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WarnerMedia Greenlit Several Projects For Kids, Preschoolers And Family

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WarnerMedia has announced a bunch of new content for Cartoon Network, HBO Max as well as their new preschool brand, Cartoonito. Boomerang is absent from this upfront.

This batch is for kids and family on Cartoon Network and HBO Max:

Ben 10 specials – Produced by Man of Action (Big Hero 6, Generator Rex), three 44-minute specials based on the hit Cartoon Network series Ben 10 are set to premiere in April 2021. The first, Ben 10,010, takes place in the future when a disillusioned Ben 10000 is called out of retirement to recruit his 10-year-old version from the past to work together to save a future under siege. The second special, Ben Gen 10 follows Ben as he meets a young Generator Rex on the run from a hostile Providence working through a series of misunderstandings in order to save the world from being infected with alien DNA. In the final installment, Alien X-Tinction, the Tennysons are attacked by a villainous, dimension-hopping Omni-alien, and soon meet a parallel universe version of Max who opens the door to hosting multiple Bens and Gwens, forming an alien hero army to combat this threat.

Craig of the Creek – Created by Steven Universe writers Matt Burnett and Ben Levin, season four of the Emmy-, GLAAD- and NAACP Image Award-nominated series is back and filled with new adventures as Craig and his friends embark on an exciting quest to find one of the Creek’s greatest treasures—meeting new friends and exploring new places along the way.

Gremlins S2 – A season two greenlight of this animated prequel to the beloved film franchise doubles down on the yet-to-be-aired series from Warner Bros. Animation and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. The first season, Gremlins: The Secrets of the Mogwai, is currently in production and features a star-studded voice cast including Izaac Wang, Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, James Hong, A.J. LoCascio, Gabrielle Green, and Matthew Rhys.

Infinity Train: Book Four – Two old friends must explore the inner puzzles of the Infinity Train – and their relationship – in order to return home, together. Infinity Train: Book Four is created by Owen Dennis and produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

Jade Armor – In production with TeamTO and featuring a talented all-female creative team, Jade Armor centers around the martial arts-loving Lan Jun, an unlikely teenage heroine who must learn the ancient secrets of her family and uncover the unexpected, all while navigating life as a teen.

Total Drama Island – The world's most hilarious reality show is back and better than ever with two new seasons. With no parents, no phones, and no mercy, the new animated series will introduce an updated cast of quirky, iconic teen contestants as they face hardcore competition, brutal eliminations, and more drama than ever before. Total Drama Island is produced by Fresh TV for Cartoon Network and HBO Max, and distributed internationally by CAKE.

Victor and Valentino – In the third season, there’s something sinister unfolding in Monte Macabre, and Victor and Valentino plan to sniff it out before it's too late. Along the way, the boys will return to the Underworld for Dia de Muertos, hang out with the Reynas of Los Angeles for a Mariachi musical, and mark Halloween with a harrowing two-part spooktacular special. The series is created by Diego Molano and produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

The Amazing World of Gumball Movie (working title) – Produced out of EMEA, the upcoming TV movie is based on the hit Cartoon Network series The Amazing World of Gumball, which follows the hilarious misadventures of Gumball Watterson and his goldfish best friend, Darwin.

Family Mash-Up (working title) – A modern-day The Brady Bunch meets Pitch Perfect when a single mom and three sons and a single dad with three daughters fall in love and get married despite their kids being in two fiercely competing acapella groups. The music-filled live-action comedy is created by Michael Poryes (Hannah Montana, That's So Raven).

Gross Girls – From Cartoon Network Studios with producers Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) and Naomi Scott (Other People) alongside creators Daniela Hamilton and Scott Yacyshyn, Gross Girls is a smart, sophisticated animated comedy about Chuck and Zoey, two best friends trying to survive middle school without losing any of their trademark stinky, hairy, mad science-y grossness. In spite of jerky brothers, judgey classmates, and “common decency,” these two girls boost each other up and encourage each other to be 100% themselves. Because with the right best friend, everything is an adventure...even puberty.

Teen Titans Go! The Night Begins to Shine – In this spinoff series of the Cartoon Network smash hit Teen Titans Go!, Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire journey back to the world of Night Begins to Shine when the musical land falls victim to a sinister new threat. Together the Titans must protect the only key to the world’s salvation, a magical mixtape. Teen Titans Go! Night Begins to Shine is produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

Tweety Mysteries (working title) – Tweety Mysteries is a hybrid live-action/animated adventure from Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Television that follows a curious tween investigative journalist and podcaster named Sydney and her sidekick Tweety bird. Working together the pair must solve various local mysteries in their small, quirky Washington state town.

