BBC Unveils Trio Of Animation Series As It Steps Up Search For British ‘Simpsons’
The BBC has unveiled the trio of projects that it hopes could fulfil the search for a British Simpsons. Coming from the Ignite animation program, the corporation has greenlit Duck and Frog, The Underglow and Captain Onion’s Buoyant Academy for Wayward Youth. The former is a slacpstick comedy with a modern British setting and an energetic anarchic sense of humor, The Underglow is a preschool series with little creatures and characters that come out to play when the sun goes down and the latter follows Marvin and his friends on their boat-based boarding school, the Unsinkable II. The projects were greenlit after producers submitted ideas to the BBC and have been chosen following an 18-month development process. BBC Children’s boss Patricia Hidalgo has made clear her ambitions for UK animation and used her first setpiece to say she was seeking a British verison of The Simpsons two years ago. “The reason we chose these three is because they all have a clear sense of the audience they are trying to target and a strong creative vision,” she said. “The ideas, stories and characters felt truly British and very original but they hold a sense of the familiar which is what usually makes a show successful amongst kids.”
UK Indies Strike MoU With Northern France
Producer trade body Pact has struck a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase opportunities between the UK and northern France. Pact has signed the MoU with the UK business center in Lille in order to “facilitate cooperation and mutual exchange in the film & TV content industry.” The agreement, which will run for an initial period of three years, promises to increase opportunities for UK indies to grow their businesses and operations in France and the EU more broadly. A series of activities including webinars, surgeries and joint events in both the UK and Hauts de France region will follow. “France is our third largest TV exports market and our closest neighbour in mainland Europe, so it’s a no-brainer for us to strengthen our ties and explore mutually beneficial opportunities for further collaboration,” said Pact Managing Director of Business Development & Global Strategy Dawn McCarthy-Simpson.
ITV News Forges Head Of Content Role
ITV News has forged a Head of Content Role and appointed Ed Saunt to fill it. Saunt, who is promoted from Senior Programme Editor of the Evening News, will oversee the delivery of content across all ITV News platforms, including TV, ITVX, and digital. He joined ITV more than a decade ago and has worked across elections in the UK and U.S., along with helming daily coverage. ITV News Editor Andrew Dagnell said his “strategic vision and creative leadership have made him an invaluable asset to ITV News.” The news comes one day after Channel 5 poached Channel 4’s Debra Ramsay for its vacant News Editor post. ITN produces the ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 daily news shows.
