CBC/Radio-Canada and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) have renewed their creative and commercial partnership for another three years as two projects from their Kindred ABC/CBC Animation Collaboration enter development.

The national public broadcasters announced on Tuesday (Nov. 15) that they’ll continue their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was originally signed in June 2019 and announced at the Banff World Media Festival. It will allow them to continue co-developing dramas, comedies, factual content, children’s programs, and podcasts in an effort to increase the reach and impact of their content.

Programming already commissioned under the MOU includes six-part series Stuff the British Stole, which is based on the podcast of the same name and is produced by Toronto-based Cream Productions and Australia’s Wooden Horse and WildBear Entertainment; and science documentary Carbon: The Unauthorized Biography from Alberta’s Handful of Films and Australia’s Genepool Productions.

The MOU renewal, announced in Tokyo at the Embassy of Canada to Japan ahead of the Public Broadcasters International conference, comes as two projects from their joint Kindred ABC/CBC Animation Collaboration get coproduction development deals with ABC Kids and CBC Kids.

One project is The Eerie Chapters of Chhaya (pictured), which is aimed at viewers ages 10 to 14 and is created by Suren Perera, Georgina Love and Thomas Duncan-Watt.

The other is My Shadow is Pink, a preschool series for kids ages three to seven, from Toronto’s Headspinner and Australia’s Sticky Pictures. It’s created by Scott Stuart, based on his book, as well as Ken Cuperus.

Both projects were chosen from among more than 180 submissions to the Kindred Animation initiative, launched in the spring.

Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in a statement that building on the success of their past coproductions “will continue to show how essential public media is to arts and culture and democracy in both our countries.”

Added David Anderson, managing director of ABC: “In an increasingly crowded international content market, it is vital for public broadcasters to find new ways to deliver our national stories to audiences at home and abroad.”