Banijay secures first sales for Aquila & The Medieval Misfits

The prodco’s Kids & Family arm has sold its upcoming original 2D-animated comedy series (pictured) to Canal+ (France), ITVX (UK), NDR (Germany) and RTBF (Belgium). Co-produced by Zodiak Kids & Family France, Tiger Aspect Kids & Family and Umedia, the toon is set in a medieval world and follows a girl named Aquila who regularly stops the pampered Princess Winifred from throwing their kingdom into chaos with her destructive whims. The series was first pitched at Cartoon Forum in 2023.

Total Drama Island is getting an official Roblox game

Canadian prodco Fresh TV has partnered with Whirlygig Studios to create a new Roblox experience for the iconic animated series Total Drama Island. Whirygig will lead development on the title, which will include a faithfully recreated island from the series, competitive minigames, tournaments and ongoing updates to keep the experience fresh for both new and returning players. Unofficial Total Drama titles already exist on the Roblox platform, including Total Roblox Drama, which was authorized by Fresh TV and has accrued more than 739 million plays to date. 

Mainframe Studios forms a strategic pact with Cookbook Media

As part of the new alliance, Cookbook will work with Mainframe to package and pitch the Vancouver studio’s slate to potential buyers and expand its existing franchises through new licensing and merchandising programs. The first properties the partners will focus on initially include the CG-anime The Immortals & The Shadow Realm and the horror-comedy Ghost Town. 

Knee High Spies is headed to the BBC

The Beeb has picked up the broadcast and streaming rights to the 20-episode live-action preschool series from Aussie prodco Werne Films. Knee High Spies will air on CBeebies and stream through BBC iPlayer later this year, and follows the adventures of a team of toy spies protecting their human owner from an evil pet guinea pig Silver Paw. 

MIAM! Distribution to rep sales for Olga

The Paris-based distributor has acquired the global sales rights to the upcoming 2D-animated comedy series from its co-producers Apartment 11(Canada) and Fabrique Fantastique (Belgium). Olga (52 x 11 minutes) was commissioned by CBC/Radio-Canada, TFO and VRT after it was pitched at Cartoon Forum last year, and the series has also been pre-sold to NPO in the Netherlands. 

Blue Ant Studios unveils a third season of Old Enough!

The Canadian prodco has teamed up with Japan’s Nippon TV to produce a third English-language season of Old Enough!. The next season of the live-action series based on Nippon’s hit show following young kids doing chores and tasks on their own will air on TVOkids in the fall. Meanwhile, Nippon will air seasons one and two of the Canadian version on CSNippon beginning in April. This has also sparked the two companies to form a strategic partnership, allowing Blue Ant to adapt more of Nippon’s live-action formats for English-speaking audiences.