Shaftesbury Partners with IToys for Life with Derek Products

TORONTO, April 1:
Shaftesbury Films and IToys have teamed up to produce a range of retail
products for the live-action kids’ series Life with Derek.

The deal, brokered by
JTMG, will see a line of electronic hand-held and tabletop games, as well as
personal youth electronics such as messaging and secret spy devices, produced
by IToys. Rollout is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2009.

Life with Derek is a half-hour comedy series about a modern
blended family, which has forced together two strong-willed teenagers, Casey
and Derek, each accustomed to being in charge and each determined to keep it
that way. The series was created by Daphne Ballon and commissioned by Family
Channel in Canada.

Life with Derek has been translated into more than 14 languages and
airs in more than 100 countries worldwide, including the U.S., France, the
U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Latin
America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It
is produced by Shaftesbury Films and distributed internationally by Shaftesbury
Sales Company.

“IToys has built a
reputation for creating award-winning products for contemporary consumers and
we felt they’d be an ideal partner for imaginative products that will uphold
the integrity of the Life with Derek brand as it is integrated into new categories,” said Shane Kinnear,
the VP of marketing and sales for Shaftesbury Films.

”Life with Derek is a fantastic show filled with real-life drama
and fun, and we are thrilled to participate in growing the property to a wider
audience,” said IToys’ George Irwin. “We are currently developing toys that will
enable kids to enjoy their own Life with Derek experiences at home with their own families and
friends.”

—By Ned Berke