Nelvana And Discovery Announce Name For Its Kids Production Joint Venture
February 11, 2019
NELVANA AND DISCOVERY ANNOUNCE NAME FOR ITS KIDS PRODUCTION JOINT VENTURE
Two New Preschool Series The Dog & Pony Show and Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe Move Into Production
Patricia Burns Appointed Executive Manager and Supervising Producer
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TORONTO, CANADA – February 11, 2019 – Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and Discovery, Inc. are pleased to officially launch their previously announced joint venture, redknot, greenlighting two new animated series and bringing on Patricia Burns as the company’s Executive Manager and Supervising Producer.
redknot is named after the shorebird that travels between South America and Canada, among other parts of the globe. The name also includes the initials of Discovery Kids (DK), Discovery´s pay TV network for preschoolers in Latin America, and Nelvana (N), Canada’s best known producer of kids content.
Prior to joining redknot, Burns was most recently at Spin Master Entertainment where she was the Senior Director of Production, responsible for overseeing the production of all series and shorts including Paw Patrol, Bakugan: Battle Planet, and Hatchimals. In her new role, Burns will oversee redknot’s full production and development slate.
Key executives from both parent companies including Scott Dyer, President of Nelvana, and Carolina Lightcap, EVP and Chief Content Officer of Discovery Latin America/US Hispanic, are members of the board.
“This partnership combines two companies with decades of experience delivering great content to kids.” says Dyer. “This is an exciting new dimension to our growing relationship as redknot creates a pipeline of premium kids content for linear and digital markets around the world.”
“We’re thrilled to see such momentum at redknot, with the greenlight of two fantastic animated series, exploring universal themes such as friendship and curiosity, that will delight kids and families throughout the world,” says Lightcap.
To kick-start the new venture, redknot has greenlit two new animated series, The Dog & Pony Show and Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe.
Created by Little Airplane Productions Founder and CEO Josh Selig and produced by Patricia Burns, The Dog & Pony Show (52 x 11 minutes) centres on the friendship between two very different best friends, Dog and Pony, who embark on hilarious and unexpected adventures when they move to the big city from Rainbow Fjord. As they embark on the adventure of growing up and exploring their new world, things in SimpliCity turn from ordinary to extraordinary.
“The Dog & Pony Show is about the sheer joy and thrill of exploring your own unlimited potential with your very best friend,” says Josh Selig, CEO of Little Airplane Productions (A Studio 100 Company). “We are delighted to be working together with redknot on this production.”
Based on the acclaimed Kids Can Press graphic novels, written and illustrated by the award-winning author-illustrator Ashley Spires, Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe (52 x 11 minutes) is a new 3D-animated series following the adventures of Binky, a house cat with a curious and imaginative mind. Binky thinks he is a space cat on a mission to protect his human family from the biggest threat – alien attacks! With the help of his fellow P.U.R.S.T. agents (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), Binky will do anything to protect his humans from danger.
“I am thrilled that Binky will be making the purr-fect leap from page to screen,” says Ashley Spires. “Pets are unfailingly loyal and, in my opinion, are the most important part of the family. Binky Adventure books reflect that! I’m honoured that redknot chose another one of my books to animate and I cannot wait to see these special characters come to life!”
Both series will air on Discovery Kids Latin America and Treehouse Canada.
About Nelvana
Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children’s animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and boys action series and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in Canada and in over 160 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,000 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys® and Geminis. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.
Follow Nelvana Enterprises on Twitter @NelvanaEnt
About Discovery Kids:
Discovery Kids is the leading pay TV network for preschoolers in Latin America, offering premium content for kids 4-8 years old. The channel celebrates the joy of being a real kid, welcoming all kids and celebrating their differences and uniqueness, while encouraging them to have fun exploring their world. ©2018 Discovery Inc., LLC, Discovery Kids and Discovery Kids’ logo are trademarks of Discovery Inc. LLC. All rights reserved.
About Discovery:
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player and MotorTrend OnDemand; digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit https://corporate.discovery.com/ and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Emily Marshall
ChizComm Ltd. | www.chizcomm.com on behalf of Nelvana.
647.389.6101 x 341
emarshall@chizcomm.com
April Lim, Associate Publicist
Corus Entertainment
416.860.4216
april.lim@corusent.com
Carmen Marino, Director Communications
Discovery Networks Latin America
5411 4000 4046
carmen_marino@discovery.com
