Roundups #137: Disney Renews Family Guy, The Simpsons And Bob's Burgers Through 2025, Dulas To Stream On eVOD This Valentine's Day And Twitter Now Comes With A Dedicated Hacker's Account, GOD MODE

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Fox hands two-season extensions to ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Family Guy’ & ‘Bob’s Burgers’

The three shows, all produced by Disney Television Studios’ 20th Television Animation, have each received two additional seasons to take them through the 2024-25 broadcast cycle.

The renewals guarantee seasons 14 and 15 for Bob’s Burgers, the 22nd and 23rd seasons of Family Guy and the 35th and 36th seasons for The Simpsons, extending its standing as the longest-running scripted series in television history.

“Across 750 episodes of The Simpsons, 400 episodes of Family Guy, and 250 episodes of Bob’s Burgers, we couldn’t be more proud to continue delivering these three animated hits with the most brilliant teams in animation,” said Marci Proietto, EVP of 20th Television Animation.

“Our relationship with Fox over the past three decades has allowed this trio of shows to thrive, grow and deliver immeasurable moments of hilarious and irreverent entertainment for fans, and we are absolutely thrilled that Fox is doubling down on each of these iconic shows.”

Regular Nick:
February on Disney Channel and Junior
The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj to rollout on Nicktoons in Africa
Moonbug Kids To Distribute New STEAM Focused Series, Ocean Explorers
New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids

eMedia Investments to launch their first local production of 2023 next month

Last year, it was announced that uMbali will be returning for a second season to the platform but we all that's not entirely new as it's another way expand the duration of a product unlike this production streaming February 14th, Dulas.

A notorious township thug comes back from prison after being sabotaged by his girlfriend and best friend. He hid millions in a grave before getting arrested, but when he returns to the graveyard it has changed completely and now every other tombstone looks like his.

Thabo Malema, Mpho Molembo and Keke Mputhi star in the leading roles.

Aside from Dulas, eVOD will also be rolling out it's second Turkish drama titled Om Elke Draai a few days prior (February 9th). This Turkish romcom stars Furkan Andic and Aybuke Pusat in the leading roles.

Everyday Novelas:
Nurses returns for a season 3
The origin story of Forbidden Passion
New Series Alert: eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Turkish Romcom, Aşk Mantık İntikam
Close To My Heart coming soon to Star Life

No one's privacy is safe or at least what Twitter reps say

A new Twitter whistleblower has emerged, supporting last year’s surprising testimony about the dismal state of the company’s privacy protections and saying the company continues to violate its legal obligations under new owner Elon Musk.

The former employee has told members of Congress and staff at the Federal Trade Commission that any Twitter engineer can activate an internal program until recently called “GodMode” and tweet from any account today, three months after Musk’s takeover […]

The new whistleblower said that following internal objections about the program, engineers changed its name to “privileged mode.” The whistleblower said the purpose of the program was to allow Twitter staff to tweet on behalf of advertisers unable to do it themselves […]

The new whistleblower complaint says the GodMode code remains on the laptop of any engineer who wants it. All they would have to do is change a line of the code from FALSE to TRUE and run it from a production machine that they could reach through an easily accessible communications protocol known as SSH.

Google:
A look into the life of X-Rated Rocky star Sylvester Stallone
Malverde: Legend or Myth, a look at other patron saints
7 things you didn't know about Tom's Diner
Inside the enduring mysteries of Elvis Presley's tragic fate

Roundups #136: CoComelon's Nina To Get A YouTube Spinoff, Ultimate Braai Master Returns For An 8th Season On e.tv And FilmRise & Blue Ant Int’l Producing True Crime Series With CBS Reality

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CoComelon to recieve another spinoff

Moonbug Entertainment is showcasing Mexican culture with Nina (working title), a spinoff of its popular CoComelon franchise that features one of main character JJ’s best friends.

Mexican-American toddler Nina has been part of the CoComelon crew since 2019. In her own series for preschoolers, she and her family’s culture, traditions and daily lives will be showcased through three-minute nursery rhymes. Nina is set to launch on its own standalone YouTube channel later this year.

