Toronto prodcos Aircraft Pictures and WexWorks Media have partnered on a live-action TV adaptation of middle-grade book series The Popularity Papers from American author Amy Ignatow.
The 26 x 30-minute show has been greenlit by Corus Entertainment’s YTV in Canada and will be produced with financing from the Canada Media Fund. BBC Studios is also attached to co-finance and handle international distribution, and production will take place in Toronto and Hamilton this spring.
Vivian Lin (Holly Hobbie, Killjoys) and Amanda Brooke Perrin (The Croods: Family Tree, Kim’s Convenience) co-created the premise for the adaptation, with Lin serving as showrunner and executive producer. It follows two best friends who try to develop a scientific method for determining middle-school popularity by conducting social experiments on their classmates.
Also executive producing on the project are WexWorks Media CEO Matt Wexler, Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen for Aircraft Pictures, and BBC Studios’ Amelia Johnson.
This greenlight follows the announcement earlier this month that private broadcaster Corus Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in Aircraft Pictures.