CBC Kids and CBBC have co-commissioned tween-focused dramedy Gangnam Project from Toronto’s Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures.

The 10 x 30-minute series recently wrapped production in Toronto and South Korea and is scheduled to premiere in spring 2024 on CBC in Canada and on the BBC’s CBBC children’s network in the U.K.

It was developed with CBC Kids and produced by Pillango and Aircraft, with Pillango founder Sarah Haasz (Circuit Breakers) and Romeo Candido (The Next Step) serving as co-showrunners and executive producers.

The show is produced with the financial participation of Shaw Rocket Fund and the Canada Media Fund. Federation Kids & Family is handling worldwide sales and will be presenting the series to buyers at the upcoming MIPCOM and MIPJunior markets in Cannes this month.

The plot is inspired by aspects of Haasz’s own life. It follows a Canadian-Korean teen (Julia Kim Caldwell), with dreams of becoming a K-pop star and connecting with her Korean heritage, who takes a job as an English tutor in South Korea, where she works at an elite K-pop training school.

The series also features an original soundtrack composed by recording artist, songwriter, producer and musician August Rigo, who has penned songs for BTS, Justin Bieber and One Direction.

The series is the second Pillango-produced project to be picked up by the BBC, following the unscripted series Let’s Dance, co-produced with TVOKids, which premiered in 2022.

Gangnam Project is executive produced by Aircraft’s Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, along with Cottonwood Media’s David Michel. The series is directed by Candido, Justin Wu and Gloria Kim.

Photo by Shawn Goldberg