Moonbug was spurred to create a new Nina-centric extension of CoComelon by audience research showing that the CoComelon brand is popular with Black, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander families, says senior creative director Meghan Sheridan.

Regular Nick:
- Operation Ouch returns for a new season on Da Vinci Kids
- Several Cartoonito domains have been registered
February on Disney Channel and Junior
New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids

Get ready to sink your taste buds this February on e.tv

Tapfuma Makina joins the Trace Studios produced series in which several teams of two will once again compete against each other - this season across venues in the Western Cape - to see who South Africa's latest braai champions are, in 13 episodes starting on e.tv on Saturday 5 February at 17:00.

Tapfuma Makina who has presented various TV series and is also known as a TV sports news anchor on e.tv and a radio host, has a B.Sc degree in biochemistry and microbiology, and says he's excited to be a part of Ultimate Braai Master as the new host.

This season plans to "showcase the wealth of produce celebrated in the region, from free-range dairy and grain-fed cattle, to fresh grown organic vegetables from farm to braai to table".

Openview Plus:
- eExtra scrapped the launch of 4 telenovelas
Verdeelde Liefde to return with a second season on eExtra
Imbewu has been cancelled on e.tv after 5 seasons
A look at former NBC soap, Passions

More crime and investigation awaiting CBS Justice

Killers: Caught On Camera, which is being produced by back2back productions and CBS Reality, explores how detectives use footage from home secruity cameras, dashcams and CCTV to catch criminals.

The series was co-developed between Blue Ant’s sales arm and back2back, with FilmRise taking exclusive distribution rights in the North America and the Caribbean, and CBS Reality taking exclusive broadcast rights in the UK and Africa. Details of the rights acquired by Nordic-based streamer Viaplay and Germany’s Seven.One were not immediately available.

Ben Barrett, who joined Blue Ant after it acquired Drive, brokered all pre-sales and investment for the project, with additional financing from CBS Reality, Seven.One Entertainment Group and Viaplay Group.

DStv Flex:
Trafficked With Mariana Van Zeller returns for a third season on National Geographic
Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
February on The Home Channel
February on HONEY

Roundups #135: Genius Brands Rolls Out A Music Division, A Rebroadcast Of Die Put Makes Way To e.tv's Line-up And Chaos Reigns At BBC News Ahead Of Merger With BBC World News

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Kartoon Channel becomes a music division

Genius Music, which launched this month, already has a library of more than 8,000 tracks stemming from its own original brands and also from IPs it has inherited through recent acquisitions of companies including WOW! Unlimited Media and Your Family Entertainment.

According to a release, Genius Music plans to distribute and license these assets on streaming channels and music platforms. One of its first projects will be to develop and monetize original music for animated series Shaq’s Garage (co-produced with Ireland’s Telegael), which is slated to premiere on GB’s Kartoon Channel!

Former Saban Brands music supervisor Juan Carlos Quintero will oversee the division and serve as an executive music producer, with an eye towards making new content that spans a variety of genres. Quintero brings more than 20 years of experience as a music producer/composer with him to Genius Music, having managed production music libraries for companies including Warner Chappell, Café Moondo, Megatrax and 5 Alarm Music. And during an eight-year stint at Saban Brands, he worked on kids brands such as Power Rangers, Digimon and Popples.

Regular Nick:
- Operation Ouch returns for a new season on Da Vinci Kids
- Several Cartoonito domains have been registered
February on Disney Channel and Junior
New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids

More drugs and violence is coming to e.tv

Directed by Sinan Öztürk, it is an acclaimed series with four seasons completed. Die Put is set in the dangerous Istanbul neighbourhood Çukur and revolves around a ruling mafia family and a prodigal son who needs to return home to save his family. Of course, there is also a beautiful girl and some romance in addition to the drama, danger and family secrets.

Viewers can expect a gripping first season of Die Put, with the Koçova family (a family that is often closely related to crime) that rules the neighbourhood of Çukur. The Koçovas have their own set of rules and one of these is that drugs cannot be produced, used or sold in Çukur.

