Discovery Kids Latin America and Cirque du Soleil Images, the multimedia production division of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, have partnered to launch original live-action series Big Top Academy. Set in a circus arts boarding school and exploring the lives of young acrobats training to become professional circus artists, the show is produced by Montreal, Canada’s Apartment 11 Productions, in association with Canadian pubcaster TVOKids,
Big Top Academy will premiere on Discovery Kids (LatAm) and TVOKids (Canada) on October 15. It’s the first live-action children’s show from Cirque du Soleil, which announced it would expand its kids entertainment portfolio when it acquired Minnesota-based VStar Entertainment Group in July. The series is backed by financial support from the Shaw Rocket Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit.
Earlier this year, Apartment 11 and TVOKids teamed up to debut Raven’s Quest, a series examining the lives of children living in Indigenous communities. Each episode sees an animated raven join a young host in his or her daily life, where activities include cooking, fishing, drumming, basket-weaving, making regalia and dancing.