Brian Robbins, the former co-CEO of Paramount and president of Nickelodeon, is launching a kids & family production company, and he reportedly has a tentative first-look deal in place with Sony.

The company’s model will be to create animated and live-action programming for YouTube and digital, with the longer-term goal of expanding these IPs into feature films that Sony releases theatrically. Sony and CAA are reportedly investing in the company, although it’s been reported by Deadline that the first-look agreement isn’t finalized yet.

Robbins has plenty of kids industry startup experience, including launching the Gen Z-focused media company/YouTube web series channel AwesomenessTV in 2012. It eventually ended up being absorbed into the Paramount’s TV studios business.

In 2018, Robbins was named president of Nickelodeon, and the first slate he rolled out was an ambitious combination of new takes on existing Nick brands and programming featuring digital-first creatives. While at Nick, he oversaw some savvy moves designed to grow its kids brands, including reviving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as an animated film and moving PAW Patrol into theatrical features.

Paramount expanded his role in 2021 to co-president and co-CEO, alongside Chris McCarthy. And in 2024, he was selected to be one of the company’s three CEOs. Robbins departed Paramount last year amid the shakeups that followed its merger with Skydance.

Sony seems like a natural partner for his next move, given the fact that CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in 2024 that the company planned to invest more in original content and developing new IPs.