There's a new future for the popular FUTURAMA TV series with Comedy Central picking up rights to air at least 13 additional, soon-to-be-produced episodes, which will air in 2008.
This augments the initial license agreement Comedy Central entered into with Twentieth Century Fox Television last fall for Matt Groening's and David X. Cohens Emmy-winning animated comedy series FUTURAMA according to David Bernath, svp programming, Comedy Central.
For MTV2s new SicEmation lineup, Cuppa Coffee and Six Point Harness have provided work on the new CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH and WHERE MY DOGS AT? respectively.
As the largest stop-motion studio in North America, Cuppa Coffee was brought on board by MTV2. It was important to keep the feel of the original series and build on that to offer a slicker sharper looking show, explains series director Andrew Horne. Of course we wont stray far from what makes the show funny; blunt force trauma.
ANDROID APOCALYPSE is the latest SCI FI original movie, which will air June 24, 2006, at 9:00 pm and encores on June 28 at 9:00 pm on the SCI FI Channel.
FOX has set the fall premiere dates for its new and returning series, including its Sunday night animation block, which will air new episodes starting Sept. 10, 2006. Six new primetime shows and a new late-night entry join returning favorites on the fall schedule.
The premieres are listed below in chronological order. All times are ET/PT.
Monday, Aug. 218:00-9:00 pm, PRISON BREAK (Season premiere)9:00-10:00 pm, VANISHED (Series premiere)
Wednesday, Aug. 308:00-9:00 pm, BONES (Season premiere)
The MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE makes its Canadian television premiere on Astral Medias Family Channel during a special primetime preview on June 23, 2006, at 7:00 pm before settling into its regular Friday morning timeslot on June 30 at 10:30 am.
Nick Jr. has greenlit a second season of the hit animated series, THE WONDER PETS! The groundbreaking series, which premiered March 3, 2006, has consistently ranked among the top three preschool programs on all of commercial television.
Created and exec produced by Josh Selig of Little Airplane Prods. Inc., THE WONDER PETS! stars three courageous classroom pets who sing opera and travel the world as they take preschoolers on musical world adventures. THE WONDER PETS! airs regularly on Nick Jr. weekdays at 11:00 am.
animate! tv has announced the 2006 commissions that will receive their terrestrial TV premiere on Channel 4 in Nov. 2007.
HIT Ent. is set to launch a European kids channel within 18 months in a partnership with Hallmark Intl owners Sparrowhawk Media, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
CEO Bruce Steinberg, former ceo of channel group Fox Kids Europe, plans to leverage the brand internationally, but will not launch in the U.K., where he feels the market is overcrowded.
The new partnership will be similar to the broadcaster's U.S. channel Sprout, which it operates in partnership with PBS, Comcast and Sesame Workshop.
Manchester-based Cosgrove Hall animators have employed the latest technology and animation magic to recreate two lost episodes from the cult classic series, for the BBC. The BBC was in a quandary when it decided to release the DOCTOR WHO series and discovered sadly that, although the soundtracks remained, some 100 episodes were missing from the archives.
Nickelodeons AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER has been greenlit for 20 additional episodes to premiere in 2007. Created and exec produced by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the new pick-up order will bring the total number of episodes for the series to 60, for a third season.
DIC Ent. and AOL online kids destination, KOL, have formed a partnership to co-produce a new Saturday morning branded programming block, "KOL's Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS," which will premiere Sept. 16, 2006. DIC and KOL will also develop online and on-air co-production initiatives in conjunction with the block.
Animax Asia announced today (June 21, 2006) a new long-term output deal with GONZO, Japan's leading animation studio. Asia viewers will now get the chance to watch anime programs from GONZO, via Animax, soon after Japan viewers.
FIVEs Milkshake has ordered a second season of FUNKY VALLEY from British award-winning animation studio Honeycomb Animation.
The successful preschool show was first aired in May 2004 on FIVEs preschool strand Milkshake!, and has been sold to more than 30 territories worldwide, including Italy, South Africa, Canada and Australia. (A spin-off series, FUNKY TOWN, is currently in production.)
FUNimation Ent., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corp. and the market share leader for home video sales of Japanese animation in the U.S., announced today (June 16, 2006) that the FUNimation Channel is now live in Los Angeles via digital broadcast on LA 18.3. The FUNimation Channel provides 24-hour digital programming featuring top anime brands in the U.S. to more than five million households in the Los Angeles area.
