Apple TV has announced a long-in-the-works 2D-animated series called My Brother the Minotaur for six to 11-year-olds.

The streamer has a history of only announcing projects shortly before they air, and this series is no exception. Slated to launch globally on April 24, the show is produced by Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon and Northern Irish studio Dog Ears (Puffin Rock). It’ll be a package of nine x 30-minute episodes followed by an hour-long finale.

The series revolves around a young half-boy, half-bull minotaur who’s raised by a human family—until he sets off on a thrilling mission with his human brother and their friends to find out more about his past. Leaning into Cartoon Saloon’s signature elements like folklore and artistic 2D visuals, it’ll also tackle “universal themes of growing up, feeling different and discovering where you belong,” says a release.

Apple TV was on a kidlit adaptation streak last year, with releases like Lulu Is a Rhinoceros, Not a Box and The Sisters Grimm. But Minotaur is an original concept created by writer/animator Donal Mangan. 

My Brother the Minotaur was created by Donal Mangan, and directed by Maurice Joyce.

It’s been in the works for quite a while, and is apparently the same “epic” series that Cartoon Saloon co-founder Tomm Moore referenced back in this 2021 interview. It was around the time that Apple had launched Cartoon Saloon’s Oscar-nominated Wolfwalkers (2020), a fantasy film directed by Moore and Ross Stewart.

Looking ahead, the Irish indie may be seeing more activity soon. It recently recruited Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo as its new CEO to succeed MD Gerry Shirren, and one of the first things on his to-do list is to secure financing for a number of in-development projects. He will also build out the studio’s slate and help shape a robust online strategy.

Shirren and Fionnuala Deane are attached as EPs on Minotaur, with Moore, John McDaid, Nuria Blanco and Cartoon Saloon co-founders Nora Twomey and Paul Young producing. Maurice Joyce (Vikingskool) is directing.