inspiration for Beyond the Leap from their own 2023 road trip across Ireland in 2023 with writer/showrunner Tony Gama-Lobo (Rise of the TMNT).

Whatever You Do Don’t Laugh 

Target: Preschool
Co-producers: Sinking Ship Entertainment (Canada), King Banana (UK)
Format: 60 x seven minutes
Style: CG animation
Budget: US$8 million to US$10 million
Status: Fully developed, 70% financed, and looking for broadcasters and private investment to close the gap. A bible, animatic, designs and three scripts are ready.
Delivery: Fall 2027

Mr. B’Tom, the very serious presenter of this comedy series, sets out to teach fundamental lessons about basic concepts like shapes, numbers and colors. But his rather dry lessons get a much needed injection of humor when something invariably goes wrong—typically at the hands of his wacky assistants and production crew. One episode sees the very short Mr. B’Tom covering the nature of tall things, but when he tries to demonstrate, there’s one button he can’t quite reach. After plenty of hilarious attempts, his crew steps in to help him. Then just as he’s about to continue his monologue, a pack of alpacas explodes onto the scene. British screenwriter and stand-up comedian Howard Read (Danger Mouse, Horrible Histories) wrote the scripts, which are designed to help kids prepare for preschool while also giving them a taste of how fun learning can be. With psychologist and educator Natascha Crandall on board as an advisor, this series uses laughter to make the learning stick.

Chickies 

Target: 4 to 7
Co-producers: Xilam Animation (France), Cube Creative (France)
Format: 78 x seven minutes
Style: CG animation
Budget: Approximately US$8 million
Status: An animatic, bible and several scripts and outlines are ready to share with buyers. With Xilam handling global distribution, the team is now looking for broadcast partners (though it has closed its first presale at France Télévisions).
Delivery: June 2027

This spinoff of the partners’ Where’s Chicky shorts series follows the avian hijinks of Chicky, Bekky and Poyo. Tired of being cooped up, the little bird buddies frequently slip away to explore life outside the henhouse, discovering new flora and fauna on their adventures. With four slapstick-driven seasons, Where’s Chicky ranks as one of Xilam’s most popular titles across linear and digital, and Chickies is taking some big swings to expand the world of its predecessor and attract new fans—most notably by giving the characters voices for the first time. The seven-minute episodes are also a step up from the one-minute format of Where’s Chicky, opening up a much broader canvas for storytelling.

Truffle 

Target: 6 and up
Producer: Happy Camper Media (Canada)
Format: 26 x seven minutes
Style: 2D animation
Budget: US$3.6 million
Status: Télé-Québec is on board as a broadcaster, and 80% of the financing for season one is in the bag. There’s a pitch deck, graphic bible, teaser, synopses for six episodes and two fully scripted episodes. The studio is looking for co-producers and broadcasters, and PVP Distribution will handle worldwide sales.
Delivery: The first batch of episodes is expected to deliver in December 2026, with the rest on deck for Q3 2027.

Seven-year-old Truffle is an up-and-coming musician/songwriter pursuing his dream of being a rock icon. In one episode, he’s a little nervous in a social situation and starts to act like a “real” rock star—a.k.a. a demanding jerk—until a friend speaks up, reminds Truffle that plenty of rock legends are actually nice, and helps him get comfortable being himself. This series is adapted from the book Forever Truffle by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (published in 2024 by La Pastèque). And notably, the David Bowie estate gave its pre-approval for Truffle to use Bowie’s hit song “Space Oddity” in one planned episode after reviewing the book, series teaser and pitch deck. Télé-Québec, the first broadcaster to sign on, sees the show as the full package. “Comedy, poetry and the most captivating melodies come together to give it a tone and energy like no other,” says VP of content Nadine Dufour.

Cats React to Facts

Target: 7 to 11
Co-producers: Keyframe Studios (UK), Serious Kids (UK)
Format: 52 x seven minutes
Style: Mixed media, with 2D cutouts and live action
Budget: US$3.75 million
Status: Pre-selling the project to broadcasters and streamers is the next step, relying on the strength of a full bible, a pilot script and an animation test. Serious Kids is managing distribution.
Delivery: Q3 2027

In this tween infotainment series, cats host their own podcast, reacting to facts about everything from AI and lasers, to robots and feng shui. Meanwhile, Tabby team leader Tom Purrrlman is determined to build a media empire—even if the only sponsor he can land is Doggie Biscuits. Inspired by a series of same-name books that have sold 100,000- plus copies and won a Lolly Award (by popular kid vote), this quirky, fast-paced show has the feel of online content/social media memes. And the feline focus is a plus, given that “cat” remains one of the most-searched keywords on the internet. BAFTA-winning TV and theater director Will Brenton (The Tweenies) is attached as the head writer.

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen‘s Q4 2025 magazine issue.