Marblemedia’s Distribution360 has locked up the rights to Lady Ada’s Secret Society, a new live-action comedy series created by Shannon Fewster and directed by Samantha Wan (Second Jen).

The Toronto-based distributor plans to launch the series online this week, and then will shop it internationally in two formats: a collection of nine x nine-minute shorts and an 80-minute movie.

Set in a strictly anti-tech boarding school, four students are planning a rebellion using their unique and highly advanced skills in coding, hacking and inventing. The show targets tweens and early teens (nine to 15) and was created to appeal in particular to girls with an interest in STEM subjects.

Lady Ada’s Secret Society debuts April 15 on marbleKids, a CAVCO-certified Youtube channel with more than 118,000 subscribers. (CAVCO is a Canadian certification program that triggers tax credits for digital-first productions.) The channel is already home to digital originals such as Happy House of Frightenstein and Smashalot.

This pick-up filled both a gap in D360s portfolio and in the international market, Diane Rankin, D360’s SVP of rights and executive producer, says this pick-up fills an important gap in the company’s distribution catalogue. “Lady Ada’s Secret Society differs from our other scripted shows that steer more toward family viewing,” she explains. “This series is solidly targeting a tween audience with a sophisticated approach, and there is strong demand internationally for programming for that demographic.”

Funded by Ontario Creates and Canada’s Shaw Rocket Fund, Lady Ada’s Secret Society was co-produced by Fewster, Joshua Demers and Andrew Hunter. It joins comedy series Overlord and the Underwoods (20 x 30 minutes) and interconnected sitcoms The Parker Andersons (10 x 30 minutes) and Amelia Parker (10 x 30 minutes) in D360’s scripted live-action catalogue.

“The ever-changing media landscape means non-exclusive licenses with different windowing strategies are happening more and more,” says Rankin. “The opportunity to offer this program as a digital series of nine x nine minutes for marbleKids and other non-linear platforms, as well as a long-form 80-minute film, creates a lot of different exploitation opportunities internationally.”