TORONTO – CBC Kids is readying the exclusive Canadian premiere of the new animated series Pablo, the first-ever children’s series to feature an autistic central character.
The series follows Pablo, a smart and artistic five-year-old boy who is on the autism spectrum. Using his magic crayons, his imaginative drawings come to life, enabling him to face the real world with confidence. Pablo bravely turns his life challenges into fantastic adventures with the help of his Art World friends, Llama, Noa, Mouse, Draff, Tang, and Wren. Co-written and voiced by young autistic talent, each story reflects the real-life experiences of children with autism.
Pablo will begin airing March 26, with back-to-back episodes at 9:30 AM (9:30 NT) and 9:45 AM (10:00 NT) on CBC, cbckids.ca, the CBC TV app, and at watch.cbc.ca/kids. Then, beginning April 2, on World Autism Awareness Day, the series will air Monday through Friday only at 9:30 AM. (10:00 NT).
“We are so proud to have this groundbreaking series make its Canadian debut on CBC,” said CBC Kids senior director Marie McCann, in the news release. “This authentic series helps young audiences better understand the perspective of those on the autism spectrum, and its original stories are sure to resonate with Canadian families.”
Pablo was produced by Paper Owl Films for CBeebies and RTÉJr., in association with Kavaleer Productions and Ingenious with funding from Northern Ireland Screen and BAI and exec produced and distributed internationally by CAKE. The series premiered on CBeebies and RTÉJr in October, and will also air on Universal Kids (US), SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland), ABC (Australia), Hunan (China), C&J (Korea), RTHK (Hong Kong), Showmax (Africa), and on Netflix (in multiple territories).
