Toronto’s Sinking Ship Entertainment is looking to help tweens navigate the modern media landscape with its latest project, Media Stamped (four x 11 minutes).

This documentary series—which starts production in the spring—is designed to teach nine to 12s how to analyze and critique news, entertainment and social media. The concept hails from actor/filmmaker Nicole Stamp (pictured), who is also hosting and writing the show’s scripts. 

Canadian telecom giant TELUS commissioned Media Stamped through its regional documentary fund TELUS independent, and streaming services TELUS TV+ and TELUS Optik VOD will launch the series in Canada later this year. The Shaw Rocket Fund is also providing financing, and international advocacy org Global Citizen is executive producing with Sinking Ship, which will manage international sales.

Taking a humorous and educational approach, Media Stamped features a magazine-style format mashing up everything from kid-friendly tips for spotting bias/misinformation, to fun pop-culture references. In a release, Stamp explains that there’s a strong need for this kind of content to support the vast media consumption habits of Gen Alpha. “By age 10, a modern kid has seen more news media than most world leaders in history encountered in their entire lives,” she says. “It’s just so much content, and it can be challenging to know what to trust.” 

Stamp has a passion for equity and a great deal of experience in kids media. She has worked as a writer on The Snoopy Show (Apple TV+), and also has directing credits on popular series like Blue’s Clues & You (Nick Jr.) and Odd Squad (PBS KIDS). She’s a three-time Canadian Screen Awards nominee and has been shortlisted for a Writers Guild of Canada Award.