Netflix Lines Up Two New Original Series for Tweens

BEVERLY HILLS: Netflix has added two new live-action titles to its lineup of original series for kids, with the latest shows due to premiere in 2017.

Both titles are coming-of-age stories about tenacious young girls. The untitled Horse Mystery project is set in a stable on an island off the coast of England and tells the story of 15-year-old Zoe, an American girl who finds a special connection with a dangerous horse named Raven. The Worst Witch, meanwhile, is a fantasy series based on the books by Jill Murphy. The show follows trainee witch Mildred Hubble, a student at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches.

The untitled Horse Mystery project comes from Lime Pictures, an All3Media company. It is executive produced by Rebecca Hodgson, Kate Little and Claire Poyser for Lime Pictures and directed by Paul Norton Walker (Shameless). The ten-episode series will be available to Netflix members worldwide in 2017.

The Worst Witch is produced by CBBC Productions in collaboration with ZDF, ZDF Enterprises and Netflix. The series will be available to Netflix members around the world in 2017, and in the U.K. and Germany after its premiere on ZDF and CBBC.

“Our mission of creating stories and characters younger members can relate to, and even aspire to be, comes through in these projects,” said Andy Yeatman, the director of global kids’ content for Netflix. “While set in very different contexts, both shows center [on] characters who are learning to deal with and overcome hardship, while also enjoying the journey and all its surprises.”