Disney Junior Greenlights New Craig Gerber Series

Disney Junior has ordered the animated comedy-adventure series Firebuds from executive producer Craig Gerber (Elena of Avalor, Sofia the First).

Set to premiere on Disney Junior and Disney+ in 2022, Firebuds follows a team of first responders’ children and their talking vehicle sidekicks as they learn what it means to be a hero. The series marks the first project to debut under the overall development deal between Disney Branded Television and Gerber.

Gerber also has a second project in development with Kris Wimberly, who worked with him on Elena of Avalor and also serves as a director on Firebuds. Julius Aguimatang (Mulan) is a director as well. In addition to Gerber, Matt Hoverman (Fancy Nancy) is story editor, with Krystal Banzon (I Feel Bad), Leanna Dindal (The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse), Jeremy Shipp (Tangled: The Series) and Norma Sepulveda (Elena of Avalor) making up the writing team.

“Firebuds is about the spirit of community service and thinking about others before yourself,” said Gerber. “Just like our young heroes are trying to follow in their parents’ ‘tire treads,’ we are hoping to inspire children to embrace volunteerism and helping others. It is personally a very meaningful show for me and the perfect way to launch this next chapter of my career with Disney.”