GoldBee has lined up international partners for the sports-themed Canadian live-action tween/teen series First Line.
France Télévisions acquired exclusive free-to-air and free VOD rights of the first season for its linear channels and Okoo streaming platform. Swedish pubcaster SVT also acquired exclusive free TV and FVOD rights of season one. Yle in Finland secured exclusive FVOD rights of the first season for its Arena streaming service. RTBF is on board for free TV and FVOD rights to season one for French-speaking Belgium.
First Line is commissioned by Radio-Canada (ICI TOU.TV EXTRA and ICI TÉLÉ) and produced by Avanti-Toast. Season three is now in postproduction, with an additional 26 half-hour episodes delivering in spring 2025, for a total of 78 episodes.
The show centers on the journey of star athlete Chloe as she steps up to join an elite all-boys hockey team. It is based on Nadia Lakhdari’s book collection.
GoldBee distributes the show outside of Spanish-speaking territories.
Christophe Goldberger, managing director of GoldBee, said: “First Line is a phenomenon in Canada, and we are thrilled to see it reach new audiences internationally. We strongly believe in this universal tale of affirmation, which is told with a nuanced and contemporary delivery that strongly resonates with this hard-to-get-to tween/teen audience.”
Monique Lamoureux, co-president of Avanti-Toast, said: “It’s always a delight to see a project take off internationally. From the very beginning, we firmly believed in Nadia Lakhdari’s body of work and assembled a talented creative team to bring her vision to life. First Line truly captures the challenges faced by tweens and teens as they navigate various fronts while coming of age. We are so proud of this work and the support we received from the original broadcast partners.”