In the series, the newcomer, Vartolu is determined to break the ban and after his initial attempts to negotiate with the Koçova family is rejected, he attacks the family and the neighbourhood. But, just as he thinks he has broken the Koçova family and brought them to their knees, something unexpected happens.

Openview Plus:
- eExtra scrapped the launch of 4 telenovelas
Verdeelde Liefde to return with a second season on eExtra
Imbewu has been cancelled on e.tv after 5 seasons
A look at former NBC soap, Passions

More cuts awaiting the new version of BBC World News

In three months’ time, BBC World News and BBC News Channel are due to complete their merger to create a single service for audiences in the UK and around the world. But, according to BBC sources speaking to The Sunday Times, the service could end up with “the softest launch, so as to be indiscernible”.

Under the BBC’s proposals, the new TV news service would offer opt-outs for viewers in the UK, carrying simulcasts of news programmes on BBC One and BBC Two. Outside of these simulcasts, the BBC is due to retain a back-up facility allowing the channel to breakout of the international schedule to show UK-specific breaking news.

The report cites sources within the BBC who say bosses are not able to say how this break-out stream will work. Staff fear the service will be under-resourced. On the new service, presenters will be expected to manually work the autocue.

Escaping Gibby: A Look Into The Life Of Noah Munck From The Comfort Of His Sadworld

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When he appeared on set you knew something funny or strange or downright uncomfortable was about to happen.

Gibby was a chubby, outlandish yet lover character casted on Nickelodeon's most popular live-action series in history, iCarly. Noah Munck is the actor behind the Gibby character. He was originally suppose to be on 1 or 2 episodes but he provided so much comedic value that the producers kept him on as a regular.

Overtime, Gibby got tired of the corny, childish humour and constantly being the butt of the joke brought a lot of ramifications in his real life including people shutting his name out loud to take his shirt off and dance. You'll probably be surprised to find out what Noah's career looks like today which consists of cryptic and esoteric videos alongside an underground music career.

Today, we're gonna look at how Noah's life was impacted by iCarly and how he managed to escape his identity as Gibby.

Noah Munck was a typical Orange County teenager who played football and went to public school. He knew he was interested in arts so he got into acting classes which led to him doing plays and performances. His acting classes would have talent agent auditions where agents would come and look for the next big star.

At 10 years old, he got an agent who got him his first audition which was for the show iCarly. The audition was just for an episode or 2 but the production team realised how valuable he'd be as a goofy side character so he became a regular for 57 episodes.

iCarly was about a young girl who ran a internet blog with millions of viewers. Her best friend Sam is her co host, her friend Freddy is their filmer/tech support and it is all filmed in the upstairs of her brother's apartment.

Regular Nick:
- February on Disney Channel and Junior
The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj to rollout on Nicktoons in Africa
Moonbug Kids To Distribute New STEAM Focused Series, Ocean Explorers
New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids

Gibby is just a kid that goes to school with them, he's an easy target for jokes and he is someone they can pick on. By the end of season 1, he became more of a friend to them a wacky friend but he has a lot of endearing qualities to him. He's sweet, very friendly, pretty stupid but he isn't someone you want to bully.

He was totally unrelatable consistently doing ridiculous things that you're totally excited for the unpredictability that he would bring next. He was mostly famous for saying his character name as a catchphrase and taking his shirt off frequently that it became a normal thing.

At the time, Noah didn't this as iCarly was his first acting job ever so he was basically willing to do anything. However, Noah was aware of what people were saying about him online. iCarly was a TV show about a web show that actually had a website with blog posts and trivia. Viewers could also leave comments on the website.

Noah said at the age of 10/1 he was reading rude comments about his appearance which made him feel bad. His parents discovered a website for people with fat boy fetishes that he was posted all over. Needless to say, Noah had mixed emotions about the whole taking his shirt off thing.

His parents never forced him to continue acting because it was his passion. They were always around and kept a close eye on him. Noah speaks nothing but the highest of praise for his parents.

