Cologne – WDR mediagroup (WDRmg) from Cologne has secured the international programme distribution rights for the new live action children’s series WildWoods by Belfast-based studio Sixteen South. The show, targeted at kids aged 4 to 7, will be filmed in summer 2017. It features puppets in beautiful outdoor locations and aims to encourage children to appreciate nature. The show has been acquired by RTÉ for Ireland and by ABC KIDS for Australia.
WildWoods is an adventure puppet comedy series based around an odd couple: city-boy Cooper, a Sasquatch, and nature-loving Poppy, a Sugar-glider. In each of the 26×11-minute stories, a simple task usually goes very wrong as Cooper’s sheltered indoor existence makes him ill-prepared for outdoor living. Shot in the woods all across Ireland, the real outdoor locations provide a backdrop that reinforces the series’ key messages of appreciating the wonder of nature and respecting the environment.
Sixteen South is the current BAFTA Independent Production Company of the Year 2016 and has won multiple international awards for its shows, having already collaborated with some of the world’s leading kids’ production companies and broadcasters including Sesame Workshop, Disney, Nick Jr, The Jim Henson Company and the BBC.
Colin Williams, Creative Director at Sixteen South says, “WildWoods is a very special show that encourages children to rediscover and to reconnect into the great outdoors. We’ve always loved puppetry and are thrilled to be going into production on this very special puppet show, shot completely outdoors – and we’re delighted to be working with such great partners as WDR mediagroup.“
The international distribution of children’s productions is a growing business segment for WDRmg. Last year, the commercial subsidiary of WDR announced a partnership with the Irish production company Kavaleer to develop the children’s detective series Dougie Noir. An animated series adaptation of the children’s book classic Bobo (worldwide distribution), Gigglebug (worldwide distribution) as well as the youth adventure series Arman’s Secret (GAS distribution) have already been produced and are now available.
