Jul 14, 2015

Nelvana and Sony Partner on "Hotel Transylvania" TV Series

Director Gendy Tartakovsky has saved Sony Pictures Animation's "Hotel Transylvania" series from development hell. Now it gets a shiny new feature film sequel and, starting today, a TV show.

Sony is working with Canada's Nelvana to produce the "Hotel Transylvania" animated series for television; slated to begin in early 2017, the TV spin-off, which focuses on Mavis's teenage years, is being produced by the 44-year-old studio Nelvana and will be produced by Nelvana. Nelvana has provided a diverse range of animation over the years, from the animated toddler series "Maggie and the Fierce Beast" to "Care Bears," "Roly-Poly Olly," and "Star Wars" spin-offs such as "Droids" and "Ewoks."

It has not yet been announced whether Tartakovsky will be involved in the "Hotel Transylvania" animated television series, nor has the show's voice cast been announced. Sony will handle U.S. distribution, while Nelvana's parent company, Corus Entertainment, will handle international distribution. Rick Michel of Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) and Colin Baum and Eileen Weibel of Nelvana will serve as executive producers.

"We are delighted to form a new relationship with Sony Pictures Animation to develop the world of 'Hotel Transylvania' into a new TV series. The hilarious characters and clever premise of "Hotel Transylvania" set the stage for endless story possibilities.

"Hotel Transylvania 2" opens in theaters on September 25. Tartakovsky's first "Hotel Transylvania" film successfully blends cartoon physics with the Saturday Night Live cast's famous comedy inhabited by creepy and bizarre characters, resulting in perhaps surprising critical acclaim and, for the studio, a box office success for what had previously been a question mark.

If Tartakovsky and the SPA can manage to keep the gags and material in Hotel Transylvania 2 from running out, there is no reason why Nelvana cannot do the same on television.