This batch is for the newly revamped Cartoonito block and HBO Max:

Bea’s Block – Debuting on HBO Max, Sesame Workshop’s newest animated preschool comedy series draws on the ubiquity of block toys to bring the vibrant, diverse neighborhood of Blocktown to life. The show centers on bold and curious 5-year-old Bea as she and her friends spread kindness and build empathy through playful adventures in their community.

Bugs Bunny Builders (working title) – Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and built on the solid comedic foundation of the iconic Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny Builders brings the wackiness, humor and slapstick we’ve grown to love to a new preschool audience. At ACME Construction Company Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny manage a crew of builders that, quite frankly, should not be anywhere near a construction site. However, by working together as a team, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety and others use their tools and wild vehicles to pull off some of the looniest construction jobs ever.

Jessica’s Big Little World (working title) – From Cartoon Network Studios, this spin-off of the Emmy-, GLAAD- and NAACP Image Award-nominated Cartoon Network original Craig of the Creek follows Craig’s bright, independent, spirited little sister, Jessica as the Creek’s favorite first-grader embarks on adventures of her own. The series is created by Craig of the Creek executive producers and creators Matt Burnett and Ben Levin, and Craig of the Creek supervising director, Tiffany Ford.

Tom and Jerry Junior (working title) – Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Tom and Jerry Junior is a series of animated musical shorts introducing the beloved cat and mouse duo to preschoolers with an educational twist. Classic Tom and Jerry hijinks – chasing, pranking, outsmarting each other – set an entertaining and hilarious backdrop while a core learning curriculum, based in education and essential readiness research, turns the world created by the biggest rivalry in all of animation into a fun and playful cartoon classroom.

Ladybird Lu – Produced by 9 Story’s award-winning studio Brown Bag Films, Ladybird Lu explores everyday dramas in the world of a three-year-old with a brand-new social life. The new series is created and directed by Nicky Phelan (Vampirina, Octonauts) and inspired by his mother’s experience running a preschool.

Mush-Mush & the Mushables – Produced by France’s La Cabane and Belgium’s Thuristar in coproduction with CAKE, the series follows the endearing Mushable community as they embark on a journey to put the fun back into fun-gi! Teeming with activity, it’s always an adventure in Mushworld as each Mushable gets to know their talents, and their limits. As pocket-size guardians of the forest, growing up isn’t always easy, but together each day shines just as bright as the one before. Mush-Mush & the Mushables is a fun journey full of discovery, exciting outdoor adventure, and mush mush more! Produced by Perrine Gauthier, Mush-Mush & the Mushables is created by Elfriede de Rooster and directed by Joeri Christiaen.

Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go – From Mattel Television, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go invites preschoolers all aboard and follows the world’s Number One Tank Engine and his friends on their silliest and most musical adventures yet. Produced in vibrant, 2D-animation in partnership with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana Studio, the show features a core cast of five young engines – Thomas, his best friend Percy, rival Diesel, the adventurous world traveler Nia and an all-new electric high-speed rail train, Kana.

Little Ellen - The show explores the world through the eyes of a hilarious and unpredictable seven-year-old Ellen DeGeneres.

Today’s programming announcements join the previously announced two-season greenlight of Tiny Toons Looniversity from Warner Bros. Animation, Amblin Television and returning executive producer Steven Spielberg, as well as the inclusive family co-viewing slate that includes Genndy Tartakovsky’s supernatural family series Unicorn: Warriors Eternal. Cartoon Network will also launch weekend family movie nights with blockbuster features including Gremlins, Happy Feet, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Shazam!, Back to the Future and more.

The Mind Bongling Reason SuperSport Has Two WWE Channels

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SuperSlam (former name) launched as a a promotional channel back in August 2019 with some outlets referring to it as The WWE Channel and would continue running until the end of that year. The pop-up version was bombarded with repeats and yes Total Divas would constantly hit the restart button.

From January 2020, the channel was officially renamed into The WWE Channel and became a full-time brand for SuperSport not only that they incorporated NXT and 205 Live which weren't available on SuperSport at the time e.tv lost rights to WWE alongside content that was only found only on the WWE app.

2020 was also the year where COVID-19 became a trendsetter causing setbacks in people's daily lives. On cable, you got to see viewers lose out on several channels while others were reshuffled and that's where SuperSport comes in.

In September 2020, the brand followed Sky in the UK and launched thematic channels. Not only that WWE could also be found on channel 236.

Now here's the issue, SuperSport gave the WWE Channel a different logo on top of that other channel number and viewers woke up and saw two WWE Channels and it wasn't even using the SuperSport logo.

Since then viewers have been complaining about it not only that UFC had its own channel now viewers have a hard time catching up due to the reshuffle. Once again proving that bigger brands (in this case cash cow) get most of the spotlight.

