Two years after the sarcastic teen show Daria first aired on MTV, the music net’s Consumer Products division is looking to expand the property into categories like accessories, stationery and interactive software.

New for the back-to-school season is a line of Trendmasters watches with 3-D faces that play animation and sound clips, and Van Nuys, California-based apparel licensee Stanley DeSantis Inc. is working on some new silhouettes to add to its current T-shirt line sometime in the fall. Also, Daria sleepwear and boxers by Exquisite Apparel are slated to hit shelves at department stores and specialty outlets this month.

MTV has signed two interactive deals with Simon & Schuster Interactive. One is for a digital utility product called Daria’s Sick, Sad Life Planner, which will be available worldwide on October 1, retailing for US$19.95. The interactive CD-ROM includes a day planner, calendar, journal, address book and screensavers from the show. The title will be aimed at both preteens and teens.

The other product, a full-fledged Daria adventure CD-ROM game, is planned for a second quarter launch next year. Simon & Schuster expects the title to be followed by a console version, also in 2000. Within the next four or five years, Simon & Schuster Interactive has plans for other Daria products, including a sequel to the adventure game. The adventure game is expected to follow a day in the life of Daria.

MTV Consumer Products is also in negotiation with several as-yet-unnamed licensees to produce mugs, journals, minibooks and stationery, and the division is eager to develop jewelry and makeup lines based on Daria characters.

Although Daria licensed product has mostly been available in specialty stores until now, Lisa Silfen, VP of Consumer Products for the video channel, says the company is in discussions with larger department stores such as Sears.

The demand for Daria merchandise is still high as the show enters its third season, says Silfen. ‘You have a very devoted, very focused audience, and you have a property that really stands for something positive,’ but in a negative kind of way…