Toronto-headquartered Cutting Class Media has announced a five-year partnership with North Bay, Ont.’s Lakeside Animation to produce 10 long-form adult-animated original productions.

The two companies plan to utilize their collective expertise, Lakeside Animation’s local and international animation teams and government incentives in order to produce multiple long-form animations per year without having to rely on presales, according to Cutting Class co-CEO Joshua Bowen in a statement.

Cutting Class and Lakeside plan to announce their initial projects in development in the coming months.

Lakeside Animation is run by CEO Iouri Stepanov. Some of Lakeside’s past work includes animated series Red Iron Road and Sonya from Toastville.

Bowen and fellow co-CEO Carly Sacks bring animation production experience from their time at Look Mom! Productions, a subsidiary of Blue Ant Media, which during their time there, produced adult-animated series Gary and His Demons and Doomlands.

Cutting Class Media, formed and co-run by Blue Ant alumni Bowen and Sacks in June, was created with the goal to develop and focus on both live-action and long-form animated content. The team also includes head of scripted Bracken Burns and head of unscripted Harriet Luke.

Bowen added that he is “confident that buyers will have both the shelf space and appetite for first-window finished content, especially given the current market lull that has resulted in fewer original commissions.”

In July, prior to their official collaboration, it was announced that the companies would be working together to produce a third season of the 2017 animated web series peopleWatching, to be completed in November.

Photo by Tipping Hand Media; Pictured (L-R): Joshua Bowen, Carly Sacks and Bracken Burns