According to their customer care, both channels will remain as they are mirrored channels with the same content, the reason is to try and get WWE closer to their sports content (SuperSport), without affecting those who are accustomed to 128.

Now this is just ridiculous, viewers experience change everyday so I'm certain they're immune to these things look at BBC First and Disney XD for starters. Now tell me where was that energy when those channels were canned. Perhaps the other reason 128 is alive to keep Ginx TV on 127 company since they're both sports and entertainment brands.

The least SuperSport could have done was perhaps make 236 a timeshift channel where viewers get to watch everything an hour later kind of like what M-Net has with its M-Net +1 on channel 901 but hey that would impact negatively as it already is with DStv attempt to cutback on duplication and 236 is not a place for timeshift channels.

So how long do you suppose M-Net +1 will stick around with the likeness of Catch Up and the fact that content from M-Net resurfaces on its other channels. In the end, MultiChoice just proved to everyone once again why viewers should be disappointed and rather downgrade, cancel or look into other alternatives.

ViacomCBS To Rollout Paramount+ Streaming Service This March, Africa Is Not Part Of It's Initial Rollout

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CBS All Access will be rebranded as Paramount+ on March 4, 2021 in the United States and Canada as part of its expansion to feature content from ViacomCBS' other brands. Paramount+ will also expand to other markets, starting with Latin America on March 4, 2021, followed by the Nordics on March 25, 2021 and Australia in mid-2021.

According to ViacomCBS CEO, Paramount was "an iconic and storied brand beloved by consumers all over the world, and it is synonymous with quality, integrity and world-class storytelling". From what I remember, CBS hasn't been having much success and sustainability internationally.

On September 15, 2020, it was announced that CBS All Access would rebrand as Paramount+ in early 2021, and that it planned to perform more international expansion under the new name.

This platform joins other streaming platforms that aren't available in South Africa such as Disney+, HBO Max and Discovery+. I wouldn't shocked if Discovery+ launched before any of them.

As most readers noticed due to the domination of streaming services a lot of TV providers are streamlining their entertainment which led to the shutdown of several channels in Africa and the rest of the world.

If Paramount+ manages to rollout in Africa, could it have an affect on its linear channels currently available on DStv and StarTimes (ROA) such as Comedy Central and MTV, and Nicktoons and Nick Jr which is likely the first place they'd look into.

Qubo: Background Information And Why It's Not Successful Despite Having Huge Owners Behind Them

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The kids brand has been around since 2006 in the United States as a block and standalone channel and most people there (including other markets) never heard of it.

Most of its shows are forgettable except Veggie Tales and most who knew the brand probably grew up watching something from there at some point.

In May 2006, Ion Media alongside NBCUniversal, Corus Entertainment and Scholastic and Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics with the old branding being used sometimes) announced that they were launching a new educational brand for kids called Qubo.

The brand would have a programming block on NBC, Telemundo and Ion Television as well as on demand service and seperate TV network.

As stated by Rick Rodriguez (former president of Qubo), the brand would be a bilingual offering content in English and Spanish. The reason they call it Qubo is based on the fact you can use it in both those languages without any changes.

In September 2006, NBC launched the kids block which replaced the Discovery Kids block (owned by Discovery, discontinued it to focus on the kids channel). At launch the lineup consisted of shows such as Jane And The Dragon, 321 Penguins, Veggie Tales and Larryboy.

Now the issue here was all the religious stuff was censored out because they violated the rules of NBC's standards and practices department. Many people including the creator of Veggie Tales hated this so the brand pulled those shows off Qubo in 2009.

Ion Media requested must carry policy from the FC to further expand the brand. A year later, they signed carriage agreements with Advanced Cable Communications and Blue Ridge Communications.

After Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2012, NBC and Telemundo announced that they would be discontinuing the Qubo block. NBC replaced theirs with NBC Kids and Telemundo replaced theirs with Mi Telemundo.

This left Ion Television as the only network as the only channel with the Qubo block.

In October 2013, Ion Media Networks acquired Corus Entertainment, Scholastic and by the time Classic Media's shares of Qubo of course these 3 brands obtained programming redistribution from Qubo.

On January 2015, the block on Ion Television was renamed Qubo Kids Corner because it was moved from Friday mornings to Saturday mornings.

Here's why it hasn't been successful even after having huge brands behind them:

1. Many of Qubo's programming isn't all that great. Most of their shows are throwaway and forgettable pieces of nothing. The ones that aren't existed way before Qubo like Veggie Tales and Babar The Elephant.

2. It doesn't exist everywhere. Qubo is affiliated with 67 stations across 36 states and Washington, DC. Many major areas like Baltimore, Merlin and San Diego California are not in Qubo territory.

Add the fact it has no app and you got an epic fail.

