Top Stories

TORONTO: Portfolio Entertainment has closed several international deals for the animated kids' comedy series Freaktown, including with Disney for its channels in India.

JOHANNESBURG: The live-action teen series Heidi, Welcome Home (Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa), which Mondo TV will be talking about to buyers at DISCOP Johannesburg, is a reimagining of the classic novel by Johanna Spyri.

BURBANK: Disney Channel and Raven-Symoné are developing and starting preliminary casting for a new family sitcom that will continue the story from That's So Raven, which aired on the network from 2003 to 2007.

PARIS/BEIJING: TeamTO has inked a distribution deal with Taikong Works for all rights to its animated theatrical feature film Yellowbird in China.

QUÉBEC: Frima and Groupe Média TFO have unveiled their plans to launch MaXi, a new Canadian animated series for 9- to 12-year-olds that is being designed first for smartphones and tablets.

LONDON: FremantleMedia Kids & Family (FMK) has licensed the animated preschool series Kate & Mim-Mim and Tree Fu Tom to China's CCTV for broadcast on CCTV Children's Channel (CCTV-14) this year.

BURBANK: Production has kicked off on the reimagined Muppet Babies series, co-produced by Disney Junior, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media's (DCPI) Content & Media group and The Muppets Studio.

SEATTLE: The second season of the Amazon Original series Thunderbirds Are Go is slated to premiere on Prime Video in the U.S. early next month.

NEW YORK: 4K Media has signed new licensing agreements that will see Yu-Gi-Oh!-branded products begin to roll out in Europe at the end of this year.

VANCOUVER: Rainmaker Entertainment is combining with Frederator Networks and Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment (EH) to create WOW! Unlimited Media, a next-generation kids' and animation business with a focus on digital platforms and content.