Category: Television

The Comedy Central test of showing via a series of interstitial spots pulled from the HOUSE ARREST pilot worked as the cablenet has given the show a greenlight for 13 half-hours to premiere in 2004. The new animated show, from comic Denis Leary and Jim Serpico's Apostle studio, started airing as spots at 9:58 pm on May 1, 2003.

Dick Clark Productions is setting up a children's division, Dick Clark Kids, which already has an animated/live-action preschool series, THE CANBEES, scheduled for home video markets in 2004, according to VARIETY. Dick Clark's daughter, Cindy, and marketing exec Kelly Sole Holscher will acquire and develop projects for the kids arm located in Burbank, California. Holscher will also oversee marketing and distribution opportunities for Dick Clark Kids. The pair reports to Jules Haimovitz, vice chairman of DCP and coo Fran LaMaina.

4Kids Entertainment, who handles the Saturday broadcast programming for Fox, has announced their FOX BOX line-up for the 2003-04 season. New to the schedule is 4Kids' first original animated series, CUBIX, as well as SONIC X, SHAMAN KING and FUNKY COPS. Returning to the Saturday morning block will be TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, KIRBY: RIGHT BACK AT YA!, THE CRAMP TWINS and ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY.

NBC and DreamWorks Television have announced their star-studded cast for the upcoming CGI primetime toon, FATHER OF THE PRIDE. Heading up the cast will be John Goodman (ROSEANNE), along with Orlando Jones (EVOLUTION), Emmy-winner Carl Reiner (THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW) and Cheryl Hines (CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM). The comedy series will chronicle the lives of a pride of white lions that perform in Siegfried & Roy's famous Las Vegas act. The show is set to debut in Fall 2004. Goodman will play Larry, a hard-working lion in the magic act with Hines playing his wife Kate. Reiner will voice Sarmoti, Kates father, who couldn't be more different than Larry. Jones will play Larry's comical best friend Snack, a prankish gopher. CGI versions of Siegfried & Roy will also make appearances in the series. Siegfried & Roy's show is the longest-running act on the Vegas Strip and has sold out every performance for 11 years. Executive producers will be Jonathan Groff (LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN OBRIEN), DreamWorks head Jeffrey Katzenberg, Peter Mehlman (SEINFELD) and Jon Pollack (JUST SHOOT ME). The show will be produced by DreamWorks Television and NBC will retain domestic syndication rights.

MEGAMAN: NT WARRIOR premieres on the U.S. airwaves May 17, 2003 on Kids' WB! following a special preview at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles May 1416, 2003 where CAPCOM was showcasing the game series. Based on the popular comic book series, MEGAMAN: NT WARRIOR is set in the not-so-distant future during the Cyber Revolution of the year 200X, where virtually all technology is linked to a central computer system. Citizens of ACDC Town interface with this network using their personal "NetNavis" (Net Navigators) via their portable terminals (PETs). The anime/adventure series follows the discoveries and exploits of fifth-grader Lan, whose NetNavi - and alter ego- is a blue-suited, virus-fighting, virtual superhero named Mega Man. Lan and his friends plug in different powerchips to change their personal NetNavis' gadgetry and defense capabilities. These net-warriors unite to expose the darkness within their digital universe. For the latest shows on Kids' WB! check out www.kidswb.com.

PBS Kids is offering new episodes of CYBERCHASE in May 2003. The new shows, produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, air on Wednesdays, featuring characters who use math to save the day. Jackie, Matt, Inez and their pal Digit sum up their strengths and smarts to outwit the dastardly Hacker. On May 14, 2003, Binky the Cat (voiced by Bebe Neuwirth) calls the Cybersquad to an ancient Egyptian site to help when Hacker (voice by Christopher Lloyd) steals the "Eye of Rom." Al Rocker (THE TODAY SHOW) stars as journalist Sam Vander Rom, who reports on the kids' efforts to catch a rampaging cyber-whale in "A Whale of a Tale" on May 21. Exec producers are Sandra Sheppard, director of children's and educational programming at Thirteen, and Kristin Laskas Martin, former exec producer of the MAGIC SCHOOL BUS. Larry Jacobs is the animation director.

John Leguizamo, the Emmy Award-winning actor/writer/comedian, is creating ZILCH & ZERO, a 30-minute adult animated special to air on the new Spike TV (formerly The New TNN), the first network for men, according to Albie Hecht, president of Spike TV.

Kids' WB! plans to introduce a new generation of kids in the United States to one of the most beloved anime icons, ASTRO BOY, in its Saturday morning schedule in the 2003-2004 season. Sony Pictures Television and Tezuka Productions are producing the new series based on the original 50-year-old toon from Manga master, Osamu Tezuka.

To celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, May 11, 2003, Cartoon Network gives birth to a seven-hour tribute to that modern Stone Age matriarch, Wilma Flintstone. During the Mother's Day Wilma-Thon, which airs from 12:00-7:00 pm (ET/PT), viewers will see Wilma Flintstone through the years as she and Fred first court, during her pregnancy, as a new mother and, finally, as she becomes a grandmother.

Canadian animation Studio B Productions has hit one into the U.S. network ballpark, scoring a slot on Kids' WB! for a toon about baseball-playing birds that will debut in September 2003. This original production by Vancouver-based Studio B, features the adventures of a team of birds who barnstorm the circuit of D'MYNA LEAGUES playing baseball, and learn a lesson or two along the way. "We're very excited to break into the U.S. with the first ever baseball cartoon series," says Blair Peters, creator and executive producer. "I think kids will really dig the unique combination of traditional 2D characters and 3D backgrounds that capture the exciting on-field action. And adults will get a kick out of the nostalgic tributes to the likes of Shoeless Joe Jackson, Harry Carey and Babe Ruth." D'MYNA LEAGUES already has a strong batting average in its home territory of Canada, with success on both CTV (it was the broadcaster's first venture into kids programming), and kids network YTV. The show, which is distributed by Sony Pictures Television International globally, also airs in territories from Venezuela to Singapore.

Comedy Central is testing a new animated show from comic Denis Leary and Jim Serpico's Apostle studio via a series of interstitial spots pulled from the HOUSE ARREST pilot. The spots started airing on May 1, 2003 and offer animated interpretations of classic stand-up routines from comedians such as Jay Mohr, Leary, Dane Cook, Fitzsimmons, Patrice Oneal, Jeffrey Ross and Janeane Garofalo.

Kids' WB! will offer a special sneak-peek of its new adventure series TEEN TITANS on May 3, 2003. The series, coming to Kids' WB!'s 2003-04 season, is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and will be offered in conjunction with Cartoon Network. TEEN TITANS features Robin The Boy Wonder (without Batman) and fellow teens Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven - five superheroes, each with special powers, who unite to form a defensive force to protect the Earth from a new generation of villains as well as the tribulations of being a teenager. An eclectic group, their powers complement each other while their personalities often clash. Discovering how to control their powers, these Teen Titans must learn to work and grow as a team despite their stylistic differences. The series is produced by WBA under the guidance of Glen Murakami and is based on the DC comic book series. The series will debut on Cartoon Network in August 2003 and re-launch on Kids' WB! in mid-season 2004.