- BBC Children’s and Education has commissioned Lime Pictures’ new live-action series called Girl Troop vs Aliens (10 x 25 minutes) for CBBC. The comedy focuses on four 12-year-old members of a Girl Scouts-type organization, who discover that some other troops attending an annual summer camp are aliens. It’s based on a stage play that had a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019. Its playwright Madeleine Perham also created the series concept and helped develop it with Lime. Julia Kent (Malory Towers) is the lead writer, and Boat Rocker Studios will handle worldwide distribution. In related news, Lime has opened a new studio called L16 in its Liverpool offices specifically for Girl Troop vs Aliens, although it’s also available to third-party producers with scripted and unscripted projects to shoot. And Lime can provide post-production facilities and existing sets as needed.
- BBC Children’s and Education has also renewed MGM/Hungry Bear’s live-action series Gladiators: Epic Pranks for a second season (20 x 15 minutes). The CBBC show features competitors trying to pull off epic pranks. And rounding out the deal-making, BBC has picked up Lupus Films’ 2D-animated feature film Kensuke’s Kingdom (85 minutes, pictured), about a boy who gets stranded on a seemingly deserted island. Modern Films distributes the title in the UK and Ireland. BBC plans to start running it on BBC One and iPlayer on August 3.
- Leonine Studios has inked a deal to launch LEGO Ninjago audiobooks worldwide. The first of four titles will be made available globally on multiple platforms, including Spotify, Audible, Apple Music and Deezer. Leonine has previously released audiobooks for major kids brands PAW Patrol and PJ Masks. Its focus used to be on German-speaking markets, but now it’s expanding to do business in English-speaking ones as well.
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