Just as Medora Entertainment speculated the channel would be shutting down:

On January 14, 2021, Scripps announced that it will discontinue Ion Plus, Qubo and Shop Ion effective February 28. The spectrum allocated to the networks on the former Ion Media stations will be repurposed to carry the Katz-owned networks starting March 1. with the initial slate of Ion Television O&Os adding those networks following the expiration of Scripps/Katz's existing contracts with other broadcasting companies the day prior, and other stations following suit as contracts with existing affiliates expire throughout 2021 and 2022; in markets where major network affiliates operated by Scripps already carry a Katz-owned network, some will be offloaded to the Ion stations to free up limited spectrum capacity during the ATSC 3.0 transition..

There are rumours that Qubo with be replaced with Ion Kids regardless I don't any kids channel will gain much recognition in the United States since viewers are opting towards streaming.

USA: The WWE Network Finds A New Home

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According to the Wall Street Journal, WWE’s deal to have Peacock on the Network is a big one financially as well as in terms of impact. The outlet reports that a person familiar with the deal is a five-year one and is valued at over $1 billion.

The report confirms that the WWE Network will officially shut down as an independent streaming service, and Peacock will license WWE’s programming, including WrestleMania and PPVs. Peacock has a current estimated subscriber base of 26 million. By comparison, WWE reported in Q3 of 2020 that the Network averaged 1.6 million monthly paid subscribers.

ORIGINAL: In a major deal, WWE has signed a multi-year agreement that brings the service to the Peacock streaming service in the US. Peacock and WWE announced on Monday that they have signed an agreement that gives the NBCUniversal service exclusive streaming rights in the United States.

The Network will launch on Peacock on March 18th.

The news comes just days after it was reported that NBC was shuttering the NBC Sports Network by the end of 2021 and moving live sports telecasts to USA Network and, to a lesser extent, Peacock. It was speculated at the time whether WWE would be affected by live sports broadcasts moving to USA Network. While nothing about that is mentioned in the announcement, the deal to break the Network to Peacock could potentially give WWE and NBCUniversal several options in terms of how to deal with the crunch of available timeslots.

As far as international markets are concerned this move won't have any affect on them as Peacock is exclusive to the United States. Even if Peacock were to be accessible "legally" outside of the United States chances are you'll get a watered down version of the platform.

NBCSN Shutting Down By The End Of 2021 And How It Affects SuperSport, WWE Channel And Perhaps ESPN

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A memo sent to NBC Sports staff was leaked today (Fri, Jan. 22) confirming the company is shutting down operations of cable network NBCSN at the end of the 2021 calendar year. With this, NBC Sports coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and select NASCAR races will be carried and/or simulcasted by the USA Network during the 2020 season.

The company’s plan on shutting down NBCSN at the conclusion of 2021 is to shift sports focus to NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, for 2022 and beyond. Elements of NBCSN’s current programming will shift to USA Network or Peacock, if sports renew contracts past the 2021 season.

The news has been rumored for a month now and hasn’t officially been announced yet, but as mentioned before, the leaked memo was sent by NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua to his staff.

NBC Sports was also home to some matches seen on SuperSport and ESPN such as the Premier League and NFL's Sunday Night Football. The USA Network handles majority of WWE (excluding SmackDown and reality shows).

These changes do affect SuperSport, WWE Channel and ESPN but it's not something to stress over as no one will be losing out on anything.

As stated earlier some of NBC Sports' content (Premier League and NFL's Sunday Night Football) will move to USA Network (home of WWE) so all they'll be doing is adjusting the timeslots perhaps even changing the day some of those programs come on.

This change comes in after NBC cancelled E! News and Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Disney Is Renaming The Star Channels In Netherlands, What Does This Mean For StarPlus And The Other Star Channels In Africa?

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When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, it obtained Star India, a hugely successful broadcasting company based in India, which has a network of 60 channels in eight languages, that reaches approximately 790 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 countries.

With it’s streaming service, Hotstar being rebranded as Disney+ Hotstar in India in March.

Disney officially revealed details of how it was planning the branding of “Star” internationally at December’s Investor Day event, which will see Star added as a new sixth tier within Disney+ in February in many regions including Europe, Australia, Canada and in Asia. At the same time, Star+ is launching in Latin America as its own platform with live sports. With many Fox channels in Latin America will also be rebranded “Star”.

Disney Africa is likely to do the same as Europe with latching the best of Star on Disney+ since no one in this market can pay for a lot of streaming services.

According to Dutch television provider Ziggo, Disney will be rebranding its Hindi channels, Star Plus and Star Gold channels in the Netherlands to Utsav Plus and Utsav Gold. This rebranding will be taking effect from February 1st.

The name Utsav is likely based on Star Utsav which is one of Star India's linear channels which is currently being used for archived content. It was available in UK for 2 years before becoming a reruns channel.

