Author: Mercedes Milligan

Thunderbird & Skybound North Ink First-Look Deal

Vancouver-based multiplatform entertainment company Thunderbird Entertainment (Beat Bugs) and Skybound North — a division of Skybound Entertainment — have entered into a first-look agreement for all animated and non-animated properties being developed for TV by Skybound North in Canada.

L.A.-based Skybound Ent., led by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert with managing partner Jon Goldman, had expanded operations with the launch of Skybound North in Canada. Led by former Lucasfilm Animation executive Catherine Winder as CEO and Partner, the Vancouver-based operation is a full-service production entity geared toward developing and producing content with Canadian partners.

“The entire Skybound North team is thrilled to work with Thunderbird. Tim [Gamble, CEO] and the rest of the Thunderbird team have a proven track record of having produced some of the most innovative programming to come out of Canada,” said Winder, whose credits include The Angry Birds Movie and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “This partnership is just the beginning of what will result in ground-breaking content through collaboration with the top and emerging Canadian talent.”

The first project announced for the new partnership is Heroes and Villains: The History of Comics for AMC.

Skybound

October 20, 2016
GoldieBlox Boosts Entertainment & Marketing Teams

Children’s multimedia company GoldieBlox has expanded its entertainment and marketing teams with the hiring of kids’ entertainment veterans Kenny Davis (Chief Marketing Officer), Jenna Boyd (Chief Content Officer) and Jennifer Rahardjanoto (Creative Director). These execs will play key roles in growing the company’s presence across new media and product categories.

Davis brings over 20 years’ experience leading creative teams and launching new kids’ IP to his role as CMO. Previously, as Senior Director, Global Marketing for Hasbro, he was behind the notable relaunch of Furby. Prior to Hasbro he launched several other properties, including Skylanders for Activision and Bakugan for Spin Master.

As CCO, Boyd will focus on creating content for the GoldieBlox brand using written, animated and live-action storytelling for multiple distribution channels. A 20 year kids’ entertainment veteran, Boyd began her career as an intern at Nickelodeon, where she most recently was Senior Vice President of Animation Development, and launched the studio’s global animated shorts program resulting in the breakout hit series The Loud House.

Rahardjanoto’s role as Creative Director is to bring the GoldieBlox brand to life through story, color and design. Rahardjanoto’s past roles include Marketing Creative Director at Playstudios and Art Director at Mattel, where she was responsible for creating the look and feel of DC Super Hero Girls for animation and was also involved in the art direction, animation and rebranding of major product lines including Polly Pocket, American Girl, and the new Monster High movie.

Earlier this year, GoldieBlox announced a licensing deal with Random House for an original book series, coming in 2017. It also launched its first app, GoldieBlox: Adventures in Coding – The Rocket Cupcake Co. for iOS, designed to teach kids aged 4 and up the fundamentals of coding. Most recently, The company launched a weekly instructional YouTube series, Toy Hackers.

Jenna Boyd

Kenny Davis

Jennifer Rahardjanoto

October 20, 2016
Alex Schwartz Named Alpha Animation Head of Production

Los Angeles-based Alpha Animation has appointed Alex Schwartz as its new Head of Production, CEO Bob Bacon announced Wednesday. Schwartz is charged with overseeing creative development through production on the division’s feature animation slate.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with Bob as we build this division from the ground up,” said Schwartz. “We are extremely fortunate to have such tremendous support from a parent company like Alpha Group.”

Schwartz joins Alpha from DreamWorks Animation, where as Head of Development she was involved in the development and production of films including How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek 4, Puss in Boots, The Croods and Home. She also produced the animated feature film Mr. Peabody & Sherman with director Rob Minkoff. She will serve as executive producer on Storyscape’s live-action remake of The Toxic Avenger (directed by Conrad Vernon).

Before DreamWorks, Schwartz was Head of Production at Walden Media, overseeing a slate that included Holes, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web and Journey to the Center of the Earth. She began her film career at Touchstone Pictures, working on many successful comedies including Sister Act, Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion and Rushmore.

Alpha Animation is a division of China-based Alpha Group, now the largest animation group and a leading pan-entertainment platform in China after evolving from a primarily toy-oriented company. Its aim is to produce animated features for worldwide distribution, with an eye toward developing original material as well as leveraging existing IP.

