Prank Patrol

TV Kids
Weekly, April 1, 2008

ORIGIN: Based on an original idea by Jonathan
Finkelstein and David Hansen.

DISTRIBUTOR:
MarVista Entertainment

CREATORS: Jonathan Finkelstein and David Hansen. Prank
Patrol is produced by
Apartment 11 Productions in association with YTV, with support from the Shaw
Rocket Fund. Founded in 2000 by Finkelstein, Montreal-based Apartment 11 Productions
is a leading independent production company committed to creating the world’s
best children's programming, both fiction and fact-based.

TV SHOW: Prank Patrol is a live-action tween reality series
consisting of 78 half-hour episodes.

SYNOPSIS: In Prank Patrol, lucky viewers get to create, build
and execute a big-time prank. All they have to do is call in the Prank Patrol!
Each week, in a customized Spy Van, the trickster-loving host and a
prank-pulling pair of ninjas take the prankster to get the help they need to
pull off the hoax of a lifetime on their friends, siblings, parents, teachers,
sports teams and others—enlisting the help of special-effects wizards,
costume shops, make-up artists, magicians, actors and more. Kids of all ages
can enjoy watching pranks involving fake birds, lake monsters, dinosaur bones,
giant video game characters and more.

Each episode
also features the animated “Recipe for a Prank” section that shows viewers
simple pranks they can pull off themselves using everyday items from home; and
a “Ninja Gag,” where our two ninjas prank unsuspecting targets in shopping
malls, parks and other places where young people are around!

Prank
Patrol was nominated
for a Gemini Award and a Banff World Television Award in 2006 and a Golden
Sheaf Award in Fall 2005.

EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER: Jonathan
Finkelstein

COMMISSIONING
BROADCASTER: YTV,
operated by Corus Kids and reaching more than 8 million homes across Canada.

TV SALES: The BBC in the U.K. as a format for 30
half-hour episodes (two seasons), produced by Bakermedia; TV2 Norway for all 78
half-hour episodes.

MAJOR
LICENSEES: With the
fourth season of the series forging ahead, Apartment 11 is developing a
consumer-products strategy to coincide with the debut of the season in fall
2008 for mobile and on-demand applications around the series’ animated
segments, “Recipe for a Prank” and “Andy’s Ninja Sidekicks,” and is currently
evaluating potential partners for the Canadian market.

A publishing
component is also in the works to adapt the “Recipe for a Prank” segments into
book form or a general How To Prank book; and a Canadian DVD release is being planned.

STRATEGY
FOR ROLLOUT: YTV has
just renewed the series for a fourth season and an additional 22 half-hour
episodes are currently in production for a fall 2008 debut. For the first time,
Prank Patrol will
be hitting the road, filming in various cities across Canada. Production will
commence in May 2008.

“We’re very
excited to bring YTV viewers this new season of Prank Patrol,” says Jocelyn Hamilton, the VP of
content at Corus Kids. “As the show moves across Canada pranking people from
east coast to west, audiences will be able to connect with this series like
never before—we're thrilled about that."

“Prank
Patrol continues to
resonate with viewers because they know when they tune in to each episode, they
can expect a half hour full of laughter and surprises,” notes Jonathan
Finkelstein, the president of Apartment 11 Productions. “We never cease to be
amazed by the boundless imagination of the stars of our show—real kids
who provide us with the motivation to outdo ourselves each year with wilder and
more outrageous pranks.”

MarVista, the
exclusive distributor for Prank Patrol original episodes and format versions, will debut the new
episodes at MIPTV next week. “Jonathan Finkelstein and his team at Apartment 11
continue to make outstanding programming that performs consistently well,” says
Fernando Szew, the CEO of MarVista Entertainment. “As a result, their shows
continually get renewed by their commissioning broadcasters, providing series
with multiple episodes, an attractive proposition for international
broadcasters.”

Following the
success of the format on the BBC, Apartment 11 and MarVista are currently in
discussions with overseas broadcasters who are interested in the format for
their territories. Prank Patrol is intended to be format-friendly as it inspires wish fulfillment
in its viewers. Kids in all territories will want the chance to be on the show
to make their dream prank come true.