Star India already operates channels in Africa such as StarPlus, Star Vijay and Star Life through StarTimes, Platco Digital's OpenView and MultiChoice's DStv. It wouldn't be shocking if the name was dropped in favour of Utsav. The one in India might do the same it's currently unknown at this point. Readers have been wondering how Star would replace FOX in Africa if the Star branding was already being used so there's your answer.

The rebranding is being done so Disney can use the “Star” brand as part of Disney+ in the Netherlands, which is coming on February 23rd.

There's still no news on when or if Disney+ will roll out in Africa so chances are will have to wait until at least 2022/3 I mean they could take longer since they're still rolling out in other parts of Europe and the fact that there's contracts they have with other distributors so they're waiting for some of them to expire to begin rolling out Disney+.

80 Projects Announced At 2020 Disney Investor Day

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Here are the 80 biggest announcements Disney made.

The Walt Disney Company on Thursday night held a virtual 2020 Disney Investor Day that included a raft of content announcements that ranged from the Kardashians to the Marvel universe, from Pixar to National Geographic and even that Star Wars galaxy far, far away.

Disney's presentation was strongly focused on how the Mouse House is bolstering its catalogue of its Disney+ video streaming service, clearly showing that as the world's second-biggest streaming service it is ready to take on Netflix for first place.

Disney executives said that it's main-focus in content creation is now on growing its direct-to-consumer business, meaning Disney+, and that it is pivoting to a "DTC first business model".

Disney spoke multiple times about its Disney+ subscribers "all around the world" and new territories where it plans to launch Disney+ as well as its general entertainment video streamer STAR.

With its presentation Disney clearly wanted to show that it can rival or outpace a competitor like Netflix when it comes to creating new original content based on its own sought-after brands and intellectual property.

Here is the 80 most noteworthy announcements Disney made:

1. While Disney plans to rollout Disney+ in more countries and territories in 2021, the continent of Africa and South Africa as it's most developed TV market still doesn't feature anywhere.

Disney+ is already in all of the comparable markets to South Africa like the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South American countries, and Disney will roll out STAR as a new general entertainment video streamer in places like South America.

2. STAR as Disney's new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service will be a general video entertainment service that will launch outside of the United States.

It will be for more mature audiences like adults and older teenagers, so it will, for instance, carry a film like Deadpool and general content that - although part of Disney - Disney wants to keep separate from the kid and family-friendly Disney+ brand.

STAR is essentially the hulu video streamer that is available in America but that Disney last year said "has no name brand recognition" outside of America, which is why Disney is going with STAR internationally.

STAR will include series from Disney Television Studios and FX, as well as films and library content from the Disney library and its 21st Century acquisition, for instance, The Simpsons. Available content titles will only show up within STAR depending on the parental control level chosen.

In South America STAR will launch as it's own stand-alone service called STAR+. Elsewhere, for instance, in Australia, Canada and elsewhere, it will launch in February 2021 as STAR as the 6th tile within the existing Disney+ streaming service. Disney+ now has 86.8 million subscribers globally and will hike prices from March 2021 because of the fold-in STAR content offering.

3. hulu's The Handmaid's Tale seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax has been renewed for a 5th season.

4. The Kardashian Jenner clan and their Keeping Up with the Kardashians that got cancelled on NBCUniversal's E! (DStv 124) a few months ago is jumping into streaming. hulu and STAR is doing a new video streaming reality series with the Kardashians that it plans to run for several years.

hulu content, unlike Disney+ content, is for sale to M-Net so expect this series to show up on M-Net, one of the M-Net channels like VUZU, or somewhere on DStv.

5. FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax has been renewed for a further 4 more seasons, taking it to season 18.

6. FX has commissioned an Alien TV series, as "the first Alien story set on Earth" and Ridley Scott is involved. "Set not too far into our future, it's the first Alien story set on Earth. By blending both the timeless horror of the first film with the action of the second, it's going to be a scary thrill-ride that will blow people back in their seats". This series will very likely be available for pick-up by M-Net (DStv 101) or FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131).

7. FX is working on Shogun, a new series based on the James Clavell novel, as "one of the most sweeping, sophisticated adult series that FX has ever created". It is "set within the riveting and real Game of Thrones that was feudal Japan".

8. Disney and Lucasfilm are working to bring a further 10 Star Wars series to Disney+. Star Wars The Mandalorian is getting two, live-action spin-off TV series. Star Wars Rangers of the New Republic and Star Wars Asoka will both be set within the timeline of The Mandalorian. "These interconnected shows along with future stories will excite new audiences," says Disney. These series will "culminate in a climactic story event".

