Crayola Studios is coloring outside the lines with a new partnership that was announced Sunday (Oct. 15) at MIPJunior.

The fledgling studio arm of the arts-and-crafts brand has entered into a deal with Toronto-based 9 Story Media Group to develop multiple shows. Crayola will oversee the licensing and merchandising rights for these projects, while 9 Story manages production and distribution.

First up on the slate is Crayola’s The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian (pictured) —a previously announced series in development from the crayon-maker and New York’s MIMO Studios. 9 Story will produce this 52 x 11-minute animated adaptation of the Gen Z-Media podcast Finn Caspian, and Crayola is pitching it at MIPCOM.

Crayola’s EVP of marketing Victoria Lozano announced the deal during a MIPJunior keynote presentation about the company’s move into content.

“We thought about this for a number of years before we actually made the commitment to move forward—so it’s really about a longtime strategy and a longtime focus [when we’re] building out our portfolio of projects,” Lozano told a rapt audience in Cannes. The company has plans to reach multiple demos and genres through content, she added.

Meanwhile, 9 Story has secured a season two renewal for its live-action series A Kind of Spark from BBC and BYUtv, which is now filming in Northern Ireland.

The series is based on the novel of the same name by Elle McNicoll, and follows a neurodivergent teenage girl who advocates for those who may seem different to others. It was created for television by Anna McCleery.

The first season premiered on CBC in Canada, BBC in the U.K. and BYUtv in the U.S. in April, and has also been sold in Norway, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland and French-speaking Canada.

With files from Kelly Townsend

A version of this story originally appeared in Kidscreen

Photo courtesy of Crayola Studios