Genius Brands Touts Continued Success for Rainbow Rangers

Genius Brands International’s hit animated series Rainbow Rangers has continued to grow its viewership across multiple platforms worldwide as the brand develops a new retail program with Never Wrong Toys coming in 2022.

The show’s increasing viewership is in part due to its wide availability, including on its anchor platform Kartoon Channel! in the U.S., Netflix, Amazon Prime Video Direct, HBO Max, Nickelodeon Latin America and China’s CCTV. This wide-reaching broadcast success has led to its developing retail program, which is based on a broad range of preschool products and will initially focus on the toy category. Its 2022 launch is set to coincide with the world premiere of season three.

“It takes time for a brand to establish itself, but we are clearly seeing that this is now occurring with Rainbow Rangers across multiple platforms, including the recent release of season one on Netflix, where the series cracked the Top 10 of children’s programs for the first time, and is consistently a top performer in Netflix categories such as ‘Girls Take the Lead,’ ‘Everyone’s Watching’ and ‘Exciting TV Shows,’” said Jon Ollwerther, president of Kartoon Channel! and executive VP of business development at Genius Brands. “At the same time, we are witnessing adoption across a growing base of broadcasters, including the launch of Rainbow Rangers on Paramount+ network on August 18.”

Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Genius Brands, compared the success of Rainbow Rangers to that of Strawberry Shortcake, “which started with Hasbro Toys, but moved to Bandai Toys and Playmates, where it eventually drove a highly successful, multi-billion dollar global licensing program. We are taking a page from the Strawberry Shortcake playbook, with Emmy Award-winning producer Mike Maliani of that property leading the production of Rainbow Rangers in season three, introducing a twist in the new season—the addition of a scent in the storyline! Not unlike Strawberry Shortcake where all the dolls and products were scented strawberry, the dolls and products coming forth from Rainbow Rangers will be scented as well. We believe this will be a huge driver in the girls’ product category.”

Kelly Phelan, executive VP and general manager of global franchise development at Genius Brands, said, “Rainbow Rangers is a special series that is clearly resonating with young audiences around the world as we continue to build our viewership with new partners, such as Netflix, coming on board. To crack the Top 10 for the first time so quickly on Netflix, coupled with the traction we’re gaining on Amazon and our own platform, Kartoon Channel!, is a testament to the strong appeal of the themes and positive messaging of the show. Our strategy continues to center around growth in viewership, which, in turn, is designed to feed our long-term merchandising strategy. We are enthusiastic about our partnership with Never Wrong Toys and are excited about developing an exciting range of preschool toys that tap into the most appealing elements of the show for 2022.”

Season three is currently in production, with Hilary Cherniss and Sara Jane Sluke as head writers, Michael Maliani as director and Heyward as executive producer. It will premiere exclusively on Kartoon Channel!