Canadian animation studio Mercury Filmworks is launching Sungate Films—a live-action production company that will develop and produce dramas, feature films and kids content. The Ottawa-based prodco will be headed by newly appointed president Nicole St. Pierre, with producer Holly Merritt serving as development director.

Sungate Films’ first kids project is mixed-media/live-action kids series Arrow Radio. Starring YouTube personality Emily Arrow (pictured), the show brings together puppets, animated characters and special guests to help audiences understand and express big feelings through music. Episode count and length for the series had not been announced at press time.

The development slate is rounded out by adult-focused fare including Cortes Story, a feature film about an estranged mother and daughter reconnecting on their way to a funeral; crime series Undercurrent; eSports-inspired feature Famer; and an untitled unscripted competition series with a focus on charity.

The launch of Sungate follows Mercury Filmworks’ recent foray into feature films with the 2D-animated movie Once Our Land. Co-produced with fellow Canadian studio Goodbye Productions, the fantasy/sci-fi film is based on a graphic novel, and follows a young girl as she tries to survive an apocalypse in the 1800s.

The company also recently announced its first-ever original 3D-animated show, Pangors of Puddle Peak. Set in a town inspired by Northeast New Zealand, the series stars a pair of friends on a journey to discover mythical creatures.