TORONTO — Corus Entertainment’s kids content producer and distributor Nelvana announced today it is co-developing the new original preschool series Leela’s Island (above) with Time Studios Kids and Family, the recently announced kids and family programming division of Time Studios.
This marks the first development partnership between the two companies, as well as the first preschool content deal for Time Studios.
Leela’s Island is an animated comedy-adventure series featuring “a curious five-year-old girl named Leela who discovers she has inherited a gift that allows her to transform into any animal she wishes and see the world through its eyes, in the process gaining a new point of view on her own kid problem,” reads a description in a Corus press release.
“Leela’s Island is a show that will help kids learn to see the world from others’ perspectives. As one of the first Afro-Latina girls featured in an animated preschool series, Leela’s Island will go far in addressing the lack of representation in children’s content both in front and behind the camera,” said Maria Perez-Brown, head of kids and family at Time Studios, in the press release.
“We’re so excited to collaborate with Nelvana to bring this important preschool property to life,” Perez-Brown said.
Leela’s Island is created and written by a team of diverse storytellers, including award-winning writer Fracaswell Hyman (Gullah Gullah Island, Taina, Little Bill, and The Famous Jett Jackson) and Perez-Brown (Gullah Gullah Island and Taina), and is developed in partnership with writer Janice Burgess (The Backyardigans).
“We are incredibly passionate about Leela’s Island and believe Leela will become an icon for kids around the world,” said Athena Georgaklis, head of development at Nelvana.
“The caliber of talent behind this project is unmatched, and is evident in the series’ perfect blend of heartwarming, magical moments and fierce, empowered storytelling. Working with the team at Time has been a true highlight.”
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Image supplied by Corus Entertainment.
