Nickelodeon Animation & Lion Forge Pact

Lion Forge Entertainment and Nickelodeon Animation have entered into a first-look deal covering animated series and features.

Under the agreement, Nickelodeon Animation will have a first look at Lion Forge Entertainment kids and family IP across animated series, features, short-form and digital content. It sees the option to bring select Nickelodeon and Paramount IP to Lion Forge to develop and produce.

The deal additionally creates an opportunity for Lion Forge Entertainment to co-finance certain projects the company brings to Nickelodeon, as well as serve as the animation studio on select Nickelodeon projects.

Lion Forge Entertainment CEO David Steward II said: “I am thrilled to work with Ramsey [Naito] and her world-class teams at Nickelodeon Animation. Nickelodeon has always been a creative North Star, and the opportunity to partner in creating new content that features diverse characters and builds a path for diverse talent in the animation industry is incredibly exciting.”

“Lion Forge Entertainment is on the vanguard of so many exciting and new stories being told in animation, and we are so incredibly happy to be entering into this deal to create new content together for our global audience,” said Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation.

“I look forward to continuing the wonderful creative partnership with the Nickelodeon team. Together, we have a fantastic opportunity to impact kids and families around the world by showing diversity on screen as well as creating a pipeline for young diverse talent within the animation industry,” added Lion Forge President and Chief Content Officer Stephanie Sperber. “Plus, Nickelodeon is one of the best franchise-builders in the business and will be an amazing partner as we together launch into other extensions.”