In a tweet, it was revealed that Noah and his iCarly co-star Nathan had a love for dubstep. Noah said when he was around 13, one of the iCarly crew members Daniel Gonzalez gave him MF Doom and Dayla Soul mixtapes which drove his love for music and led him to become a music producer/DJ.

The last iCarly episode was filmed later in 2011 and by season 4 and 5, Gibby was the main character, his success and evolution was popular in iCarly that series creator Dan Schneider felt his character deserved his own spinoff TV show of the same name which remains a mystery.

There was a pilot episode filmed and edited according to Dan but never aired or leaked onto the internet. All that was available was the title card and logo for the show alongside the script for the very first episode, photos of the cast and set it was filmed. No one knows what happened, all that we know is Gibby never got his own show and 2012 marked the official end of iCarly.

5 seasons of what people consider to be the best live-action show of all time, Noah stayed busy trying to get roles in other projects. Later in 2012, he got a lead role in Nicky Deuce which is meant to the reboot of The Sopranos which has some of the original cast members.

The film didn't go to theatres and it isn't highly praised or anything but acting alongside those legends was an absolute accomplishment. After this film, Noah was sick of children's TV and the corny humour that he knew it was time to leave that behind.

In 2013, he went back to high school for his senior year, he doesn't consider himself a social outcast but had a difficult time mixing with kids who knew each other their whole lives. He would spend most of his free time on Ableton learning how to make music.

Insidus Games:
Bugs Bunny & Lola Bunny: Operation Carrot Patch
Buzz Lightyear Star Command
Fix It Fun! Bob The Builder
Daffy Duck: Fowl Play

He produced dubstep under the name nobsik then moved on to EDM trap and even experimented with rapping a little bit. It didn't take him long to want to get back into acting luckily he landed a role as Naked Rob in the 1980s based sitcom, The Goldbergs.

Noah acts as a side character that is a best friend to one of the main characters, he's starred in several episodes across 9 seasons and somehow managed to bag shows that managed to last him an average amount of seasons.

However it seemed as if Noah had the ghost of Gibby lurking around him. His new passions were not met up with the utmost praise from fans, he was 18 at the time and a few years removed from Nickelodeon.

Whenever he would post about his new projects or anything he was interested in, he'd be flooded with troll and hate comments, accompanied by people who would make him feel insecure about his appearance. He abandoned the Noah Munck Twitter and Instagram because of trolls and people calling him Gibby.

Gibby was kind of a punching bag in the show so he feels that the fans do it back to him. Not figuring out how to seperate Gibby the character and Noah Munck in real life. Noah doesn't take it too personally but it gets tiring when you want to move on your life and talk about your interests and everyone wants you to remain that thing as you were at the age of 13.

He did also deal with people demanding him to take his shirt off literally yelling across a restaurant while he is eating with his family. One time, a random girl just jumped on his back while he was walking across the street. He started to resent the Gibby character a little bit.

Noah is truly a sweet and wholesome guy, he didn't want to resent his past, it led to an angsty face for him. He really leaned to his passion of SoundCloud rap and producing. He started an obscure YouTube channel called Sadworld Online

Then 20 year old started posting his material which included poorly scripted shitpost comedy that quickly developed a cold fanbase. All the music in the YouTube series was produced by him which helped fans get interested in his music. The raunchy side of humour is something we all needed, the TVMA rated Gibby that no one could make fun of Noah anymore because he embraced his appearance and leaned to it for comedy.

He genuinely built a fanbase of his new art, at one point it bothered him that his embarassing moments were on the internet forever now he looks back at the Gibby character fondly.

Sadly, Gibby did not make a return for the iCarly reboot in 2021 or make an appearance in season 2. A fan asked Jake Hogan, a writer on the iCarly reboot about Noah's absence and replied "we approached him".

This means that they had reached out to him but he denied it could have been a couple of things. He was probably busy working hard on another show and side projects. Another reason similar to how anyone would feel about reboots he wants to leave Gibby in the past.