Alex Schwarz

October 20, 2016
Nickelodeon Greenlights ‘The Loud House’ Season 3

Nickelodeon has greenlit a third 26-episode season of hit animated comedy The Loud House — currently the top-rated kids’ cartoon on TV. The order brings the total episode count to 78. The show is currently gearing up for the premiere of season 2, with season 3 slated for 2017.

Created and exec produced by animation veteran Chris Savino, The Loud House Follows young Lincoln Loud as he navigates the chaos of being the only boy in his family, which includes 10 very unique sisters. The series is based on Savino’s short of the same name for NIck’s annual Animated Shorts Program, and it is the first series to be greenlit out of the scheme.

Since its May 2 launch The Loud House has emerged as the No. 1 kids’ animated show on TV, posting double-digit gains over last year and delivering almost 2 million total viewers.

“Chris Savino has created a very engaging and relatable world through the animated series The Loud House, which is a proven hit with our audience,” said James Stephenson, SVP Animation and Games, Nickelodeon. “The season three order is a demonstration of Nickelodeon’s continued commitment to bringing fresh stories to our viewers.”

The Loud House premieres new episodes weekdays at 5 p.m. on Nickelodeon. Fans can also see more from the show on Nick.com and the NIck App, as well as on facebook.com/TheLoudHouseCartoon, and check out the Instacomic on IG @loudhouseinstacomic.

The Loud House

October 20, 2016
BLE Breaks Records in 2016

Last week’s annual Brand Licensing Europe event in London surpassed its goals with a record-breaking show. Now in its 18th year, BLE is Europe’s premiere licensing event, and is organized by UBM and sponsored by the International Licensing Merchandiser’s Association (LIMA).

The three-day 2016 event featured an all-new Matchmaking Service, which generated 200,000 online use profile views, with one user alone creating 1 million BPS of business. It also saw the launch of the Retail Licensing Club, which will bring retailers together for exclusive events throughout the year; and the announcement of Licensing Expo China.

Breaking down BLE by the numbers: The show featured over 250 exhibitors (63 new) and over 2,500 properties on display. Overall visitor attendance of more than 7,500 was a 5% increase over 2015 — plus a 13% increase in attendance from retailers. Attendees from 81 countries got otake in the biggest-ever parade of 80 characters. 2016 had the largest Retail Mentoring Programme to date with 50 participants, and over 1,700 meetings resulted from the inaugural Matchmaking Service.

In related news, this year’s License This! Competition final saw unlicensed property Let The Thoughts Be With You selected as the winner by a panel of senior licensing representatives from Marks & Spencer, The Natural History Museum, Nickelodeon and Jazwares. (See the other finalists here.)

BLE 2017 will be held October 10-12 at Olympia, London. See www.brandlicensing.eu for more information.

BLE 2016

October 20, 2016
Squanchtendo Launches First VR Project ‘Accounting’

Justin Roiland and Tanya Watson’s recently launched Squanchtendo studio has seen its first VR game arrive. Accounting is a virtual reality game from Crows Crows Crows designed with Squanchtendo, which combines the offkilter talents of William Pugh (The Stanley Parable), Dominik Johann (Shpleebly 2) and Rick & Morty creator Roiland to deliver hot number-crunching action.

Synopsis:

We want to welcome you as a new entrant to the very respected and very mature field of Accounting. You’ve been hired to be one of the first to experience the latest and greatest accountancy software in VIRTUAL REALITY. In it, you do your Accounting. That is it. Nothing more. It is a serious game and Virtual Reality is the future. Don’t question it. Consume your nutrient packages and step into the 5th most immersive world. It is for adults. Not because there’s violence and sex – but because Accounting is so serious and has so many complex numbers, if a child played it they would probably die.

The super serious game is available now for free on Steam for HTC Vive; you can download it at accountingvr.com.

Accounting

October 20, 2016
Kaleidoscope Picks Up ‘Little Princess’ for MIP & AFM

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution has signed on to globally represent Illuminated Film Company’s new animated feature project, Little Princess & The Legend of Blue Foot, and will also be releasing it in the UK. Aimed at kids ages 3-7, the film is currently in pre-production and is being shopped at MIPCOM.

