Veteran British Columbia producers Nick Orchard and Blair Peters have teamed up to develop an animated version of iconic Canadian TV series The Beachcombers.

Peters, who lives on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, and Orchard, who worked on the original series, have inked a deal with the show’s original creators L.S. Strange and Marc Strange for the new project.

The team plans to flesh out designs and concepts in the coming months and pitch the series to Canadian, U.S. and European broadcasters in spring 2023, according to a news release. The producers tell Playback Daily they aim to do a certain amount of the animation in Gibsons, B.C., the old home base for the show, and envision a 13 x 30-minute first season.

While it’s early days to discuss financing, it would be the usual model of licence fees and tax credits, they add.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Beachcombers (pictured), which ran on CBC from 1972 to 1990 and is billed as Canada’s second-longest-running scripted television series, as well as one of the most successful homegrown TV series of all time.

The original half-hour family drama featured a B.C. log salvager and his crew along the coastline northwest of Vancouver. It’s been licensed in over 35 countries worldwide and translated into numerous languages.

Orchard (pictured right) said in a statement that they want to “take all the best parts of the original series and build on them to tell stories with humour and heart, while tackling real issues the world faces today.”

Orchard has over 30 years of experience, beginning as a child actor and later as head of Soapbox Productions, producing network series such as CBC’s Northwood and Double Exposure for CTV and The Comedy Network.

Peters (pictured left) is a veteran in the animation industry, having worked with companies such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, YTV, Teletoon and Family Channel. Peters also co-founded Vancouver’s Studio B Productions in 1988. The company was acquired by DHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2007.

“Nick knows these characters inside and out and I look forward to working with him to create a funny, fresh new take on the series that can reach a younger, wider audience, including the U.S. market, as did the wonderful Canadian-made series Schitt’s Creek,” said Peters.