Guru Studio is rolling out a new short-form True and the Rainbow Kingdom series this month, True & You (pictured), and the studio hopes the first batch of shorts focused on mindfulness will help the new iteration find new viewers nearly 10 years after the original series first debuted.

CG-animated True and the Rainbow Kingdom first premiered on Netflix in 2017, and almost a decade later, Guru has an opportunity to introduce the brand to a new generation that’s watching content on YouTube, a Guru spokesperson says.

The first batch of episodes in this new digital series takes the mindfulness and emotional wellness elements of the original series and puts them front-and-center in an easily digestible format. This makes the show a great fit for YouTube’s mental health-focused efforts in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. The platform is supporting True & You by featuring several of the shorts on the YouTube Kids homepage, starting on Thursday (May 7).

(It’s worth noting that Guru isn’t the first studio to strategically position its series for success by partnering with YouTube on issues-based content; Sinking Ship and Lion Forge’s new digital-first series Lila Goes Viral is also getting prime positioning on the platform thanks to its environmental themes.)

True & You consists of 30 shorts ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes long. Ontario Creates supported the shorts’ financing, and Guru is looking for broadcast and licensing partners.

The original True series is a consistently strong performer on Netflix, but in recent years Guru has seen the most significant growth on YouTube, where the series reaches “tens of millions” kids every month, according to a Guru spokesperson. The show’s channel has five billion views, making it a natural place to roll out the new content.

Unlike the more action-focused elements of the long-form series, where True uses magic to solve problems, the first collection of new shorts are designed to teach quick strategies for creating moments of mindfulness, including guided breathing exercises, as well as ASMR videos with calming visuals.

Mental Health Awareness Month puts a spotlight on emotional well-being. Although there was a surge of meditation and mindfulness programming during the pandemic, the commissioning of new projects has declined—even though the need for content that helps kids regulate their emotions hasn’t lost its importance.

That’s a key reason Guru created True & You, the studio’s president and executive creative director Frank Falcone said in a release. “More than ever, kids need a break. Families want purposeful screen time.”

Guru says it’s seeking partnerships across broadcasting and licensing for the new series. True & You would be a fit as interstitials for broadcasters and AVODs, and the studio is looking for partners to build True out into new episodic content, gaming and CP.

Amid the rising interest in True content on YouTube, the studio is also developing new formats for expanding the IP further, including a special. New licensing announcements in gaming and apparel are on the way. And True & You will continue with more short-form videos, including action-packed episodes and slapstick videos featuring Bartleby the cat, which will be rolling out in the summer.

Image courtesy of Guru.