Blue Ant Media and marblemedia Announce Merger of Production and Distribution Operations into One Unified Studio and Rights Business
Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg, reporting to Michael MacMillan, will lead the new super-charged studio, delivering world class content to partners around the globe
Merger of these operations sees Blue Ant Media acquiring marblemedia and international sales operation Distribution360, effective today
(L-R: Matthew Hornburg, Michael MacMillan and Mark Bishop. Photo Credit: Steve Craft) (Toronto, Canada) August 10, 2023 - International media company, Blue Ant Media and the award-winning, production and distribution company, marblemedia, have announced today the merger of the two companies’ production and distribution operations into one unified studio and rights business. Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg will take the helm of this business, serving as co-Presidents and reporting into Michael MacMillan, CEO and co-founder, Blue Ant Media. With hubs in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and London, the merger of these operations sees Blue Ant Media acquiring marblemedia and international sales operation Distribution360, effective today. Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg will operate from Blue Ant Media’s Toronto office.
The combined businesses, which includes production companies marblemedia, Blue Ant Studios, Saloon Media and Look Mom! Productions, in addition to distributors Distribution360 and Blue Ant International, provide an expanded scope of intellectual properties across all genres including scripted comedy and drama, unscripted entertainment, formats, factual and premium docs, live action kids/family and animation.
The super-charged studio is positioned to create bigger creative projects at scale with renowned IP, innovative originals and the world’s best-in-class talent, while expanding its reach with new partnerships with streamers and broadcasters in North America and around the world.
“marblemedia has long been regarded as one of the most respected production and distribution companies in the unscripted and scripted space, having created huge hits for the biggest streamers and broadcasters in the industry. With Mark and Matt leading our combined studios and rights business, Blue Ant Media is well positioned in its growth as an international media company with production, rights and an established global channels division all operating at scale,” said Michael MacMillan, CEO and co-founder, Blue Ant Media.
“We are excited to join forces with Michael MacMillan, a trailblazer in our industry known for scaling industry-leading companies. Building this new merged production and distribution studio will bring together our talented teams who have a shared vision and belief that original content and rich IP are the greatest differentiator,” said Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg, co-CEOs, marblemedia. “The appetite for premium content remains strong in the global market, and we can better serve this demand with high-quality content and by working with best-in-class collaborators.”
marblemedia is known for delivering premium original unscripted and scripted content including Top 10 Netflix series Blown Away and Drink Masters, A Cut Above (Discovery), Race Against the Tide (CBC) the upcoming Hulu and Prime Video teen comedy Davey and Jonesie’s Locker and the highly anticipated documentary, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (Prime Video), set to have it's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Blue Ant Media has carved out a strong position in the market with recent hits including award-winning Canada’s Drag Race (produced with World of Wonder for Bell Media/Crave), Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (Prime Video), the ground-breaking new documentary series Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies (Peacock), the true-crime hit series, See No Evil (produced with Arrow Media for Investigative Discovery US) and Gary and His Demons (Prime Video, Amazon FreeVee). The production businesses are each supported by Blue Ant International, a global, multi-genre distributor of high-quality, creative content, encompassing more than 5,000 hours of content across all genres; and innovative multi-genre global rights management business Distribution360 representing nearly 2,000 hours of content and formats.
The development is part of a long term growth strategy at Blue Ant Media that includes the recent scaling up of the company’s global channels business, including wildlife and nature brand Love Nature’s expansion into 145+ countries with its streaming and cable TV offerings; the launch of eight new FAST channels internationally; and an extensive lineup of premium cable TV offerings in Canada.
Sam Sniderman will serve as Blue Ant Media’s Chief Commercial Officer, working closely with Michael MacMillan and CFO, Robb Chase on business development, partnerships and M&A. Laura Michalchyshyn will continue her duties as Chief Creative Officer, nurturing and attracting talent for the company’s overall business worldwide. Beach House Pictures will continue to operate independently out of Singapore.
