Lion Forge Entertainment has a new live-action project on its slate—one that comes with built-in buzz from the digital space.

The prodco is developing a TV adaptation of a bite-sized YouTube series called Lostlings, which was launched on YouTube last March by TalesVision—a fairly new player in LA.

Founded last year by creators Tristan Tales and Luke Pounder, TalesVision specializes in fantasy and sci-fi stories that appeal to young audiences. The company’s model is to test shortform content like five-minute episodes and teasers (what it calls “pocket pilots”) online, identifying the ones with the best engagement, and then working on expanding them into longer series.

Lostlings has so far been one of the studio’s best-performing IPs across all social platforms, generating more than 17 million views and 1.6 million likes. This TikTok clip, for instance, generated more than 600 encouraging replies after Tales asked if viewers wanted to see more of the concept. 

Lion Forge’s adaptation will maintain the IP’s digital-first approach. The gameplan is to roll it out on YouTube before distribution across linear and streaming platforms kicks in—though no deals are confirmed on that front yet.

Set in a town called Shadowbrook, Lostlings deals with a local curse that sees one teenager randomly disappear each year, only to return home with no memory of what happened while they’d been missing. The show follows a group of teens taking matters into their own hands to rescue their missing friend and end the curse.

Tales and Pounder will write the longform series scripts and serve as showrunners on season one. David Steward II (CEO/founder), Stephanie Sperber (president/CCO) and Kirsten Newlands (EVP) will executive produce for Lion Forge.

A Black-owned studio that focuses on diverse storytelling, Lion Forge has been enjoying breakout success in the kids space this year with its 2D toon Iyanu holding steady as the number-one series on Cartoon Network since launching in April. To replicate this result in the older teen/YA market, the company could be looking at more deals to adapt digitally native IPs with creators like TalesVision.

“We see this as the first project in a strategic partnership to develop YA-focused live-action content working with some of the best YouTube creators in the business,” Steward explained in a release. “We’re happy to make this investment and feel confident that this approach is a smart path forward in the future of live-action development and content distribution—especially for YA audiences.”

Lostlings could also help fill something of a teen TV gap in the streaming market—at a time when some of the genre’s biggest live-action hits (Stranger Things, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Outer Banks and Heartstopper) are all ending in the 2025/2026 season.