“We are delighted to be working with Illuminated Films to bring Little Princess to the big screen,” said Spencer Pollard, CEO of Kaleidoscope. “It’s a fantastic brand, with global reach and we’re sure it’ll be very warmly received in the international marketplace.”

Spun off by the successful TV series, which will launch a fourth season in 2018 and a fifth in 2019, Little Princess & The Legend of Blue Foot is described as Illuminated founder Iain Harvey as a Home Alone style story in which the young protagonist outfoxes the adults.

Produced by Illuminated in the UK, the Little Princess TV series has aired on major broadcasters across the globe, including Channel 5 (UK), ZDF (Germany), Canal J (France), SVT (Sweden), DR TV (Denmark), Rai (Ital), ABC (Australia) and on Netflix streaming worldwide.

Little Princess & The Legend of Blue Foot

October 20, 2016
Euro Animation ‘Super Union’ Coheres at MIP

A “super union” of 14 different European animation organizations has been unveiled at MIPCOM in Cannes. Dubbed Animation Europe, the united force is comprised of production associations from 12 different countries coming together with the aim of defending the interests of indie producers across the continent.

Animation Europe is comprised of Anim.Be (Belgium); Animationscirclen and Producentforeningen (Denmark); Finnanimation (Finland); SPFA (France); Produzenten Allianz (Germany); Animation Ireland; Cartoon Italia (Italy); The Lithuanian Animation Association; SPPA (Poland); APPA (Portugal); Diboos and Proanimats (Spain/Catalonia); and VNAP (The Netherlands).

The new supergroup held its inaugural board elections in Cannes, returning Philippe Alessandri as chairman. Alessandri, President of Watch Next Media, also serves as president of the SPFA. Tom van Waveren of VNAP (CEO & Creative Director, CAKE) was voted vice chair, along with SPPA’s Robert Jaszczurowski (Founder, GS Animation), Cartoon Italia’s Anne-Sophie Vanhollebeke (Head of Co-productions, Studio Campedelli) and Produzenten Allianz’s Tony Loeser (Founder, MotionWorks).

The group will meet annually at key animation markets MIPJunior, Cartoon Forum and Annecy.

“We will have three main focuses,” said Alessandri. “One is to get all broadcasters and OTT platforms airing in Europe to invest in original European content. Another is help build an animation industry in Europe by securing public funding. And a third is to defend film and TV animation producer interests with European authorities in Brussels.”

MIPCOM

October 18, 2016
DreamWorks Settles in Anti-Poaching Suit, Disney Is Last Holdout

Another domino has fallen in the two-plus-year suit by animation artists alleging wage-fixing and anti-poaching agreements between major studios, with DreamWorks Animation reaching a $50 million settlement on Monday, Deadline reports. The proposal issued by DWA, now owned by NBCUniversal, makes Disney the last defendant left in the legal imbroglio.

The $50 million offer amounts to just under 40% of the damages attributed to DWA by the plaintiffs’ expert, according to the Monday filing, but is significantly higher than previous settlements offered by Blue Sky and Sony. DWA has agreed to help authenticate its documents and answer “reasonable questions,” but it will not voluntarily produce any employee to testify at trial.

Originally filed in 2014, the suit by plaintiff Robert Nitsch Jr. alleges a widespread practice of inter-studio conspiracy to keep wages low for animators, digital artists, software engineers and other employees. David Wentworth and Georgia Cano’s suits were consolidated with Nitsch’s in December of 2014 under Judge Lucy Koh.

Blue Sky Studios was the first defendant to settle in March for nearly $6 million; followed by Sony Pictures Animation and Imageworks in May with $13 million (Judge Koh will preside over a final approval hearing Nov. 11).

DreamWorks Animation

October 18, 2016
Hasbro Slates New ‘MLP: Friendship Is Magic’ and ‘Equestria Girls’ in 2017

Hasbro, Inc. has announced there will be even more fantastical adventures from two of its most popular animated properties in 2017, with the return of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

The Mane 6 will experience their most exciting escapades yet in Season 7 of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, returning to Discovery Family Channel in Spring 2017. And the spirited teens of Equestria Girls are slated for three brand new 22-minute TV specials, following the successful debut of Legends of Everfree this year.