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. The media company owns and operates numerous production companies in North America and Asia-Pacific, creating content for broadcasters and streaming platforms in multiple genres including factual entertainment, natural history, documentary and animation. Its distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a substantial catalogue of content, including one of the world's largest 4K natural history offerings. Blue Ant Media operates linear and free streaming channels under several brands including Love Nature, Cottage Life, Smithsonian Channel (Canada), BBC Earth (Canada), HauntTV, Homeful, Drag Race Universe, CrimeTime, TotalCrime, HistoryTime and Love Pets. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with seven international offices in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Washington and Beijing. blueantmedia.com Twitter⼁Instagram⼁LinkedIn
marblemedia is known for creating unrivaled premium scripted, unscripted, family and kids' content for over 22 years, with over 2,100 hours of content distributed in over 200 territories. The company is celebrated for their original and ground-breaking content, which includes unscripted hit Netflix originals Blown Away; and Drink Masters, A Cut Above (Discovery), CBC Originals Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature, the upcoming teen comedy Davey and Jonesie’s Locker (Hulu, Amazon Prime Video), and the highly anticipated feature documentary, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (Prime Video, CBC). Powered by the reach of its own international distribution company, Distribution 360, the company also operates the successful CAVCO certified YouTube channel, marbleKids. Recently, Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg were named on the Globe & Mail’s list of 25 most influential people in Canadian Television and the “Titans of Unscripted” on Variety’s 2022 Reality Impact Report. marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg, headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles and London. marblemedia.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin
Media Contact:
Sarah Etherden, VP, Global Communications, Blue Ant Media
sarah.etherden@blueantmedia.com
+1-416-725-1696
RACE AGAINST THE TIDE RETURNS FOR SEASON 3 ON CBC AND CBC GEMJULY 16, WITH 12 OF THE WORLD’S BEST SAND SCULPTING TEAMS FROMCANADA AND THE WORLD
The CBC original series has been renewed for a fourth season, with production beginning this summer in New Brunswick
June 15, 2023 – CBC today revealed the 12 world-class sand sculpting teams, who will compete in the third season of RACE AGAINST THE TIDE (10X30), premiering Sunday, July 16 at 8:30pm (9 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Also announced today, the hit competition series will return for a fourth season in 2024, with production beginning later this summer on New Brunswick’s iconic New River Beach, on the Bay of Fundy.
Season 3 of RACE AGAINST THE TIDE makes the world’s toughest sand sculpting competition even tougher, as 12 teams compete in a beach battle – tournament style. Divided into two groups of six, the teams will dig, pound, carve and sculpt through four qualifying rounds. The top two teams from each group will face off in a sand-flying semifinal. In the end, only one team will reign supreme and walk away with the grand prize of $10,000, and the beach bragging rights of being crowned Race Against the Tide champions.
New Brunswick’s award-winning artist and godfather of Canadian Hip Hop, Maestro Fresh Wes, returns as host, alongside judges Karen Fralich, who herself has competed in more than 120 master-level contests around the globe, and is a five-time World Champion; and Rusty Croft, a seasoned sand sculptor who holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the “tallest sand castle” as a member of the Sand Guys. He has also appeared on every episode of Discovery Channel’s Sand Wars and Sand Blasters.
Meet the Season 3 teams competing to be crowned Race Against the Tide champions:
Group 1
● Bob Atisso and Benjamin Probanza (Mexico and Ghana)
● David Ducharme and Dimitry Kilmenko (Winlaw, BC and Russia)
● Jim McCauley and Anna McCauley (Australia)
● JP Dupont and Calixto Molina Navarrete (Quebec City, QC and Mexico)
● Mike Beaupre and Rachelle Beaupre (St. Hippolyte des Laurentides, QC)
● Thomas Koet and Anique Kuizenga (The Netherlands and USA)
Group 2
● Alex Avelino and Thomas Brown (Nelson, BC and USA)
● Brian McArthur and Dawn Detarando (Red Deer, AB)
● Carlos Miguel Ramirez Pereyra and Francisco Javier Calvillo Valdez (Mexico)
● Ludo Roders and Inese Valtere (The Netherlands and Latvia)
● Marie-Line Gagne and Isabelle Gasse (Quebec City, QC)
● Mike Bradley and Shannon Fishback (USA)
Sand sculpting enthusiasts can catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 on CBC Gem leading up to the Season 3 premiere. For story updates throughout the season, please visit cbc.ca/raceagainstthetide.
