World Screen

TORONTO/LOS ANGELES/LONDON: Swin Chang has been appointed director of development for kids and animation at E1 Television, based at the company’s corporate headquarters in Toronto. Reporting to Frank Saperstein, the senior VP of kids and animation in E1’s Los Angeles …

LOS ANGELES: FX has ordered six episodes of a new half-hour animated comedy series from Adam Reed tentatively titled Archer, for launch in its fall schedule. The comedy is set at an international spy agency, where the employees use global …

MONTREAL: Wayne Clarkson is exiting his post as the executive director of Telefilm Canada in January 2010, concluding a five-year tenure. Clarkson began working at Telefilm in January 2005, and will step down as of January 17. The board of …

TORONTO: Production has begun on Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, Shaftesbury Films’ new 8×1-hour drama series for launch on Canada’s Movie Central and The Movie Network early next year. Based on Vincent Lam’s award-winning collection of short stories, the show follows three young …

LOS ANGELES: Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has signed on to produce and direct The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice, a documentary special set to air on FOX that looks at the cultural phenomenon of the long-running animated series. …

BARCELONA: U.S. Hispanic broadcaster Telemundo has picked up the rights to Endemol Spain’s serial drama Amar en tiempos revueltos (To Love in Difficult Times). Slated to launch on Telemundo in September, the series has been airing in Spain since 2005 in …

NEW YORK: TBS is teaming up with Joe Roth and Ice Cube for the new sitcom Are We There Yet?, based on the hit Revolution Studios film of the same name. Starring Terry Crews of Everybody Hates Chris, Are We …

TORONTO: Corus Entertainment is spending C$40 million to acquire the specialty services Drive-In Classics and SexTV from CTVglobemedia.  "These services are currently available in over two million households and provide a great base to grow their audiences and increase their appeal …

ROME: The management of Jetix Italy, led by Francesco Nespega, has reached a deal with The Walt Disney Company to take ownership of the channels GXT and K2. GXT is a pay-TV channel, launched in May 2005, skewed towards young males, …

LONDON: Fireworks International has sold its the drama series Heartland to British entertainment channel E4, with additional showings available 30 days after broadcast on Channel 4’s on-demand catch-up service, 4oD. Heartland, set against the Alberta Rocky Mountains, is a family …