9. "One of the most exciting and ambitious series we have coming to Disney+ in 2022 is Endor - a tense, nailbiting spy-thriller in the Star Wars universe," with Diego Luna back in the role as Rebel spy Cassian Endor from Rogue One. Production on Endor started in London 2 weeks ago.

10. Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi is a special event series and will start 10 years after the dramatic events of the Revenge of the Sith film. "Hayden Christensen will be returning in the role of Darth Vader. This will be the rematch of the century". Production will start in March 2021.

11. The animation series Star Wars The Bad Batch is a new spinoff from Star Wars The Clone Wars and "follows the specialist commandos of Clone Force 99 as they embark on new missions in a rapidly changing galaxy".

12. Star Wars Visions will be a series of animated short films celebrating the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of the world's best anime creators. This anthology collection will bring 10 stories from the leading Japanese anime studios to life and offer a fresh and culturally diverse perspective on Star Wars.

13. In Star Wars Lando, Lando Calrissian will return in a brand-new limited, event series.

14. Star Wars The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into "a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic Era".

15. Lucasfilm Animation is teaming up with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to develop A Droid Story. "This epic journey will introduce us to a new hero guided by our most iconic duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO on a special mission, known only to them".

16. The new Willow series will be set decades after Ron Howard's 1988 movie "continuing the spirit of adventure, heroics and humour of the original film". Filming starts in March 2021 in Wales and will debut on Disney+ in 2022.

17. The next and final film of Indiana Jones is in pre-production. Harrison Ford will be back to "conclude this iconic character's journey". Indiana Jones will start shooting in late 2021 and will be released in July 2022.

18. Tomi Adeyemi's book Children of Blood and Bone is getting the feature film treatment and the story will revolve "around a young African girl's heart-racing quest to restore magic to her forsaken people, the magi".

19. Taika Waititi is busy writing the next Star Wars film.

20. Patty Jenkins will be directing the next Star Wars film, Star Wars Rogue Squadron that will "introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride". Rogue Squadron will be released in cinemas Christmas 2023.

21. Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic content, says the new documentary film Cousteau "features never-before-seen archival footage as a deep-dive into the fascinating life of the man who first showed us the beauty and wonder under the sea".

22. The National Geographic anthology series Genius is moving exclusively to Disney+ from the 4th season that will dramatise and profile the life of the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

23. James Cameron is doing the new National Geographic natural history series, Secrets of the Whales, narrated by Sigourney Weaver, showcasing never-before-seen behaviour from 5 different whale species.

24. A Real Bug's Life will be using the latest miniaturised camera technology to capture and show the world of insects from the African savannah to New York's urban life.

25. America The Beautiful is a natural history portrait series showing the wildlife and places of the United States.

26. In Welcome to Earth, Will Smith takes viewers on a journey around the world, exploring the strangeness of our planet and some of the most extreme and exciting places, for instance, the side of a volcano and going inside a glacier in Iceland.

27. Big Shot from David E. Kelly is a new dramedy series set in the world of high school basketball with John Stamos who becomes the coach of a girls team at a private California high school.

28. Beauty and the Beast The Prequel Series will be a live-action drama series set before the events of the film with Luke Evans and Josh Gad who will return to reprise their roles.

29. Swiss Family Robinson will be a live-action drama series and reimagine the classic story as a live-action drama series.

30. The Mysterious Benedict Society is a live-action dramedy, based on the young adult book.

31. Disney is working on Hocus Pocus 2 as a "spooky sequel" to the original bewitching film.

32. Disney is "deep in development" with "a hilarious take on the 80s comedy" Three Men and a Baby. Aiming for a 2022 release, Three Men and a Baby has Zac Efron attached in a starring role.

33. Greek Freak, heading into production in 2021, is a biopic based on the life of the life story of NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family as they lifted themselves out of poverty as undocumented immigrants living in Greece. Disney+ is developing another similar biopic about another NBC star, Chris Paul.

34. The live-action film Flora & Ulysses is based on the book about the girl Flora and her squirrel Ulysses and will be released in February 2021 on Disney+.

35. In 2022, Disney is reimagining the comedy Cheaper by the Dozen, centred around a multi-racial, blended family of 12, navigating a hectic home-life, while managing their family business. Gabrielle Union will star in this reboot.

36. Disney is revisiting the beloved Diary of a Wimpy Kid but this time as an animation film.

37. After 5 films, 20th Century Studios is now in production on a spinoff film, exclusively for Disney+ entitled The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild and will revolve around the possum brothers and weasel Buck.

38. Night at the Museum is returning as a new animated film.

39. In July 2021 Disney will release Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

40. Disney is developing "a Lion King prequel of sorts that revisits these iconic characters" and production is underway on the already-announced live-action version of The Little Mermaid that will have the classic songs as well as new music.

41. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers is becoming a Disney+ hybrid live-action and animation film. In this film, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, "cartoon are living among us, in all their forms, and let us just say they may have gone a little overboard to keep up with current popularity of CGI". The film will be release in late-2022.

42. The live-action remake of Pinnochio was already announced but the Tom Hanks film with state-of-the-art special effects is now moving to Disney+.

43. Peter Pan & Wendy is a new film specifically for Disney+ with Jude Law as Captain Hook.

44. Disney confirms that Amy Adams will be back as Giselle in a sequel to Enchanted exclusively for Disney+. The live-action film, Disenchanted will once again follow the hapless Disney princess who accidentally found herself in New York.

45. Disney is developing Sister Act 3 - and Whoopi Goldberg will be back in the starring role and producing. Tyler Perry is also a producer on the project.

46. The already-announced live-action film Cruella will dive into the early life of "one of the most notorious, and most notoriously fashionable villains, the legendary Cruella de Ville played by Emma Stone. Set in the 1970's punk-rock London, Cruella (then Estella) is noticed as a burgeoning fashion designer.

47. Walt Disney Animation Studios is doing its first-ever original animation series based on the Big Hero 6 film, entitled Baymax!. It will be on Disney+ in early-2022.

48. Zootopia+ is a short-form series that will take a hilarious look at some of the animal that moviegoers only briefly met in the film. Viewers will get to know more about Zootopia's hottest shows like The Real Housewives of Little Rodentia, So You Think You Can Prance about the back-up tiger dancers, and a show that follows the fast lane of sloth speed. Zootopia+ will release on Disney+ in late-2022.

49. Tiana is a new long-form animation series coming to Disney+ in 2023 and revolves around the Disney princess and her friends in a musical comedy series with Tiana stepping into her role as a princess of a land yet to be seen, as well as with a lot of New Orleans to be discovered.

50. Disney is developing a long-form musical comedy series, Moana, to explore new stories with this character. "In this series, Moana's boundless sense of adventure takes her far beyond the reef". Moana the series will be on Disney+ in 2023.

51. Walt Disney Animation Studios is teaming up with the pan-African comic book company Kugali to create the original animation series Iwájú for Disney+. Walt Disney Africa was asked how viewers in Africa will be able to see Iwájú - that roughly means "the future" but the company didn't respond. Iwájú will debut on Disney+ in 2022. The long-form series, steeped in science fiction, is set in Lagos, Nigeria.

52. Walt Disney Animation Studios' 60th feature film will be an animation musical set in Colombia, where a magical family lives in a magical home in Encanto. Songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda is attached with songs in Spanish and English.

53. Pixar has a new upcoming animation spinoff series from the UP film entitled Dug Days, following the talking dog's adventures and that will release around March 2021.

54. The Cars franchise is making a comeback around late-2022 with a new animation series following Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater as they head on a roadtrip across America. Episodes will be filled with imaginative new destinations as well as old friends.

55. Win Or Lose is Pixar's first long-form original animation series and follows a primary school sports team in the week leading up to a game. Each 20-minute episode follows the same week but from the perspective of a different character. The Pixar series will debut on Disney+ in late-2023.

56. Luca is a new Pixar animated feature film set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian riviera following the adventures of the boy Luca and his friend Alberto experiencing an unforgettable summer. It will debut in cinemas worldwide in June 2021.

57. Around March 2022 Pixar will release the feature film Turning Red revolving around May, a confident 13-year old who uncontrollably turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets excited.

58. In mid-2022 Pixar plans to release Lightyear in cinemas. Remember in Toy Story how the Buzz Lightyear doll action figure was based on a never-seen film? Lightyear is now that film as the "definitive origin-story of the original Buzz Lightyear and reveals how this young test pilot became the space ranger we all know him to be today". Captain America's Chris Evans will be voicing Buzz.

59. Marvel Studios' already-announced WandaVision series coming 15 January 2021 released a new trailer and it looks a bit like the Pleasantville film, with the characters of Wanda and Vision who will discover that they're trapped in some reality/universe not of their making.

60. Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released in cinemas 25 March 2022 and will connect directly to the events of Wandavision and will also connect to the new Spider-Man film coming to theatres in December 2021.

61. Marvel Studios also unveiled a new trailer for the already-announced Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier coming from March 2021 and will be "a cinematic experience playing out over 6 episodes".

62. The already-announced Black Widow will return to the big screen on 7 May 2021 with Scarlett Johansson.

63. Loki with Tom Hiddleston will debut as a Disney+ series in May 2021 and is joined by Owen Wilson, Richard E. Grant and others. "We've put Loki in the centre of his own crime-thriller. If that sounds a little confusing, don't worry, Loki is just as confused."

