Production is underway on Nico Can Dance!, a new 65 x 2 minute series for Knowledge Network and BBC Kids that marks Atomic Cartoons’ first move into “hybrid entertainment.”

Nico Can Dance! is a mix of live action and animation, where host and series co-creator, Rachel Frost Franco, teaches an animated cat named Nico how to dance. This move into mixing animation and live action comes as Vancouver-based Atomic Cartoons branches off into different genres and demographics after mostly producing kids’ comedy content meant for the 7-to-11 p.m. timeslot over the last 16 years. Previous series Atomic has worked on include Rocket Monkeys and Pirate Express. 

“The hybrid approach [allows] us to do that without straying too far from our core strengths, which are clearly in animation,” Rob Simmons, VP of finance and business affairs at Atomic Cartoons, told Playback Daily. “It was a cautious first steps into the hybrid space but we’re really pleased with how it turned out.”

The series, which was co-created by Rachel and Rafael Ziah Franco, aims to get kids active and is also Atomic’s first proprietary preschool series. Nico Can Dance! was inspired by Rachel’s curriculum from her days as dancer and instructor. That curriculum, aimed at children between the ages of three and five, along with the idea of an onscreen teacher transformed the series into a preschool short.

“It best fit the shorts genre because it’s not meant to be a half-hour scripted show. It just didn’t speak to us that way,” Simmons said, adding that there is a demand for short series in the preschool space.

According to Michele Paris, head of children’s programming at Knowledge Network, the show fits in with the broadcaster’s multi-platform strategy. Not only will it appear on-air but viewers will also be able to download a free app that will include free episodes alongside a game made by Atomic Cartoons.

“Part of the bigger plan for Knowledge and Knowledge Kids in particular is to offer up commercial-free content on multiple platforms,” Paris said.

Strong Facebook promotion targeted at parents and on air ads will also be incorporated by Knowledge as the series rolls out in the fall.

There are also plans to sell the show internationally, something both Atomic and Knowledge prepared for by having both the cat and teacher be silent while the narration comes from off-screen.

“It’s a voice-over so it makes internationalization before sales a whole lot more straightforward,” Simmons said. “You can’t subtitle these because preschoolers can’t read.”

Nico Can Dance! will debut at MIPCOM in October and will air on Knowledge Kids and BBC Kids in the fall, between other scheduled programming, for at least five days a week.