TORONTO – Kids’ and family entertainment company WildBrain and toy company Mattel, owner of several children’s entertainment franchises, announced Tuesday they have greenlighted new seasons of kids’ shows Fireman Sam and Polly Pocket, based on the popular Mattel brands.
WildBrain also announced it has secured several new international distribution deals for previous seasons of both shows, plus new distribution deals for Mattel titles Bob the Builder and Little People.
“The new greenlights and distribution deals are part of a multi-year co-development, production, distribution and licensing agreement between Mattel and WildBrain,” a press release explains.
Season 16 of Fireman Sam, scheduled to begin delivery in spring 2024, will see the return of Fireman Sam and the Pontypandy Rescue Team in 26 10-minute CG-animated episodes. With an upgraded fire station and a state-of-the-art mobile command unit to help them, the rescue team continues to save the people and animals of Pontypandy, who will be facing dangers from sea monsters, flaming kites, short-circuiting scarecrows, magic shows and a cheeky new mole. “The excitement culminates in a thrilling six-episode finale featuring the music, food, parades, and magic of the Pontypandy Festival, all topped off by a special surprise guest star,” the release says.
Scheduled for delivery in summer 2024, season 6 of Polly Pocket will see Polly and her friends, based on Mattel’s original micro-scale doll brand, return in 38 11-minute episodes. “In the new season, Polly and friends are travelling our world and dimensions beyond — from Brazil to Unicorn World to Skatesville! They’ll be exploring new pocket-sized worlds, rescuing animals in Littleton and beyond, and helping their favorite dance star as she takes the stage in Rio de Janeiro,” the release reads.
The new seasons of Fireman Sam and Polly Pocket are currently in production at WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, according to the release.
WildBrain has brokered several new distribution deals for Fireman Sam in Europe. In Germany, new deals have been signed with KiKA for season 14, Leonine Studios for seasons 13-14, Prime Video for seasons 14-15 plus The Great Fire of Pontypandy special, and Deutsche Telekom/Magenta TV for seasons 11-13 plus the specials The Great Fire of Pontypandy, Heroes of the Storm, Norman Price and the Mystery in the Sky, Set for Action! and Alien Alert. In France, new deals have been struck with Canal+Kids/Piwi+ for season 13 and with Okoo/France 5 for France télévisions for season 14. In Poland, new deals include CDA Premium for seasons 12-13 plus the Alien Alert special, Puls 2 for season 13 and Top Kids for seasons 9-10. WildBrain has also inked new deals for various seasons of Fireman Sam with CANAL+ (Austria), Cartoonito (Italy, UK and Eire), RTL Telekids (Netherlands and Luxembourg), RiK (Slovakia and Czech Republic), RTÉ (Ireland), Britbox (UK), Milkshake! (UK), and NRK (Norway).
In addition, WildBrain has signed new deals for Fireman Sam with Quebecor Content (French-speaking Canada) for season 13, Showmax (Africa) for seasons 11-15 plus the specials Heroes of the Storm and Alien Alert, ETV (Africa) for seasons 11-12, Canal+Ethiopia for seasons 11-13, Hop! (Israel) for season 16, ABC Commercial (Australia) for seasons 1-15 plus the Heroes of the Storm, Alien Alert, The Great Fire of Pontypandy and Snow Business specials, Jim Jam for Middle East and Africa (season 11) and Europe (seasons 10-11), and Edye (the U.S. and its territories, Latin America and the Caribbean) for season 7.
New European deals secured by WildBrain for the 2D-animated Polly Pocket series include POP for seasons 3-4 and ITVX Kids for seasons 3-5 and the Sparkle Cove Adventure special in the U.K., Gulli for season 5 and TFOUMAX for season 4 in France, Cartoonito (Italy) for season 5, Sweet.TV (Ukraine) for seasons 1-2, CANAL+ (Austria) for seasons 1-2, and Leonine Studios (Germany) for season 2.
Additional international deals for Polly Pocket include Family Jr. (Canada) for season 5, Amazon Kids+ (U.S.) for seasons 4-5, Showmax (Africa) for seasons 1-4, Warner Bros. Discovery (Latin America) for season 5, TVNZ (New Zealand) for seasons 4-5, Stan (Australia) for seasons 1-5, SBC (Seychelles) for seasons 3-4, Canal+Ethiopia for seasons 2-4, and True Visions (Thailand) for seasons 1-5.
WildBrain’s new distribution deals for various seasons of Mattel’s CG-animated Bob the Builder series, produced by WildBrain Studios, include Quebecor Content (French Canada), CANAL+ (Austria), Sweet.TV (Ukraine), CDA Premium (Poland), Top Kids (Poland), RiK (Cyprus, Slovakia and Czech Republic), Showmax (Africa), Viet Content (Vietnam), Box Kids TV (Brazil), TIGA (Thailand), and ABC Commercial (Australia). WildBrain has also sold several seasons of Mattel’s classic Bob the Builder series to Amazon Kids+ (U.K.), Deutsche Telekom/Magenta TV (Germany), Kixi (Germany), ABC Commercial (Australia), and Baby First (U.S. and its territories, plus Latin America).
Finally, WildBrain has inked new distribution deals for seasons 1-2 of Mattel’s preschool CG-animated series Little People, based on the iconic Fisher-Price brand, with Top Kids in Poland and Box Kids TV in Brazil.
“We continue to see great demand around the world for Mattel’s celebrated and treasured kids’ series Fireman Sam, Polly Pocket, Bob the Builder and Little People,” said Caroline Tyre, vice-president of global sales and rights strategy at WildBrain, in the press release. “These shows have established themselves as perennial favourites with kids and families, and we look forward to sharing them with new international audiences.”
Image of Fireman Sam provided by WildBrain.
