marblemedia teams up with TVO and The Jim Henson Company on new preschool live-action series Opie's Home
TORONTO, CANADA (July 28, 2016) - marblemedia is pleased to announce that it has once again teamed up with TVO, City Saskatchewan, Knowledge Network and The Jim Henson Company on a new preschool live-action series, Opie’s Home. Currently in production in Hamilton, Ontario, the series will premiere in 2017.
Opie's Home (39 x 7min) follows 4-year-old Opie as he plays, explores and discovers new things in and around his home. Viewers meet Opie’s parents, grandmother, and neighbourhood friends, including next door neighbour Mr. Kabashio, played by the much loved and Oscar-nominated Canadian actor Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves, Die Hard with a Vengeance).
Opie's Home is a spin-off of the award-winning series Hi Opie! (created by Barbara Slade, developed in partnership with TVOKids and produced in association with The Jim Henson Company), which features Opie, the fun-loving kindergartner voiced and operated by award-winning puppeteer Jordan Lockhart, as he ventures to kindergarten for the first time. In Opie's Home, Opie brings home what he has learned in school and applies it in his life.
Opie's Home features the beautiful Henson-style puppetry that families know and love, along with great stories rooted in what it’s really like to be four (and three-quarters to be exact). Opie was designed and built by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™. The series will be complemented by an interactive web experience and mobile app, in development with marblemedia’s interactive team, which will be available in Canada on tvokids.com.
"With Opie's Home, we wanted to explore the fun of family life from the four year-old point of view,” says showrunner Miklos Perlus. “With its realistic shooting style and production design, and its relatable stories and characters, Opie's Home is preschool comedy that parents and kids are really going to enjoy watching together."
"Opie's Home will help kids learn the skills required to make a smooth transition from home to kindergarten," said Marney Malabar, Director, Kids TV, TVO. “Episodes will feature Opie’s day-to-day interactions at home, reading and playing with his family and neighbours, as well as his family routine before and after school, helping kids to be successful both inside and outside the classroom.”
Opie's Home is produced by marblemedia, in association with TVO, The Jim Henson Company, City Saskatchewan and Knowledge Network. It is produced with the financial participation of the Shaw Rocket Fund, the Canadian Media Fund (CMF) and the Bell Fund. Key executives include executive producers Mark Bishop, Matt Hornburg, and Miklos Perlus (marblemedia), Marney Malabar (Director, Kids TV, TVO), and Halle Stanford (The Jim Henson Company); producer Sharon Summerling and associate producer/director Lowell Dean of Lolofilms.
Distribution360, a marblemedia company, will share the broadcast and digital distribution with The Jim Henson Company, who will also oversee format rights, as well as all merchandising and licensing rights worldwide.
About marblemedia
marblemedia is a leading global entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes compelling TV and interactive digital content for audiences of all ages, across media platforms. With newly launched divisions specializing in primetime unscripted and scripted programming complimenting its roster of successful kids and family properties, international distribution company Distribution360 and an in-house interactive studio, marblemedia is an expert in delivering winning content that meets the needs of an ever-changing media landscape.
Founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a vision of creativity, partnership and innovation, the company has offices in Toronto and London, plus a 50-acre production facility located 90 minutes north of Toronto. Learn more at marblemedia.com.
About TVO
As the technological extension of Ontario’s public education system, TVO’s vision is to create a better world through the power of learning. TVO provides learning opportunities for Ontarians through innovative educational products, in-depth current affairs, groundbreaking documentaries, and award-winning TVOKids resources both inside and outside the classroom. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and is a registered charity supported by sponsors and thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for 60 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy®-nominated Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, and Pajanimals, as well as the CG-animated preschool series Doozers, the upcoming digital citizenship series for preschoolers Dot., and the Netflix series for young preschoolers Word Party. Top titles currently in production include the groundbreaking marine biology series Splash and Bubbles for PBS KIDS® and the Netflix Original preschool show Julie’s Greenroom, starring award-winning actress Julie Andrews. Features include Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, as well as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and MirrorMask. Television productions include Fraggle Rock, the sci-fi cult series Farscape, Henson Alternative’s No, You Shut Up! and the TV film Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow.
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character- building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of- the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand is currently touring Puppet-Up! – Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show at the Venetian Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.
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Contact: Donna MacNeil, Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Development, marblemedia