Race Against the Tide is executive produced by Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop of marblemedia; series producer and writer is Carly Spencer, and Donna Luke of marblemedia serves as co-executive producer. Co-produced with Hemmings House Films, for which Greg Hemmings serves as Co-Executive Producer and Stephen Foster as Producer. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Alexandra Lane is Senior Director of Production; and Ann-Marie Redmond is Executive in Charge of Production.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About marblemedia
marblemedia is a global multi-award-winning production company based in Toronto, Canada. For over 22 years, the company has been leading the future of entertainment through its diverse production slate of Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family programming which has built up a library of over 2,100 hours of television.
The company has seen momentous growth over the past three years with recent success stories including the global phenomena and Netflix Original competition series Blown Away, new Netflix Original competition Drink Masters, hit family comedy Overlord and the Underwoods (Hulu, Nickelodeon, CBC, BYUtv, ITV), CBC original formats Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature, five seasons of hit competition series All-Round Champion (BYUtv and TVOKids), new format A Cut Above (Bell Media and Discovery US), family comedy The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker (Super Channel, BYUtv). marblemedia is also looking forward to the release of the company’s first ever feature doc on the iconic and beloved Mr. Dressup coming out Prime Video later this year, and new multiverse teen comedy Davey and Jonesies’s Locker co-commissioned by Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a commitment to creativity and innovation. The company has offices in Los Angeles and London, plus a 50-acre production facility north of Toronto.
For more information, please contact:
Elizabeth Reid
CBC, Public Relations
elizabeth.reid@cbc.ca
Kelsey Aikman
marblemedia, VP of Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com
marblemedia series ‘Drink Masters’ featured at Netflix Pop-up ‘Netflix Bites’
Netflix Plans Pop-Up Restaurant in Los Angeles
'Netflix Bites' will feature food from chefs featured on the service's shows, letting visitors binge in a whole new way.
Would you binge eat your favorite binge watch?
Netflix is going to put that to the test, as it expands into an entirely new category: the restaurant business.
Netflix will launch a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles on June 30. Called Netflix Bites, the food concept will be built around an “elevated dining experience” featuring chefs featured in various Netflix shows.
Among the chefs participating are Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai and Andrew Zimmern of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend; Dominique Crenn of Chef’s Table and Iron Chef; Rodney Scott and Ann Kim of Chef’s Table; Nadiya Hussain of Nadiya Bakes; and Jacques Torres of Nailed It! There will also be cocktails designed by the mixologists from Drink Masters.
Netflix Bites will be open seven days a week from 5-10 p.m., with an additional brunch service on weekends. The restaurant is at 115 S. Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles, strategically across the street from the entrance to The Grove and the Farmers Market. Netflix’s first retail store opened at The Grove last year.
The pop-up is something of an extension of Netflix’s push into retail and experiential content, following successful activations based on IP like Bridgerton and Stranger Things.
“Netflix is already a destination for beloved food programming, from documentaries to competition shows,” said Josh Simon, vp consumer products for Netflix, in a statement. “From episode to entrée, with Netflix Bites we are creating an in-person experience where fans can immerse themselves in their favorite food shows. We are excited to collaborate with these incredible chefs who will bring this vision to life and showcase an array of their delicious menus.”
“Bringing my love of food to people across the world is one of the biggest thrills of my life, but this screen-to-table experience of giving fans a taste of what happens on camera is just awesome,” adds Stone. “The talented chefs and mixologists assembled means there is something for everyone, and I’m wildly excited that my team at Curtis Stone Events is involved in bringing Netflix Bites to life.”
For more details visit Netflix Site:
https://www.netflix.shop/pages/bites-home
For marblemedia Marketing and Publicity inquiries reach out to:
Kelsey Aikman
VP, Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com
MARBLEMEDIA SETS UP A MULTIVERSE COMEDY DAVEY & JONESIE’S LOCKER. A NEW ORIGINAL SERIES CO-COMMISSIONED FROM HULU IN THE US AND PRIME VIDEO IN CANADA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
PRODUCTION HAS WRAPPED IN TORONTO WITH CREATOR AND AWARD-WINNING COMEDY WRITER, EVANY ROSEN (NEW EDEN, THE SPENCER SISTERS) SERVING AS SHOWRUNNER
LOS ANGELES / TORONTO June 12, 2023 - Leading global production company marblemedia is excited to announce they have wrapped production in Toronto on a new original, single camera teen comedy series, Davey & Jonesie’s Locker (10x30). The series is created by Evany Rosen who also serves as showrunner. The show has been co-commissioned by two of the world's largest streaming platforms, Prime Video in Canada, Australia and New Zealand and Hulu in the US.
