DHX greenlights new live-action series from Frank van Keeken

The new Family Channel commission will join Bajillionaires (pictured) and Rev & Roll as part of DHX's MIPTV sales slate.

DHX Television’s Family Channel has greenlit a new live-action series from producer Frank van Keeken’s Beachwood Canyon Productions.

The 15 x 22-minute series, titled Up in the Air, follows the story of 12-year-old gymnast Jenny, who trains to live up to the legacy of her mother and grandfather in competitive gymnastics. It has already been picked up by CBBC for distribution in the U.K. and is scheduled to go into production in spring 2019.

Van Keeken’s Beachwood Canyon launched in 2015 with a focus on producing series for the tween demo, building on past success from shows such as The Next Step and Lost and Found Music Studios, which were produced by Temple Street. Up in the Air will be produced solely by Beachwood Canyon.

Up in the Air is among two other kids series announced as part of DHX’s slate for MIPTV in April. Six Eleven Media’s Bajillionaires, about a group of young entrepreneurs who launch a tech startup out of their parents’ garage, and CGI-animated series Rev & Roll, coproduced by DHX and China’s The Alpha Group. DHX holds the worldwide distribution rights for Rev & Roll, except for in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, which is handled by The Alpha Group. DHX also handles international distribution of Bajllionaires, which has already landed U.S. distribution by NBCUniversal for its Universal Kids network.