These renewals will help keep fans hyped for the animated theatrical feature My Little Pony: The Movie, set to premiere worldwide on October 6, 2017. The film features an impressive voice cast, including Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods, Gnomeo & Juliet), Kristen Chenoweth (Rio 2, The Peanuts Movie), Taye Diggs (Murder in the First, Best Man Holiday), Michael Pena (Ant-Man, The Martian), Liev Schrieber (Ray Donovan, Spotlight) and pop star Sia.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

October 18, 2016
PBS KIDS Greenlights ‘Nature Cat’ Seasons 2 & 3

Spiffy Pictures has announced that PBS KIDS has given the greenlight to a second and third season of educational animated series Nature Cat, comprising 35 new half-hours and two original hour-long specials, with season 2 premiering in fall 2017.

Since debuting in November 2015, Nature Cat has reached nearly 34 million TV viewers, according to Nielsen, as well as averaging 13.5 million streams per month across all PBS KIDS digital platforms, per Google Analytics. The series was also nominated for Daytime Emmy and TCA awards this year.

Nature Cat was created by Spiffy Pictures and co-produced by Spiffy and WTTW Chicago. The show follows Nature Cat and his friends as the instinct-less housecat embarks on action-packed journeys of discovery in the great outdoors. The voice cast features SNL veterans Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell and Kenan Thompson, and actress Kate Micucci.

Major funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Van Eekeren Family, founders of Land O’Frost. HiHat Media handles brand licensing within the U.S and 9 Story Media Group handles consumer products outside of the U.S., as well as international distribution rights, having licensed Nature Cat to Family CHRGD (Canada), VT (Sweden), TG4 (Ireland), SIC (Portugal), Canal Panda (Spain) Nick Jr. (Italy) via Funwood Media, E Junior (Middle East), and Hop TV (Israel).

Nature Cat

October 18, 2016
‘WellieWishers’ Gets UK Deal, Season 2 Greenlight

Mattel Creations announced at MIPCOM that it has secured its first European broadcast partner for WellieWishers, with Tiny Pop in the U.K. picking up the American Girl inspired series. Sony-owned Tiny Pop is currently home to other Mattel properties, including Barbie Dreamtopia and Monster High.

WellieWishers is a 26 x 11, 2D animated series aimed at girls 5-7. Tiny Pop will debut the show in early 2017, with rights for the next three years. Greenlit for a second season, the series was developed with the help of American Girl author Valerie Tripp, and each episode is appraised by psychologist and educator Dr. Natascha Crandall, a specialist in the intersection of childhood development and media.

The series recently launched exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. A line of dolls and accessories, early chapter books and digital play experiences from American Girl were launched in June.

Synopsis: When the WellieWishers (Willa, Kendall, Ashlyn, Emerson, and Camille) step into their colorful rain boots, they are ready for anything in their aunt’s whimsical backyard garden. Young viewers are entertained through stories, humor, and catchy songs as the WellieWishers work, dream, and play together—feeding birds, making mud pies, creating art, and putting on shows—all while imparting valuable lessons in friendship.

WellieWishers

October 18, 2016
Mondo TV Inks Co-Pro Deal with Henan York Animation

As part of its strategy to expand into the Chinese market, Mondo TV has signed an agreement with China’s Henan York Animation to produce three new animated series by November 2020. The new deal builds on the partnership established between the studios on upcoming CG series Invention Story.

The multi-project agreement carries an overall budget of $24 million, which Mondo will pay out during production. The first 3D, CG-animated project will be a new original property, currently in development under the working title The Rowly Powlys. Production on the preschool-targeted series will begin next month.

York Animation

October 18, 2016
Ronen Tanchum Tapped to Head The Artery VR/AR

New York-based art and technology company The Artery is in the process of expanding its talent base by seeking top digital artists worldwide. Its most recent addition: VFX technical director Ronen Tanchum, who has been named head of The Artery’s newly launched virtual reality/augmented reality division, as Creative and Technical Director.

The announcement was made by Deborah Sullivan, Executive Producer and Managing Director of The Artery. The company, which has recently created visuals for Sony Pictures Classics’ Norman, the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards and new Netflix series The Get Down, has launched the VR/AR division to create original content for this new global market with enormous potential.