Only in the past few years did he come to terms with the Gibby character before that he did mixed emotions. He knew that if he had to return for the reboot he had to relive the struggles of Gibby where people will flood social media about his appearance, his acting career would hit the mercy of one character. A lot of actors want to outlive their roles plus we all know that they'd want him to take his shirt off at least once which as a grown man some people may not be interested in.

Noah managed to remove the box of Gibby and now he can look at it as a positive experience all from the comfort of his Sadworld.

Roundups #134: Hamster & Gretel And Eureka To Make Its African Debut On Disney Channel And Disney Junior, Verdeelde Liefde Returns For A Second Season On eExtra And Netflix To Crack Down On Password Sharing By March

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Here are the four developments launching on Disney Channel and Disney Junior respectively

Vikingskool (New Episodes) - February 6th
Erik, Ylva and Ani are budding Vikings, confident that they all have what it takes to succeed in the ruthless Vikingskøøl, but the road to graduation is long.

Hamster & Gretel (New Series) - February 13th
When Gretel and her pet hamster -- named Hamster -- get superpowers, older brother Kevin must work with them to figure out how to protect their city from mysterious dangers.

Mickey Mouse Funhouse (New Episodes) - February 6th
Mickey, Minnie and Funny go on an adventure to the Kingdom of Majestica, where they find out if dragons are friendly beings or not.

Eureka (Girls In Science) - February 11th
It follows a talented young inventor from a fantastical prehistoric world who uses her creative thinking to devise inventions and contraptions aimed at making the world a better place.

Regular Nick:
The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj to rollout on Nicktoons in Africa
Moonbug Kids To Distribute New STEAM Focused Series, Ocean Explorers
New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids

Zeynep and Mehdi are back for drama on eExtra

Verdeelde Liefde follows the life of Zeynep a young woman whose mother gave her up for adoption in order to have a better life following her brother's death. By fate, she meets Mehdi who at one point from monster become the love of life.

The first season stars Demet Özdemir, Zuhal Gencer, Senan Kara, Fatih Koyunoglu, Elif Sönmez, Hülya Duyar, Naz Göktan, Incinur Dasdemir and Ibrahim Celikkol.

Season 1 is set to reach its climax by the end of the month with season 2 following immediately after the first season.

In season 2, Özlem accuses Sultan of stealing the money in Baris's room. Savas admits he took the money. Ali Riza gathers his family and goes to Sultan's house to apologize. Sultan accepts getting back to work.

Openview Plus:
- Imbewu has been cancelled on e.tv after 5 seasons
Reviewing major changes coming soon to the SABC
A look at former NBC soap, Passions

Farewell to password sharing on Netflix

The time Netflix 'freeloaders' have long feared will soon arrive - password sharing will be banned by the end of March.

The company shared the news in a letter to shareholders, noting that 'widespread account sharing' has exceeded over 100 million viewers.

These individuals, however, will be able to transfer their profiles to a new paid account, allowing them to carry over their preferences.

Netflix said 2022 had been a 'tough year' due to its first subscriber loss in more than a decade - its customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter.

'Today's widespread account sharing undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business.' the company said in its letter.

'While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly.'

YouTube Premium:
- Zoey 102 feature film is coming to Paramount+
- Dungeons And Dragons TV series is coming to Paramount+
- How to view the latest content on PBS Kids?

Afrikaans Voice Actors For Die Vertroueling, Soete Wraak And Chrysalis

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All the credit goes out to Die Afrikaans Voices actors.pagie

Die Vertroueling

Keenan Herman as Marasli
Margo Kotze as Alina Boz Mahur
Johann Vermaak as Saygin Soysal Savas
Keeno-Lee Hector as Serhat Kilic Necati
Chris Van Rensburg as Cemil Büyukoogerli Ilhan
Charlene La Roux as Melis Isiten Dilsad
Andahr Cotton as Cihan Yenici Ozan
Thomas Van Niekerk as Kerem Atabeyoglu Aziz

