Guru’s <em>Justin Time</em> to Premiere on Sprout

Press release from Guru Studio:

Toronto, ON – Guru Studio [1] will debut its first original adventure series, Justin Time, on 24-hour preschool channel Sprout [2] in the U.S., beginning April 22, 2012.  Sprout acquired two seasons of Justin Time, the inspiring animated preschool show that is already a huge hit on numerous networks around the world, including Discovery Kids Latin America and Disney Junior.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Sprout to introduce Justin Time to children and parents all across America,” said Frank Falcone, President and Creative Director of Guru Studio.  “Sprout is a fast-growing, trusted destination for extraordinary preschool programming, and we’re proud that Justin Time will now be among this premiere channel’s standout offerings for quality children’s media.”

“Justin Time is a fantastic new addition to Sprout’s line-up of gold-standard programming expertly tailored for the preschool audience,” said Andrew Beecham, Senior Vice President of Programming for Sprout.  “Justin’s exploration of the great wide world through historical adventures encourages our viewing audience to use their imaginations while learning historical facts that a preschooler can both understand and appreciate.”

Justin Time features a young boy named Justin, who embarks on imaginary adventures with his make-believe friends Squidgy, a shape-shifting piece of yellow clay, and Olive, the group’s trusty navigator and guide.  Together, the intrepid, high-spirited trio takes off on bite-size historical adventures.  During their far-flung quests, they encounter a wide range of memorable and endearing characters – from burly Vikings on the high seas and a yodeling grandpa in the mountain tops to a lost monkey in space.  And, no matter where their journeys take them, Justin, Squidgy and Olive experience fun, friendship and adventure all along the way.

In addition, the Justin Time website, co-produced by Zincroe and Guru Studio, invites preschoolers and their families into Justin’s world to extend the fun and further the pro-social messages of the series beyond the TV screen with a range of online scroller games and apps.

Following the news of its new partnership with Sprout, Guru Studio is setting the stage for a wide-ranging licensing program for Justin Time.  A number of exciting deals will be announced later this year.

Justin Time was created by Brandon Scott and developed by Frank Falcone, Mary Bredin and Scott.  The series was produced by Guru Studio, well-known for its work on the Emmy Award-winning preschool series, The Backyardigans, as well as Guess with Jess and Babar and The New Adventures of Badou.