“VR today stands at just the tip of the iceberg,” says Tanchum. “Before VR came along, we were just observers, and controlled our worlds through a mouse and a keyboard. Through the VR medium, humans become active participants in the virtual world – we get to step into our own imaginations with a direct link to our brains for the first time, experiencing the first impressions of a virtual world. As creators, VR offers us a very powerful tool by which to present a unique new experience.”

Prior to joining The Artery, Tanchum produced complex FX setups and oversaw the development of digital tools for a variety of blockbuster feature films, including Deadpool, Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Happy Feet 2, TMNT: Out of the Shadows, Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Wolverine.

“The first thing I ask a potential new client who wants to create a VR experience is, ‘Why VR? What is the role of VR in your story?’ Coming from our long experiences in the CG world by working on highly demanding creative visual projects, we at The Artery have evolved our collective knowledge and developed a strong pipeline into this new VR platform,” Tanchum continues. “We are using it to its fullest to tell stories. We inform our clients that VR shouldn’t be created just because it’s ‘cool.’ The new VR platform should be used to play an integral part of the storyline itself – a well crafted VR experience should embellish and complement the story. We pride ourselves in our ‘story first’ approach to this new platform.”

The Artery

October 18, 2016
‘Blinky Bill’ & ‘Nils Holgersson’ Heading to French Canada

Studio 100 Media has secured an agreement with French Canadian pubcaster Radio-Canada, granting exclusive FTA rights for brand-new CG series Nils Holgersson (52 x 12) and The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill (52 x 12), as well as non-exclusive SVOD rights for both shows — currently in production and due on air in 2017.

“We are delighted about this collaboration with Société Radio Canada, which brings our brand-new shows to viewers in North America,” said Martin Krieger, Head of Global Distribution at Studio 100 Media. “Both Nils Holgersson and Blinky Bill are well-known international brands and we are confident that these high quality CGI series will be as successful as the originals and will capture kids’ attention in Canada.”

Nils Holgersson

The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill

October 18, 2016
Zodiak Sends ‘Floogals’ Down Under & Beyond

Zodiak Kids has scored further sales for preschool series Floogals, securing broadcast deals with ABC (Australia), Cartoonito and DeAJunior (Italy) and BBC Alba (Gaelic-speaking UK). NCircle has also picked up DVD rights in North America.

Blending photoreal CG and live-action, Floogals centers on pocket-sized aliens Fleeker, Flo and Boomer on their mission to observe and experience the exciting planet of Earth. Having made the bumpy journey from their home planet Floog, the Floogals are on a mission to document the peculiar world of “hoomans” from their four-inch-high perspective.

Floogals is based on an original idea by Dan Good and developed by Zodiak Kid Studios UK, in conjunction with Jellyfish Pictures (UK) and strategic investment partners Nevision Limited.

The show has also sold to Discovery Kids (Latin America), TVO and Knowledge Network (Canada), Hop! (Israel), Spectrum Film (Indonesia), YLE (Finland), Canal Panda (Portugal) and MBC (Middle East). Licensees include Just Play (master toy, US & Canada), Jay Franco (bedding & homeware, US) and CPS (bespoke online products). Zodiak Kids own worldwide distribution and licensing rights; Discovery Kids represents licensing rights in LatAm.

Floogals

October 18, 2016
Daily News Bytes

Story Writer Revealed for DreamWorks Shrek 5
Trolls directors Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell reveal that the fifth adventure in Far Far Away is conceived by Austin Powers scribe Michael McCullers.

Toei Animation Seeks to Crowdfund The Animal Family Pilot
Iconic studio and director Tomoyasu Murata are turning to Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake to finance a three-minute, stop-motion pilot adapted from Randall Jarrell’s children’s novel, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Dozens of Fan Artists “Re-Animate” Classic Spider-Man Cartoon
More than 70 artists collaborated on Spider-Man Re-Animate, based on “Vulture’s Prey” and produced by Grantray Lawrence Animation.

Bron Animation Studios Makes Move to London from BC
Canadian toon shop behind The Willoughbys opens UK office in Richmond Row, which it is staffing up with animators for feature film production.

