HBO Max Acquires “Hank Zipzer”, “My Babysitter’s a Vampire” and “The Next Step”
[via press release]
HBO Max Expands Kids & Family Live-Action Slate with Acquisitions Hank Zipzer, My Babysitter’s a Vampire, and a New Season of Cult Teen Dance Drama, The Next Step
May 11, 2022 – Burbank, CA – HBO Max announced today three live-action acquisitions that will join the expanded list of kids and family programming on the streamer. They include Hank Zipzer, co-written by Emmy® Award-winner Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver; the paranormal adventures of My Babysitter’s a Vampire; and a new season of the cult favorite teen dance series, The Next Step. Additionally, seasons 5-7 of The Next Step will be available this summer.
Based on the New York Times best-selling book series “Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Underachiever,” and inspired by Winkler’s true-life experiences, all three seasons of Hank Zipzer will debut this Friday, May 13, on HBO Max. Also streaming now is the entire 14-season library of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the longest running and most popular installment of the Degrassi franchise, with the new Degrassi series premiering in 2023.
Upcoming acquisitions include:
Hank Zipzer – Based on the New York Times best-selling book series “Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Underachiever” co-written by Emmy® Award-winner Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, and inspired by Winkler’s true-life experiences, this series follows 12-year-old Hank Zipzer, a smart and resourceful boy with dyslexia. Hank sees himself differently from the way the world sees him, so when problems arise, he deals with them in a way no one else would – putting him on a direct collision course with his teachers – Mr. Love and Miss Adolf – and parents, Rosa and Stan. With the help of his best friends Frankie and Ashley, the young boy with the big heart goes on a multitude of mischievous adventures, but often ends up learning a valuable lesson or two along with way. Hank Zipzer is produced by WildBrain, in association with Walker Productions and Kindle Entertainment. The series stars Nick James (The White Queen) as Hank, Juliet Cowan (Back to Life) as Rosa, Jayden Elijah (Life on Wheels) as Frankie, Neil Fitzmaurice (Brassic) as Stan, Chloe Wong as Ashley (season one), Alicia Lai (Doctors) as Ashley (seasons two and three), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) as Mr. Love, Felicity Montagu (Bridget Jones’s Diary) as Miss Adolf, and Henry Winkler as Mr. Rock.
My Babysitter’s a Vampire – When Ethan Morgan’s (Matthew Knight, The Grudge 2) overprotective parents arrange for a babysitter to watch over him and his 8-year-old sister, he thought he’d die of embarrassment. But no need to worry, embarrassment is now the last thing on a long list of stuff that wants to kill him and his geeky pals Benny (Atticus Mitchell, The Hardy Boys) and Rory (Cameron Kennedy, Life with Boys). Although this babysitter may look like the girl of his dreams, Sarah (Vanessa Morgan, Riverdale) just happens to be half-vampire (a “fledgling” for you experts), dragging Ethan and his buddies into a world of wild supernatural battles against creatures straight out of their nightmares. Now, Ethan not only has to take on demons, ghosts, werewolves, and zombies, he still has to get his homework done and get to school on time. My Babysitter’s a Vampire is produced by Toronto-based Fresh TV and distributed globally by Boat Rocker. The series is currently scheduled to debut on HBO Max in October 2022.
The Next Step – The Next Step follows the highs and lows of an exceptional group of dancers as they learn to bet on themselves, believe in their team, and dance through their challenges on the way to making their dreams come true. Season eight kicks off with a groundbreaking 20-person opening dance, and in the absence of competition, A-Troupe and B-Troupe have settled their differences. Without Nationals on the table, everything seems peaceful at The Next Step, that is until Nick announces that Nationals is back on. This. Changes. Everything. The Next Step stars Briar Nolet (Let It Snow) as Richelle, Julian Lombardi (Paramnesia) as Ozzy, Kolton Stewart (Disenchanted) as Shad, Alexandra Chaves (Good Witch) as Piper, Shelby Bain as Amy, Sage Linder (Riverdale) as Summer, Katie Ortencio (Resolve) as Lily, and Noah Zulfikar (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2) as Kingston. Season eight of The Next Step is produced by Boat Rocker and distributed globally by Boat Rocker and BBC Studios. Season eight is set to premiere in 2023 on HBO Max. Seasons 5-7 will be available on the streamer this summer.
About Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
About Boat Rocker
Boat Rocker (TSX: BRMI) is the home for creative visionaries. An independent, integrated global entertainment company, Boat Rocker’s purpose is to tell stories and build iconic brands across all genres and mediums. With offices around the world, Boat Rocker’s creative and commercial capabilities include Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family television production, distribution, brand & franchise management, a world-class animation studio, and talent management through Untitled Entertainment. A selection of Boat Rocker’s projects include: Invasion (Apple TV+), Orphan Black (BBC AMERICA, CTV Sci-Fi Channel), Dear…(Apple TV+), Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry (Apple TV+), The Next Step (BBC, Family Channel, CBC), Daniel Spellbound (Netflix), and Dino Ranch (Disney+, Disney Junior, CBC). For more information, please visit www.boatrocker.com.
About WildBrain
At WildBrain we inspire imaginations to run wild, engaging kids and families everywhere with great content across all media. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library – one of the world’s most extensive – we are home to such brands as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, Johnny Test and Degrassi. At our 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art animation studio in Vancouver, BC, we produce such fan-favourite series as The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Chip and Potato, Carmen Sandiego, Go, Dog. Go! and more. Our shows are enjoyed worldwide in more than 150 countries on over 500 streaming platforms and telecasters, and our AVOD business – WildBrain Spark – offers one of the largest networks of kids’ channels on YouTube, garnering billions of views per month from over 245 million subscribers. Through our leading agency, WildBrain CPLG, we also license consumer products and location-based entertainment in every major territory for our own properties as well as for our clients and content partners. Our television group owns and operates four family entertainment channels that are among the most viewed in Canada. WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange.