Scholastic Entertainment and its subsidiary 9 Story Media Group have started development on three new series (all adaptations of Scholastic books) and a long-form expansion of popular digital series Paris & Pups (pictured above). 

It’s only been a few weeks since the September 23 premiere of this CG-animated short-form series on YouTube, but Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, HappyNest Entertainment and 9 Story have teamed up again to create two 45-minute specials and a long-form series based on the brand. The Paris & Pups YouTube channel already has more than 100,000 subscribers, and 9 Story has done licensing deals with Playmates Toys and Scholastic for publishing. In the series, Paris Star and her five pups spread kindness and confidence as they help people be their best selves. It’s aimed at five- to eight-year-olds. 

9 Story’s plan for Paris & Pups has always been to turn it into a 360-degree franchise, and the early response to the series has “reinforced our belief in the brand’s huge potential,” says Natalie Osborne, chief strategy officer at 9 Story.  

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Scholastic and 9 Story are also adapting several books from the publisher’s kids catalogue into TV concepts. Dragon Girls, based on Maddy Mara’s same-name 18-title series with 4.1 million copies in print, is about three girls who become dragons when they’re transported to a magical world and have to use their new powers to protect it from an evil queen. This 52 x 11-minute, CG-animated series for six to nines. 

Dragon Girls. There’s an animation test from this series from Brown Bag Films that’ll be available at MIP.

Dragon Girls taps into kids’ desire for stories with magic, courage and realistic characters, says Caitlin Friedman, EVP of content and production at Scholastic Entertainment. Brown Bag Films has made an animation test for the series that the team will be showing in meetings at MIPCOM, she adds. 

On the live-action front, 9 Story and Scholastic have two new adaptations in the works. The first is an hour-long I Spy family game show featuring teams that compete in searching games. It’s based on the popular search-and-find books from author Jean Marzollo and photographer Walter Wick that have 75 million-plus copies in print. The series is being developed and produced with Digomind Productions, the company owned by executive producer Kevin Williams, who has worked on Family Feud and the Disney-themed quiz show Quizney. 

A live-action treatment based on Will Taylor’s three-book series The School for Wicked Witches is also in the works. This is a 10 x 30-minute series for the seven to 12 set that revolves around a sweet teenager who gets sent to a school for wicked witches. The story has plenty of magic and mystery, but is really about encouraging kids to embrace who they are inside. 9 Story and Scholastic have tapped writer Anna McCleery (The Lady Grace Mysteries, Murder Most Unladylike) to adapt the books. 

Scholastic finalized its US$182-million acquisition of 9 Story in June 2024, creating a kids media business that spans publishing, production, distribution and licensing. At the time, the companies said they had 89 projects on their combined development slate.