Feb 21, 2019

TV ROUNDUP: New Series from Hulu, Netflix, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon Int'l

This is a regular roundup of animated series that have been announced for development, production, or distribution.

Four new animated series based on Marvel characters are in production on Hulu. These shows will lead to a special event titled "The Offenders" that will bring them all together. All of these projects will target mature audiences.

Jordan Blum ("American Dad") and comedian/actor Patton Oswalt are writing "M.O.D.O.K."

Josh Gordon and Will Speck are writing "Hit Monkey," about a Japanese monkey turned vengeful assassin in Tokyo's criminal underworld.

Set in Los Angeles, "Tigra & Dazzler Show" follows a pair of "enlightened" female heroes trying to stand out in a city full of talent. Comedian Chelsea Handler and Erica Livinoja (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) wrote the script.

Finally, there is "Howard the Duck," featuring the publisher's infamous anthropomorphic bird trapped in the human world. Director Kevin Smith ("Clerks") and creator Dave Willis ("Aqua Teen Hunger Force") wrote and executive produced this dark comedy.

Comic writer Jeph Loeb (also producer of "Smallville" and "Lost") will executive produce all four projects and the crossover finale. The writer of the crossover finale has not yet been announced, and all of these characters will "form the team that no one asked for" to save the world. Marvel Television has not revealed how many episodes of each series will be produced or when they will premiere. Marvel is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and Hulu is a joint venture of Disney, 21st Century Fox, Comcast-NBC Universal, and AT&T-Warner Media.

A new Transformers series titled War for Cybertron is slated to debut on Netflix in 2020. The streaming giant and Hasbro have commissioned Austin, Texas-based Rooster Teeth to produce the series, with Tokyo-based Polygon Pictures serving as the animation studio.

According to Netflix, the series will have a "new look and style of animation." The series is an origin story that explores the vast universe of Cybertron, the planet where the Transformers were born.

Led by showrunner FJ DeSanto (Transformers: Return of the Titans, Transformers: Power of the Prime), the show's writing team will include several Transformers veterans familiar with the animated franchise: George Krstic ("Mega XLR," "Transformers: Combiner Wars"), Gavin Hignite ("Transformers: Cyberverse"), and Brandon Easton ("Agent Carter," "Transformers: Rescuebots").

Two Canadian production companies - Pipeline Studios of Hamilton, Ontario and Toronto-based Toon Box Entertainment - are jointly developing a slate of animated content, pursuant to a multi-year co-development agreement signed last year.

Their first venture as partners is the animated series "Nut Jobs," based on Toonbox's theatrical franchise "The Nut Job."

Grant Moran, former executive director of production at Nickelodeon, was hired as showrunner for the television series.

Broadcast sales of the film have not yet been announced.

Independent studio Zag America ("The Miracle Ladybug & Cat Noir Tales") sold the broadcast rights to the animated action comedy series "Power Players" to Cartoon Network. The project was developed by Zag Entertainment founder Jeremy Zag, written by Man of Action ("Ben 10," "Big Hero 6") and co-produced by ON Entertainment. Zag has also partnered with Playmates Toys for a line of toys based on characters from the new show.

The producers are using the original CGI hybrid animation technique and claim that "this is the first time this rendering technique has been used in a series format." "Power Players" follows Axel, a young boy with the ability to transform into a living action figure. As a toy-sized hero, he adopts other toys and experiences the world around him from a new perspective.

The series will debut later this year.

Co-produced in Canada and Ireland by DHX Media and Cartoon Saloon in association with Family Channel (Canada) and RTE (Ireland), Dorg Van Dango will be broadcast by Nickelodeon International in many The film will be broadcast in: the UK, Australia, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Spain, Central Europe, Poland, Israel, Latin America, Asia (excluding China), India, the Middle East, and North Africa. In Canada, the 52 x 11. series will be broadcast on the Family Channel. No U.S. deal has been announced at this time.

Based on an original idea by Fabian Arlinghuyser (animation director, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner) and Nora Toomey (director, The Breadwinner), Dorg Van Dango is about the ordinary town of Norrmil It is a comedy for 6-11 year olds featuring Dorg, an ordinary child living in the mundane town of Norrmir. His ordinary life changes when he meets a delinquent team called the "Magicals," consisting of an edgy unicorn, an ancient witch, a curious alien, and a creepy ghost who have just escaped from the infamous Area 51. Dawg helps them hide among the citizens of Normill by disguising them as teenagers and hiding them in the basement of a local shopping mall.

Cartoon Saloon (which is nominated for an Academy Award for its short film "Late Afternoon") is responsible for script, design, storyboards, post-production and distribution in Ireland and the UK, with DHX Media producing voice recordings, characters and backgrounds, animation, and distribution in the rest of the world.

Nick Murphy will lead the writing team, with Arline Heuser and DHX Media's Matt Ferguson leading the creative team. The series is currently being produced at DHX Media's Vancouver studio and is slated for international expansion in 2020.