Aardman acquires rights for new kids show!
Skwigly
Aardman Rights has partnered with Kite Entertainment as international distributor for Science Fiction, a hilarious science themed cartoon aimed at 8-12 year olds which is currently enjoying success on Ireland’s most popular TV channel RTE and has also just launched on CBBC. The exclusive deal includes global TV, DVD, and publishing rights for the 33 x 90” episode show and will be presented by the Aardman Rights team for the first time at MIPCOM Junior.
Using a unique multimedia mix of green-screened puppetry, 3D animation and 2D cartoon sketches, this irreverent series delves into the world of science and technology and attempts to debunk many of the most common myths in the world of science, as well as throwing in a few utterly ridiculous and rude ones for good measure!
Alix Wiseman, Head of Sales and Acquisitions for Aardman Rights, says: “We love how well Kite Entertainment has married up their expertise in comedy writing with relevant and off the wall scientific facts and we believe there’s a real gap in the market for this kind of programming for older kids.”
Science Fiction is presented by Doctor Sorcha Knowles a sharp, ambitious young scientist along with her rather less-refined and bumbling sidekick professor Mike McCork. They are assisted by Bud-E (Bringing The Universe Down To Earth) a supercomputer who although plagued by technical problems, manages to fulfil his duties with a good cheer. Whereas Dr. Knowles has a firm grasp on all the latest developments in the world of science Professor McCork struggles to grasp even the most basic fundamentals – in fact you’d wonder how he gained any qualifications at all! This comedy tension forms the backbone of the show – as Sorcha attempts to deliver some interesting science-facts she tries to remain patient during Mike’s often-idiotic interjections. But she doesn’t always manage to keep her cool…
Kite Entertainment is currently finishing production on a third series of the show, which is a co-production with RTE and CBBC.
Commenting on the deal with Aardman, Kite Entertainment MD Darren Smith said “For a company like Kite to get to work, not only with CBBC (whom we consider to be the HBO of kids TV) but also Aardman, feels like a real endorsement of the quality writing and animation that Colm Tobin and his team pour into the making of Science Fiction. It’s a show we’ve been enormously proud of since its humble beginnings on RTE’s Elev8 strand a few years ago and one we look forward to seeing grow internationally over the coming years as Aardman bring it to the global TV market”.
Edel Edwards, Manager, Programme Sales, RTÉ adds “Science Fiction is a brilliant series and we are delighted to be partnering with CBBC and Aardman Rights. Aardman has a fantastic catalogue of shows and the fact that Science Fiction will be alongside them is a testament to how good it is.”