The original series follows Davey and Jonesie, two lovably eccentric best friends who have always felt out of step with their peers and the banal backdrop of their high school existence. So when they discover their locker is actually a portal to the multiverse, they’re more than ready to escape their teenage prison of mediocrity in favor of new horizons. But the joke is on them when they only ever end up in bizarre, alternate versions of their high school, surrounded by offbeat versions of their classmates. Fortunately, these audacious and creative besties are ready to make the most of this vacation from reality by leaving their mark on every universe they visit…even if it means choosing interdimensional chaos while they’re at it. Worth it for the vibes.
The series stars the talented Veronika Slowikowska (F/X’s What We Do In The Shadows, CBC’s Baroness Von Sketch Show, CBS’s Clarice) as Davey, and Jaelynn Thora Brooks (CBC’s Heartland), as Jonesie. The show also features an ensemble cast of fresh faces and seasoned actors including Dan Beirne (Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia, F/X's Fargo) who plays disgraced quantum physicist turned high school science teacher, Mr. Schneider; Emily Piggford as series big bad, Cheryl, Nikko Angelo Hinayo as Emile, Kevin Lauta Osea as Abbott, Erika Swayze as Sierra, Sydney Xiaolang Topliffe as Joyce, Alexa Yaphe as Alexis, Parker Lauzon as Mark R. Shirt, James Hartnett as Andy, and creator and showrunner, Evany Rosen, as the school’s hapless Principal Neighbors.
Creator and Showrunner Evany Rosen (New Eden, Baroness Von Sketch Show, The Spencer Sisters) is tapping into her distinctive comedic voice to create this new original series. Prior to, Rosen was the co-creator of the Crave original series, New Eden. A founding member of the Canadian Comedy award-winning comedy troupe Picnicface, Rosen has years of comedy writing experience with partners such as CBC, Crave, Disney, DreamWorks, AppleTV and Cartoon Network.
“My work has often focused on unique female relationships, and in creating a show for a teen audience I wanted to develop characters whose friendship felt authentically familiar, yet unlike what we often see portrayed on TV. Having been an extremely goofy 16-year-old myself once, my goal was to create a series about two best friends who have already learned to celebrate their bold senses of humour - and who get to enjoy the radical self-love that comes with that…long before they’re old enough to rent a car,” shares Evany Rosen, Creator and Showrunner. “I’m so grateful to the team at marblemedia and our amazing partners at Hulu and Prime Video for allowing me to develop this unapologetically comedy-forward series for a new generation of goofs.”
“This series is a testament to our commitment at marblemedia to create character driven stories with international appeal. Hulu and Prime Video have been amazing creative collaborators and we’re excited to bring this series to teen and YA audiences across North America and the world,” shares Mark Bishop, co-CEO and Executive Producer at marblemedia. “We are thrilled to be in production on this auteur driven comedy. Evany’s voice is delightfully original, and Davey & Jonesie’s Locker is sure to disrupt the status quo of series currently on offer for this demo,” adds A.J. Trauth, VP Kids at marblemedia.
This series is produced in association with Hulu and Prime Video with the financial participation of the Shaw Rocket Fund. Production credits for the series include Executive Producers Mark J.W. Bishop, Matt Hornburg, Diane Rankin, Carrie Paupst Shaughnessy, A.J. Trauth, and Evany Rosen who serves as showrunner as well; Co-Executive Producers are Donna Luke and writer Stephanie Kaliner;Distribution 360, a marblemedia company, hold worldwide distribution rights for the series.
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About marblemedia
marblemedia is a global multi-award-winning production company based in Toronto, Canada. For over 22 years, the company has been leading the future of entertainment through its diverse production slate of Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family programming which has built up a library of over 2,100 hours of television.
