CBC

CBC has acquired season one and two of preschool series The Wonder Gang, produced in-house by ABC Australia by the  commissioning team behind the 2021 Rockie-nominated international hit Bluey. The deal between Canada’s pubcaster and ABC Commercial will see the 60 x 15-minute series, which premiered on CBC TV in September, become available on the Gem streaming service. Gem offers 400 hours of ad-free kids content.

The Wonder Gang introduces preschoolers to the art of fact finding through research, observation and experimentation with the help of a trio of kids and quokkas – a short-tailed marsupial that looks very much like a beaver. CBC and ABC began a creative and commercial collaboration in June 2019 to broaden the impact of both pubcasters’ content.

eOne

Entertainment One has picked up the international licensing rights (excluding the U.K.) to the new feature documentary Joni Mitchell: 50 Years of Blue (pictured). The film is directed by BAFTA winner Teresa Griffiths (Capturing Lee Miller, Sylvia Plath: Inside the Bell Jar) and produced by Lonesome Pine Productions for BBC2 in the UK. It highlights the drive and determination behind Mitchell’s global success, charting her life and career up to the point in 1970 when she began writing and recording what was to become Blue, and the life she’s lived in the five decades since.

Joni Mitchell: 50 Years of Blue is part of eOne’s factual slate of premium unscripted content for clients around the world. Some of the company’s recent offerings include the international Emmy-winning Inside China, from Hardcash Productions; The Highland Vet, which launched on 5Select in the UK to record ratings; and Arctic Vets, which is currently in production on season tw0 in Canada.

Guru Studio

Guru has appointed Reesee Entertainment as the licensing and media agency for its preschool series Pikwik Pack in China. On the licensing front, Reesee will focus on inking deals across toys, apparel, publishing, accessories and games. The series has already been picked up by regional streaming platforms including Tencent and Youku, as well as OTT providers such as Xiaomi, Haixin, Kukai and TCL. Pikwik Pack will premiere in China next month, with consumer products launches set to to follow.

Additionally, Epic Story Media is partnering with Reesee Entertainment for Hailey and the Hero Hearts. Reesee will launch an expansive toy line in the region inspired by the 26 x 11-minute animated series. Hailey and the Hero Hearts targets girls aged four to eight and is currently available on more than 40 linear and digital platforms in China since premiering this summer.

Media Ranch

Montreal-based format production and distribution company Media Ranch has secured a number of unscripted format deals at MIPCOM. U.S. prodco Wheelhouse Entertainment has acquired the right to adapt House Party: Just Dance, based on the popular Ubisoft video game, while U.S. network The CW has signed on to co-develop the eco-competition format Racing to Survive. The selling formats were all developed as part of its Horsepower format incubator. Additionally, the format Love Van, currently in development in TF1 and Quebecor Content, was selected by content research company The Wit as one of its Fresh Picks during MIPCOM.

With files from Realscreen and Kidscreen