Soete Wraak

Cintaine Schutte as Pelin
Johann Vermaak as Sinan/Tankut
Albert Maritz as Riza
Amor Tredoux as Süheyla
Wynand Ferreira as Tolga
Tanja Franzsen as Basak
Antonette Louw as Simay
Daneel Van Der Walt as Ceyda
Hendrik Nieuwoudt as Bülent
Lee Roodt as Necip
Frieda Van Den Heever as Havva

Chrysalis

Roeline Daneel as Nalan
Chris Van Nieken as Rafet
Rushney Ferguson as Dondu
Leatitia Solomons as Gulcihan
Maria De Valente as Billur
Marcel Van Heerden as Adil Ipekoglu
Stiaan Bruwer as Tako
Antoinette Kellerman as Feride Ipekoglu
Amalia Uys as Cana

Genius Brands Expands International Market Launches For Kartoon Channel! Worldwide

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Continuing to build the global footprint of Kartoon Channel! Worldwide, Genius Brands International, Inc. has signed a deal with China’s StarTimes to launch the rapidly growing Kartoon Channel! on January 31st on DTH satellite and digital terrestrial in South Africa and in 46 countries throughout the Sub-Saharan African region.

The brand new 24/7 Kartoon Channel!, dedicated to Africa, will be available to all StarTimes customers in the basic tier on DTH satellite and digital terrestrial: channel 304 on satellite and channel 357 on DTT (276 in Uganda). Kartoon Channel! Africa will offer exclusive and first run series that have proven popular with kids and families, including Genius Brands’ originals “Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Rainbow Rangers,” “Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab,” and “Llama Llama,” starring Jennifer Garner and based on the bestselling children’s book franchise. The channel will also feature family-friendly movies on the weekends such as “Stan Lee’s Mighty 7,” “Ella Bella Bingo,” “Toys and Pets,” and “Boonie Bears.”

Insidus Games:
Powerpuff Girls Snowboarding
Baby Felix Halloween
Looney Tunes Monster Match
Thor: The Dark World

Additionally, Kartoon Channel! Africa will internationally premier the recently announced new 10-episode elimination-style competition reality series and accompanying Roblox Game Experiences for children, Kidaverse Roblox* Rumble. Hosted by TV personality and former NFL star, Rashad Jennings, the series will air as part of a games-branded programming block on weekday afternoons.

“We continue to build the global presence of Kartoon Channel! by creating unique partnerships, and we are delighted and honored to work with StarTimes to bring Kartoon Channel! to African kids and families in 2023. Our family-friendly brand values and safe environment deliver the perfect recipe to entertain and inform kids via characters and shows they adore. We are just getting started in growing Kartoon Channel! as a preeminent children’s entertainment destination worldwide,” stated President of Kartoon Channel! Worldwide Paul Robinson.

“We are thrilled to launch a channel throughout Africa that offers such a diverse line-up of programming for children 2 – 12-years-old and their families.  With safe, value-driven content across multiple genres, we anticipate Kartoon Channel! to be a hit across the region, and look forward to working with Genius Brands in the coming years to bring a unique entertainment experience to our young audiences across the region,” said General Manager of StarTimes Media Lily Meng.

Kartoon Channel! is currently available in key territories around the world, including Australia and New Zealand (Samsung TV Plus), Germany (Waipu), and the Philippines (Tapp Digital). Kartoon Channel! branded blocks are also currently available in 65 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

Regular Nick:
Could Universal Kids be the next channel to close down from NBCUniversal?
Here are other ways to view PBS Kids
The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj coming soon to Nickelodeon
Predictions: Nicktoons and Boomerang's untimely demise

PBS KIDS Announces New Toons ‘Lyla In The Loop’ & ‘Weather Hunters’

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At the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS KIDS announced the production of two new engaging and educational animated series: Lyla in the Loop, a comedy introducing youngsters to computational thinking concepts, and STEM series Weather Hunters, starring Al Roker.

“Lyla in the Loop focuses on the important skills of creative thinking and problem solving through a thoughtful and adventurous approach that meets children in a funny and relatable way,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS. “We’re so excited to be partnering with Mighty Picnic and Pipeline Studios to bring this inventive new series to families across the country.”

DeWitt added, “We’re so excited to be working with Al Roker and his team to bring important weather and Earth science lessons to kids through Weather Hunters. We know that parents and kids are looking for content about weather and climate; this show is fresh, funny and forward-thinking, and will help kids understand how weather affects their lives every day.”

Insidus Games:
- Fix It Fun! Bob The Builder
- Blue's Alphabet Book
- Buzz Lightyear Star Command
- Bugs Bunny & Lola Bunny: Operation Carrot Patch

Lyla in the Loop
Aimed at kids 4-8,  Lyla in the Loop is created by Emmy-winning producer Dave Peth (Odd Squad, Peg + Cat, Scribbles and Ink, Design Squad), founder of media production and consulting company Mighty Picnic. Pipeline Studios, the Emmy-winning children’s content studio (Elinor Wonders Why, Alma’s Way, Bubble Guppies) is animating the series. Funding was provided by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and a grant from the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Ready to Learn Initiative. The series will be complemented by digital content for kids, families and teachers.

“The message of Lyla in the Loopis that everyone has what it takes to be a creative problem-solver,” says Peth. “If you keep asking questions, trying new things, and working together, you’ll find more solutions than you could have imagined – and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Series executive producer & head writer Fracaswell Hyman adds: “In a world where representation matters, Lyla in the Loop features a Black girl who feels there is no problem too big or too small to solve. Lyla leans in when problems occur or obstacles appear. She is curious, imaginative and although she sometimes dives in head first without looking, her tenacity and creativity when it comes to problem-solving makes it clear that she will eventually resurface triumphant. Lyla’s loving family, friends and fantastical companion, Stu, create a warm environment that will attract viewers and invite them to emulate Lyla when challenges come their way.”

Synopsis: Lyla in the Loop centers on Lyla’s family and diverse community. In addition to Lyla, the show features her mom, dad, 5-year-old brother Luke, 12-year-old twin sisters Liana and Louisa, and best friend Everett Phan, who all live in an apartment building and neighborhood bustling with activity. Stu, a fuzzy blue creature with a big smile helps Lyla tackle all kinds of challenges — like building the best-ever train set for her brother Luke, creating an extra-special sandwich for her family’s restaurant, Loops Lunch, and searching for a missing package sent by an Auntie in Jamaica (with delicious spice buns and other traditional treats inside!).

In every adventure, Lyla and Stu introduce and explore foundational computational thinking concepts, leading to some comedic disasters and creative solutions, all while helping others in their community. The series will support a wide range of learners, modeling flexible approaches to finding and designing solutions, and creative self-expression.

“Lyla is a character I would’ve loved to see on television when I was seven,” says series story editor Monique D. Hall. “She’s a little Black girl who isn’t afraid to be her full, smart, and silly self. She and Stu get into all kinds of fun messes, but they always manage to find clever ways out of them — even if it takes a few tries. You’ll definitely want to be in the loop for whatever adventure Lyla, Stu and the rest of the Loops Crew get into next!”

Series advisors for Lyla in the Loop include Dr. Amon Millner, Assistant Professor of Computing and Innovation at the Olin College of Engineering directing the Extending Access to STEM Empowerment (EASE) Lab, series Curriculum Director; Nermeen Dashoush, PhD and Clinical Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, Boston University, Lead Advisor; Yenda Prado, PhD, Education Researcher at University of California, Irvine, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) advisor; V. Scott Solberg, Professor, Department of Counseling and Applied Human Development, Boston University, Career Pathways and World of Work Advisor; Cosette Strong, Strong Consulting Group, DEIA Advisor.

Weather Hunters
Weather Hunters is a new animated science series for kids ages 5-8 from Al Roker Entertainment (ARE), the production company led by beloved Emmy-winning TODAY weatherman and host, Al Roker. The series is designed to support kids’ understanding of PBS KIDS Announces New Toons ‘Lyla in the Loop’ & ‘Weather Hunters’ through adventure and comedy as it follows eight-year-old Lily Hunter, a weather detective who shares her investigations with her family — including dad Al Hunter, voiced by Roker.

“Weather Hunters has been a labor of love and a passion project for more than a decade and I cannot think of a better partner than PBS KIDS to make this dream come true,” says Roker. “When it comes to Weather Hunters , I predict increasing animation with downpours of family friendly storytelling and a rising understanding of weather and climate on your local PBS station, pbskids.org, and the PBS KIDS Video and Games apps.”

Each 22-minute episode of Weather Hunters will explore kid-relatable STEM-based activities and themes, highlighting the wonder of weather within the broad field of science in terms that all learners can understand. Topics include observing and tracking weather patterns, exploring why weather changes can be different around the country and the world, and the connection between humans and the environment. The series will reinforce key weather, climate, and environmental concepts to provide building blocks for further learning. Digital content for kids, parents and teachers will launch along with the series to reinforce the show’s key messages and encourage further engagement.

Regular Nick:
- Phineas And Ferb to get 40 additional new episodes on Disney Channel
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BBC To Close Linear Channels And Move Into An Internet-Only Digital Future

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The BBC is to have “fewer linear broadcast services” in the next decade as it “consolidates activity under one simple, single brand,” Director General Tim Davie has revealed, as he unveiled a blueprint for a digitally-led Public Service Broadcaster.

Davie didn’t elaborate during an RTS talk this morning but Deadline understands it could be several years until the move is enacted. The speech signalled the start of a shift to taking linear-channels online only that will start over the next decade, as Davie prepares for a digital future.

“The BBC will focus its effort on the digital world and over time this will mean fewer linear broadcast services and a more tailored joined up online offer,” said the DG. He stressed “live linear is here for the long term.”

Some of this has already started happening, added Davie, who pointed to the controversial move to combine the BBC News Channel with BBC World News. BBC Four, meanwhile, still exists but has stopped commissioning original programing. To many people’s surprise, youth-skewing BBC Three went in the opposite direction, relaunching as a linear channel earlier this year.

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Another way in which the BBC could “unite under a single brand” would be through combining iPlayer with Sport and podcast apps, for example, with more information on this activity due in the new year.

Davie, who has been in post two years now, stressed the need for more investment to lead the BBC into an internet-only digital future.

“Inevitably all this requires another choice and that is to actively, dare I say happily, invest in the BBC,” he added, in the speech to grandees, journalists and commentators in Central London. “Moving to digital is not the challenge in of itself, moving to digital while not losing most of your audience and burning millions of pounds unnecessarily is the challenge.”

His talk came a day after UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said it is “impossible” for the license fee to remain the BBC’s funding model after 2027 and a review is currently taking place into the corporation’s future funding.

Beyond the increase of commercial outfit BBC Studios’ debt limit, more partnerships and loosened regulation, Davie struggled to put his finger on how the BBC will be able to attract the necessary capital for the transformation.

He said the BBC’s current £5.3B ($6.4B) annual income can just about keep the corporation afloat with prices soaring and the license fee frozen for the next two years.

“The bigger conversation here is whether we are OK to get into the 2030s to protect PSB,” he added. “If you look across the world, [media companies] are struggling to raise revenue. There will be a massive strain but we believe we can maintain universality and scale in UK.”

His blueprint for a thriving digitally-led PSB is four-pronged: “owning a move to an internet-only future with greater urgency,” “transforming the BBC faster,” “proactively investing in the BBC brand” and “moving faster to regulate for future success.”

By this method, Davie said the pubcaster will avoid “simply drifting to the point where the emergence of vast U.S. and Chinese players marginalize us while we put on a very British brave face as they do so.”

Part of the push involves owning more IP, an area that Davie stressed is far more important than having studio space.

“We need to own IP and find the writers who own them,” he declared. “This is a bigger question than who is operating the most effective shed [studio space]. Those sheds are brilliant at skills and apprenticeships but they are not going to underpin the future – that’s about IP and ownership.”

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