64. What If...? is the first animated series from Marvel Studios and will release on Disney+ in mid-2021. The series "flips the script on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), taking famous events from the films and reimagining them in unexpected ways". Many MCU actors will reprise their roles for their animation versions.

65. Production has just wrapped in Australia on the film Chang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and will release in cinemas on 9 July 2021.

66. The already-announced American-Pakistani superhero series Ms Marvel will release next year on Disney+ with Iman Vellani in the title role.

67. The already-announced Captain Marvel 2 is currently in the works and will also be connected to the Wandavision series.

68. The already-announced Eternals will release in cinemas ofrom 5 November 2021 and Marvel Studios describes it as "introducing a brand-new emsembleof superheroes" that "is an epic story spanning thousands of years and is one of our most ambitious films yet".

69. The original Avenger Jeremy Renner returns to star in Hawkeye launching on Disney+ in late 2021. In this new series Hawkeye will team up with another well-known archer Kate Bishop who will be played by Hailee Seinfeld.

70. She Hulk is coming to Disney+ as a new series and is described as "a very funny series" with Tatiana Maslany in the title role. Tim Roth is returning as the Abomination first introduced in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk will be appearing in the series as well.

71. Moon Knight is an action-adventure, Indiand Jones type story from Marvel Studios as a Disney+ series. Moon Knight is a vigilante suffering from disassociative identity disorder and these multiple identities are very distinct characters. The backdrop to the series is Egyptian iconography.

72. Secret Invasion was a Marvel Comics cross-over story and now with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury is a new series coming to Disney+.

73. Ironheart is a new Disney+ series about inventor Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, who makes her own most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Ironheart and Secret Invasion will both tie-in to MCU feature films.

74. Production is also underway on a new series, Armor Wars. Tony Stark's worse feat comes true - it's what happens when his tech falls into the wrong hands. Don Cheadle will appear as War Machine.

75. Marvel Studios will be doing a live-action The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+ with James Gunn as writer and director and will release in December 2023.

76. Baby Groot, everybody's favourite little tree, will appear in the series I Am Groot on Disney+, featuring several new characters.

77. Thor Love and Thunder will start filming in January 2021 with director Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson returning and Christian Bale as Gorr, the God Butcher. It will release in cinemas on 22 May 2022.

78. Development and storylines are coming together for Blade with Mahershala Ali in the title role.

79. The third Ant-Man film from Marvel Studios will officially be called Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania. Paul Rudd as Ant-Man will be back together with Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kathryn Newton is joining the cast as Cassie Lang.

80. Black Panther II won't recast the role of Chadwick Boseman and will release in cinemas 8 July 2022. Writer and director Ryan Coogler is working on the story. Marvel Studios is working on a new The Fantastic 4 feature film.

Blue Socks Is Bringing Nelvana To Africa

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Corus-owned Nelvana has appointed North Carolina-based Blue Socks Media as its distributor in Africa. Blue Socks plans to build on the success it’s had selling its own content in the region, and is confident it will be able to penetrate the market with Nelvana’s IPs, says EVP of distribution of licensing Neill Warren.

Under the deal, Blue Socks will be responsible for distributing more than 4,400 episodes of Nelvana’s shows in the region, including Babar, Franklin, Ranger Rob, The Dog & Pony Show and Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe.

Blue Socks has been shopping the library around the continent for the last month, and has lined up six deals with local broadcasters. The unnamed series will start airing in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021, says Warren.

Africa is a giant and diverse continent with 54 countries, all of which have a different state-owned broadcaster with varying reach. Sub-Saharan Africa alone has developed into a big market, with broadcasters expected to reach more than 75 million homes in the region by 2021, according to satellite operator Eutelsat. There’s a growing demand for locally made kids content, which has historically not been a big focus for broadcasters, says Warren. This makes breaking into any single country with foreign shows difficult, though Blue Socks is hoping to replicate it’s own success for Nelvana.

Blue Socks previously sold its flagship preschool series Raggs to South African broadcaster SABC 2, Mango Airlines and Namibia’s One Africa TV. The musical series resonated with local audiences because of its educational value and catchy songs, Warren says. And while Africa is diverse, educational content, having pride in yourself and positive messages about kindness tend to resonate across the continent.

English-language content is accepted broadly, but to make the strongest impression, producers and distributors have to swallow the cost of dubbing, adds Warren. Languages can vary depending on the specific platform, but it’s useful to know that the majority of Sub-Saharan African countries recognize English as a major language, he says, cautioning that while English is widely acceptable in many countries, others prefer French or Portuguese content, and Northern Africa wants shows dubbed into Arabic. South Africa, for example, has 11 official languages—English being one of them.

Patience is also important. “This is an emerging market, and deals can take longer,” says Warren. “But more and more players, including Netflix, are here. And the need for kids content is only going to grow.”

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