Garfield Returns to TV with Updated Series

LONDON, June 26: Turner
Broadcasting has acquired the new CGI Garfield series from French producer Dargaud Media, to air
on Cartoon Network in the U.K. in 2009, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of
the classic comic strip.

The 52×11-minute series
will be shot in HD, and will air in territories across Europe, the Middle East
and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Garfield Show will introduce the decidedly lazy orange cat, his
pal Odie and their cartoonist owner Jon Arbuckle—made famous by the
popular comic strip by Jim Davis—to a new generation of viewers.

Cecilia Persson, the VP of
programming, acquisition and presentation for Turner Kids, said: “We’re
delighted to have acquired this new CGI series of Garfield. Thirty-years on, Garfield is as popular as ever,
with a regular comic strip in 63 countries across the world, two blockbuster
feature films and heavy-weight presence across the web, DVD, licensing and
publishing. This new show celebrates Garfield’s return to TV.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski