Nickelodeon Acquires Canadian Sitcom “Life With Boys”
Nickelodeon has acquired the global broadcast rights to the Canadian kid sitcom Life With Boys. The 22 episode first season will air on Nickelodeon in the US, as well as around the world. Under a different deal, Nickelodeon UK began broadcasting the series last fall.
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana produces Life With Boys, which airs on YTV in Canada. The series stars Torri Webster, Nathan McLeod, Michael Murphy, Jake Goodman and Madison Pettis.
Below is the full press release from Nickelodeon:
NICKELODEON ACQUIRES NEW TWEEN COMEDY SERIES, “LIFE WITH BOYS,” FROM CLASSIC MEDIA AND NELVANA FOR MULTI-TERRITORY ROLL OUT
NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2012 – Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, announced today a global broadcast acquisition with Classic Media and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana for the new half-hour series, Life With Boys. The 22-episode series created by Michael Poryes (Hannah Montana and That’s So Raven), starring Torri Webster as “Tess” and Madison Pettis as “Allie”, is produced by Nelvana and Helion Pictures.
“We are excited to partner with Classic Media, Nelvana and Helion Pictures on this exciting new property,” said Jules Borkent, Senior Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, Nickelodeon. “Life With Boys is a perfect addition to our programming line-up, and we feel the tween series will enhance our global audience’s TV viewing experience.”
“Nickelodeon is the perfect platform for this new series from Michael Poryes which we all believe will be a breakout hit,” said Chloé van den berg, Executive Vice President, International, Classic Media.
“Life With Boys has enjoyed success in Canada and the UK and we are delighted that audiences in the US and around the world will finally meet these wonderfully real and memorable characters,” said Jerry Diaz, Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Distribution, Nelvana Enterprises.
The partnership covers exclusive TV rights in the US and Pay TV rights for regional Nickelodeon channels, across Europe, including Germany, Benelux, the Nordics, as well as Latin America and Asia. Broadcast rights for the UK have been previously secured by Nickelodeon in an earlier announced deal with Helion Pictures.
Each half-hour episode follows 14-year-old Tess Foster as she navigates her way through the turmoil of teen life while living at home with her single, overprotective dad and three brothers. Although Tess adores the four important men in her life, they do have four totally different perspectives. Despite the shortcomings of being the only girl in a male household, the boys can sometimes offer solid advice. Whether it’s building up the courage to talk to a boy, dealing with an obnoxious one, or coping with the repercussions of being the only girl on the boys’ wrestling team, Life With Boys sheds a comedic light on many of life’s difficult moments.
About Classic Media
Classic Media, one of the world’s largest independent entertainment companies, is a leader in reinventing the classics of yesterday and creating the entertainment classics of tomorrow. The Company owns and manages a globally-recognized portfolio of well-known family and pop-culture entertainment brands, including Casper the Friendly Ghost(R), Where’s Waldo?(R), Lassie(R), The Lone Ranger(R), and new brand Life With Boys(TM). Big Idea Entertainment, a member of the Classic Media family, is the leading faith-based studio and producer of children’s programming, including the best-selling animated series, VeggieTales(R). Classic Media programming is distributed in more than 170 territories worldwide and showcased in multiple formats, including TV, film, home video, consumer products, publishing, digital, and music. Visit us at www.classicmedia.tv
About Nelvana
Nelvana is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children’s book publishing and children’s animation. The Company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), CosmoTV, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW AM 980, 99.3 The FOX, Country 105, 630 CHED, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the Web at www.corusent.com.
About Helion Pictures
Helion Pictures was created by Managing Director Steven Bawol to create long-running fiction series’ for the international market and has been responsible comedies like “One for the Road” for Channel 4 in the U.K., interactive fiction like “Boy Meets Girl” for Swedish broadcaster SVT and Nickelodeon U.K.’s successful live-action comedy series, “Renford Rejects” and “Genie in the House”. Bawol co-created “Section de Recherche”, France’s most successful one-hour police series for TF1, France’s largest broadcaster. Currently, he is Executive producer of “The Borgias”, a drama series created by Tom Fontana for Canal +, and has shows in development with Starz, Channel 4, TF1, Broadview TV and Cybergoup Studios.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).