TVOKids has commissioned Montreal-based Sphere Media’s factual kids series Burps, Butts and Bones (working title).

The 26 x 11-minute series is a live-action and animation hybrid, created by collaborating producers Karen Hawes and Kim Saltarski. Andrea Griffith, Sphere Media Kids and Family’s VP of content and development, is an executive producer.

Aimed at six to nine-year-olds, each episode follows a CGI-animated skeleton as he addresses a question related to the body, posed by real-life children. The series was ordered by TVOKids commissioning editor Kristen Hurd.

Sphere Media Kids and Family launched in April 2023. Other series under the banner include fellow TVOKids series Backyard Beats and the unscripted live-action series Project Rube.

Marlo Miazga, head of Sphere’s family and kids and unscripted banners, said in a statement that the company sees hybrid series as the “next big swing” in kids entertainment.

“This new commission is proof that the right corporate scaffolding not only makes business easier, but can also unleash creativity and create new opportunities. As a hybrid, Burps, Butts and Bones is the perfect complement to our robust animation division,” said Miazga. “This show is, of course, entertaining and informative but, above all in our world of disinformation and looks-based stereotyping, it’s timely.”

Image courtesy of Sphere Media