CJ E&M Names Master Toy Partner for Robot Trains
Silverlit Toys has signed on as worldwide master toy licensee for the 3D CG animated adventure series.

Shrek

October 18, 2016
Alec Baldwin Is a Toddling Taskmaster in ‘Boss Baby’ Trailer

DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox are honoring National Boss’s Day by releasing the very first trailer for upcoming animated adventure, The Boss Baby — in theaters March 31, 2017.

The trailer introduces seven-year-old Tim and his parents, who together form the perfect family … at least, until Tim’s baby brother comes home. Tim seems to be the only one who is unnerved that the new baby wears a suit and carries a briefcase, never mind that he’s taking over the whole house — but he’s in for an even bigger surprise.

The Boss Baby is directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar 1-3, Megamind) and written by Michael McCullers, based on the award-winning picture book by Marla Frazee, and produced by Ramsey Ann Naito. The voice cast features Alec Baldwin as Baby, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow and Miles Bakshi as Tim.

The Boss Baby

October 17, 2016
Int’l Emmy Kids Nominees, Short Form Category Announced

At a MIPCOM press event on Monday, the nominees for the International Emmy Kids Awards were announced by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, totally 28 nominees in seven categories, spanning 13 different countries.

Animation and related category nominees are listed below. Winners will be awarded in Cannes, France during the MIPTV market on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. The presenting partners are: Ernst & Young, Miptv, Shaw Rocket Fund, TV Kids and WDR. See ww.iemmys.tv for more information and full list of nominees.

The Academy further announced that it will recognize Short-Form Series at the Awards Gala in New York, in November 2017. The category will be open to Original Fiction and Non-Fiction programs with episodes under a half-hour. The International Emmy Awards competition opens December 8, 2016 and closes February 16, 2017.

Short-form series were previously recognized at the International Digital Emmy Awards at MIPTV, with the Digital: Fiction and Non-Fiction categories. Rules and regulations for the revamped category will be posted to www.iemmys.tv in early December.

Int’l Emmy Kids Awards nominees

Kids: Preschool

Hey Duggee
Studio AKA (United Kingdom)

Molang
Millimages / Teidees Audiovisuals / Canal Plus Multithématique (France)

O Show da Luna (Earth to Luna)
TV Pinguim / Discovery Networks Latin America (Brazil)

Super Wings
FunnyFlux / QianQi / EBS (South Korea)

Kids: Animation

Larva in New York
TUBA n (South Korea)

Peanuts
N O R M AA L Animation / Peanuts Worldwide LLC. / Iconix Brand Group (France)

Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas
Aardman Animations (United Kingdom)

S.O.S Fada Manu (S.O.S. Fairy Manu)
Gloob / Boutique Filmes (Brazil)

Kids: Digital

Doodles
Ludo Studio / ABC3 Australia / Screen Australia / Screen Queensland (Australia)

Face TV
NHK / NHK Educational Corporation (Japan)

Gaming Show Interactive – The Gaming Show
Secret Location / Banger Films / DHX Media (Canada)

Malhação – Sonhos (Young Hearts – Dreams)
TV Globo (Brazil)

International Emmy Kids Awards

October 17, 2016
‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ Season 2 Hits Amazon Nov. 4

The second season of Amazon Original Kids Series Thunderbirds Are Go is set to blast off on Prime Video streaming in the US on Friday, November 4. Using a blend of CG animation and model sets, the action-packed new adventures of the Tracy brothers are produced by ITV Studios and Pukeko Pictures, in collaboration with Weta Workshop.

A reinvention of the classic Thunderbirds puppet series, Thunderbirds Are Go follows the five Tracy brothers and their cover operative Kayo as they set out on near-impossible rescue missions in their cutting-edge Thunderbird vehicles. Season two will relate even more harrowing deeds by International Rescue, and reveal Kayo’s connection to arch nemesis The Hood.

The series is executive produced by Estelle Hughes, Giles Ridge, Richard Taylor and Andrew Smith; written by Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex, Teen Titans); and directed by David Scott (LEGO Star Wars) and Theo Baynton (The Wotwots). It is distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

Thunderbirds Are Go season one is currently available for streaming for Prime members on the Amazon Video App or via amazon.com/originals at no additional cost.

Thunderbirds Are Go

October 17, 2016