Inside the Totally Spies! renaissance

Banijay Kids & Family execs break down the fresh storytelling and licensing opportunities underpinning the comeback of this girl-power toon.
May 13, 2024

Banijay Kids & Family’s reignition of the Totally Spies! franchise officially kicked off yesterday (May 12), with Gulli premiering episode one of a new 26 x 22-minute TV season in France.  

The decision to revive this classic animated series stemmed in part from its exceptional shelf life. The show has generated more than two billion views across all digital channels—despite being off air for the past decade. Banijay Kids & Family CEO Benoît Di Sabatino (who is producing the new season) has also noticed a fresh demand for girl-power content brewing in the Gen Alpha market in recent years. “With this in mind, we decided it was the perfect time to relaunch a 2024 version of this iconic brand.”

Totally Spies! centers around Clover, Alex and Sam—three teen besties juggling high school and a globe-trotting double life as secret agents. When the series debuted in 2001, it helped to fuel the momentum for female-led action shows in the kids TV market, along with The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network), Kim Possible (Disney Channel) and Winx Club (Nickelodeon/RAI). 

Gary Milne, Banijay Kids & Family’s content development head and an EP on the revival, says the show now caters to a “dual” audience: its main target demo of six- to nine-year-olds and a secondary audience of Millennial/Gen-Z fans of the original toon. To attract this older group of viewers, Milne and his team decided to continue the primordial storyline rather than doing a reboot. “But we also needed to acknowledge that, as a society, we are in a different place than when the series first launched back in 2001,” which meant evolving the characters to appeal to Gen Alpha values without alienating older fans. 

For example, the original series established Sam as the smart/responsible member of the group, with frequent references made to her being a straight-A student. But Milne made sure the revival fleshes out this charaterization by showcasing a STEM girl with hobbies outside of academics. “We see her love of gaming come through—we wanted to show [kids] that just because she’s into science, it doesn’t mean she’s only cerebral. She’s playful, too.” The writers leaned on research like a 2018 University College London study, which found that girls who are avid gamers are three times more likely to study STEM than non-gamers. 

Milne and his team also recruited experts to shape the inclusivity and multiculturalism of the revamp. This meant working with an advisor to adapt the scripts and visuals to the toon’s new setting in Singapore (the original series was set in Beverly Hills), as well as with a disability consultant to shape a new character who has a limb difference. “We did an outreach to a wider disability network [to] understand what people living with disabilities do and do not see on screen, and what they would like to see.”

Roubina Tchoboian, who joined Banijay as head of global licensing last September, has worked intensively on the Spies’ new licensing strategy. She has set up agents in various territories, including Bulldog Licensing (UK), License Connection (Benelux), Lotus Global Marketing (Brazil) and LIT Licensing Agency (the Nordics).

The original series was naturally primed for consumer products, thanks to one of its signature story elements—in every episode, the spies use high-tech gadgets that look like everyday accessories (such as a lipstick that shoots laser beams, or a backpack that turns into a jetpack). Season seven will continue this trope, and Tchoboian says a priority for all franchise extensions is to reflect today’s tech-savvy tweens.

“We definitely want to have technology associated with our toy lines,” she says, indicating that the timing is ripe for partners to come on board. “Toys will be a strong category, especially after the launch of the show.” 

Tchoboian adds that the lore of the IP, combined with its multi-generational audience, has allowed for a smooth transition into the modern licensing landscape. In publishing, for example, Banijay cut a web comic deal last year with Editions Dupuis as a way to adapt to modern reading preferences. “We are also exploring other possibilities around gaming,” she says, noting that Paris-based developer Microids is working on a new console/PC title that should be out later this year.

Looking ahead, Tchoboian is particularly keen to lock down more apparel partners. “Dress-up is something that’s super-relevant to this brand,” given the main characters’ love of fashion, as well as their frequent need for disguises as undercover agents. A newer category that she might want to explore is experiences and/or live events. “It’s not a primary category, [but] we’ve received some interest. Since the DNA of the brand [lies in] spy adventures, you can do a lot today around [that concept]—like escape rooms.”

Banijay’s Zodiak Kids & Family France is producing the revival season of Totally Spies! with French broadcaster Gulli and Discovery Kids LatAm. It will also roll out in the US and EMEA later this year on Cartoon Network/Max.

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