French broadcasting conglom M6 Group is upping its kids offerings with two new series based on comics.
First up, Paris-based Daragaud Media is producing Kid Lucky (pictured), an animated western about a young cowboy and his adventures in the Wild West. Co-produced by Belgium studio Belvision, the 52 x 11-minute series skews to kids six-and-up, and is based on a series of comics titled Lucky Luke and The Adventures of Kid Lucky. Distributed internationally by Meditatoon, the series is written by Romain Gadiou and Chloé Sastre (the writing duo behind Paris-based Cyber Group’s recently announced 50/50 Heroes). The 2D/CG-animated show is scheduled to premiere this fall, although no specific air date has been announced yet.
Also joining the broadcaster’s slate is Living with Dad from Paris-based publishing company Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel. The show is based on a series of comics of the same name published by Dupuis since 2014. The animated series is in-development, and is also aimed at kids six and older. The series tracks four sisters as they share their lives in this comedy about a blended-family. The 52 x 11-minute series is produced by Arthur Colignon and Caroline Duvochel. The comics that inspired the show have sold more than 500,000 copies and been translated into Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Dutch, Croatian and Serbian. French distributor Média-Participations Audiovisual pre-sold both of these series to M6.
The broadcaster has been steadily building its kids content in the last two years, after acquiring French producer Lagardère’s TV business last September. Done to strengthen its kids and family business and grow its presence in a crowded market, the deal netted M6 free-to-air digital kidsnet Gulli, two Canal J pay-TV channels, various catch-up TV platforms and an international distribution unit. Since then M6 has grown its partnerships,adding its lineup of channels to Amazon Prime Video Channel in France to grow its viewership. More recently, M6 partnered with French studio TeamTO and broadcaster Canal+ to produce the animated comedy series Presto! School of Magic.
M6 is also the most recent broadcaster to join the ranks of those turning to comics to inspire new content. Imagine Kids & Family and Lion Forge Animation partnered to create, among other titles, an animated series based on Lion Forge’s Puerto Rico Strong comic. Seeing potential in comic adaptations back in 2o17, Netflix purchased publisher Millarworld to create films and kids shows based on its existing comic book franchises. And of course, Marvel has always tapped its comic roots, and last year it released a series of digital shorts on its Marvel HQ YouTube channel last year, which combined a comic book-art style with digitally animated motion effects.