Boomstone Ent. Inc. is in production on a new childrens all Canadian animated project, LITTLE MELODY, featuring the musical adventures of Little Melody, her magical flute, Toot, and best friend and narrator Mrs Quill, a friendly Bluebird voiced by Margot Kidder (SUPERMAN, SMALLVILLE). Little Melody is slated for fall 2007 release.
BLACK HOLE is the latest installment in the current season of SC FI Movies. It premiered June 10, 2006, and encores on June 15 at 9:00 pm on the SCI FI Channel.
When a St. Louis based particle accelerator malfunctions, an ever-expanding and unstoppable black hole forms. Out of the hole comes a vicious "energy creature" that begins destroying everything in its path. It stars Kristy Swanson, Judd Nelson and Julia Sinks.
Cartoon Network in India is set to airing locally produced features, SON OF ALLADIN and THE LEGEND OF BUDDHA, according to THE HINDU.
Kicking off this programming was the 3D animated, SON OF ALLADIN. This cartoon sees Mustafa, Prince of Basra Alladin's son get the better of the evil Zee Zee Ba, meet the woman of his dreams and rescue his long lost parents.
MTV2 has joined up with Aardman Animations to broadcast a series of shorts featuring the character Big Jeff.
MTV2 is MTV Networks U.K. & Irelands channel dedicated to guitar-based music. The 10 BIG JEFF films range from 90 to 180 seconds in duration and will be scattered amongst the MTV2 schedule from mid June. The animations were created, written and directed by Aardmans Tom Parkinson and exec produced by Miles Bullough, Pete Lord and Dave Sproxton.
Monster Distributes just sold its new animated series, IM AN ANIMAL, from Oscar-nominated Brown Bag Films to Nickelodeon UK. Produced with the support of RTE and the Irish Film Board, the series has already been sold to Rai Italy, TV Ontario, Knowledge Network Canada, Cartoon Network Australia, Cable TV Hong Kong, Sanctuary UK, Hungama TV Indonesia, Malaysia and India and Al Sayyar in the Middle East.
IM AN ANIMAL was one of the top programs at MIPCOM Jr. last year, and will have all 52x2 episodes completed this month.
TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR makes its basic cable homecoming with a new season on Adult Swim this June. The small-town politics, poor decision making, delusional thinking and curious guest stars that have become the Adult Swim shows hallmark started up again on June 4, 2006, at 12:30 am.
NOGGIN will honor dad on Fathers Day with themed episodes from the networks preschool lineup. On Sunday, June 18, beginning at 6:30 am (ET), fans can join the characters of OOBI, CONNIE THE COW, MIFFY AND FRIENDS, LITTLE BEAR and FRANKLIN, as they pay tribute to dad.
* 6:30 am CONNIE THE COW Connie & Her FatherConnie's mummy tells her that theyre going to have a surprise party for her daddys birthday. With help from her friends, Connie gets everything ready to make her daddy's celebration a very special one.
Coliseum, the action-adventure brand of Cookie Jar Ent. Inc., will make its U.S. debut of the series, SPIDER RIDERS, on KIDS WB! on Saturday, June 17, 2006, at 10:30 am (ET/PT). SPIDER RIDERS is a co-production between Cookie Jar and leading Japanese advertising agency, Yomiko, together with celebrated Japanese animation studio, Bee Train, known for its popular cult series, HACK//SIGN. SPIDER RIDERS is Coliseums largest production since the companys inception in 2004.
PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE, the winner of 22 Emmy Awards, returns to TV, joining the Adult Swim lineup beginning Monday, July 10. The acclaimed series, which has been largely absent from the airwaves for nearly 15 years, stars Paul Reubens as his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, and features a rich cast of characters who drop by the place where anything can happen.
Fox has greenlit 22 additional episodes of AMERICAN DAD, extending the shows run through the 2007-08 TV season, reports the trades. In the fall, the series will move to the coveted timeslot following THE SIMPSONS.
"It's definitely a good show of faith," said exec producer Mike Barker. "From a writing standpoint, we feel there's certainly a lot of things left to explore in our characters. We never realized there'd be so many layers to a right-wing, conservative father.
Cartoon Network has secured the U.S. television rights to an all-new Pokémon series, POKÉMON CHRONICLES, which will premiere on Saturday, June 3, 2006, at 7:00 pm, during Toonami, Cartoon Network's high-rated action block.