The company has seen momentous growth over the past three years with recent success stories including the global phenomena and Netflix Original competition series Blown Away, hit family comedy Overlord and the Underwoods (Hulu, Nickelodeon, CBC, BYUtv, ITV), new Netflix Original competition series, Drink Masters, CBC original formats Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature (with discovery+ UK & Ireland), five seasons of hit competition series All-Round Champion (BYUtv and TVOKids), new format A Cut Above (Bell Media and Discovery US), family comedy The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker (Super Channel, BYUtv) and teen series Open Heart (Teen Nick, YTV). marblemedia is also looking forward to the release of the company’s first ever feature doc on the iconic and beloved Mr. Dressup coming out on Prime Video later this year.
marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a commitment to creativity and innovation. The company has offices in Los Angeles and London, plus a 50-acre production facility north of Toronto.
marblemedia Publicity Contact:
C2C Communications
Charlene Coy
charlene@c2ccommunications.com
Hunter March to Host ‘Blown Away: Extreme Heat’ on Netflix (Exclusive)
The former 'Sugar Rush' host boards the streamer's red-hot glassblowing competition series for the fourth season.
Hunter March has signed on to host the fourth season of Netflix’s Blown Away, the red-hot glassblowing competition series.
March on Blown Away: Extreme Heat will have the job of bringing audiences to the alluring world of glassblowing after earlier hosting Netflix’s Sugar Rush, which had teams of master bakers racing against the clock to create unique sugary confections.
He tells The Hollywood Reporter that corralling 10 contestants on the fiery Blown Away: Extreme Heat set — with 10 ovens heated to 2,000 degrees each as work stations — had March endlessly fascinated as artists create brilliant yet fragile objects from hot, gooey molten glass.
“You kind of grasp how hot something needs to be, or how heavy something may look. But to really be turning it in your hand to keep the glass steady, to be blowing into that pipe and watching a bubble form, it’s an experience unlike anything I’ve ever done,” March, an avid painter, explains after trying his hand at glassblowing sculpture.
That’s after he got comfortable around competitors inflating molten glass at the end of a blow pipe on the giant set for Blown Away: Extreme Heat. “The first day, I was absolutely terrified that everyone walking around with 2,000 degree glass was going to joust me to the ground with it,” he recounts.
The fourth season of Blown Away is once again set in a giant hot shop built in a Hamilton, Ontario warehouse, where March came to appreciate the strength, speed and mental toughness of contestants looking succeed on a unique TV competition series.
“Besides the imagination and creativity that goes into each piece, the actual physical endurance they need to be in that hot shop for five hours, the tenacity to make it through 10 grueling challenges, it was incredible to watch,” he says.
Of course, for March, getting glassblowers to create something elaborate, but to do so quickly with the clock ticking down — and with the threat of being the one losing contender to go home each episode, leaving one eventual champion to be crowned “Best in Glass” — was a challenge in and of itself.
“Rushing art is definitely not the way most artists work best. But that’s what makes this competition so incredible. You have artists used to working under timelines or guidelines. And this competition expedites all that,” he adds.
marblemedia was rewarded for the success of the earlier three seasons of Blown Away as Netflix teamed up yet again with the Canadian indie producer to shake up the bar and spirits worlds with Drink Masters, a reality series that has competing mixologists infuse and blend their liquid art to create fresh takes on storied cocktails.
As with Blown Away and its focus on the craft and wonder of glassblowing, Marblemedia produced with Drink Masters a less in-your-face TV reality series and one more focused on the tactile adventure of making cocktails. And the competition took place on a giant, elaborate set that lends cinematic scope to the series.
At the same time, Matt Hornburg co-CEO and executive producer at Marblemedia, tells THR that getting Netflix to order a fourth season of Blown Away: Extreme Heat called for cranking up the dramatic stakes even higher. “Everything’s going to just feel a bit more dialed up, which is kind of exciting, new and fresh,” he explains.
Besides changing it up with hosting duties, the Blown Away producers have fired up the challenges the glassblowers will face in difficulty and intensity and doubled down on the individual human drama found with each competitor.
“We want to see their talent, their artistry and, at the same time, part of the magic is really getting to know their stories and their passion and what motivates them and their families, and why they got into the glassblowing industry,” Mark Bishop, co-CEO and executive producer at Marblemedia, adds.
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About marblemedia
marblemedia is a global multi-award-winning production company based in Toronto, Canada. For over 22 years, the company has been leading the future of entertainment through its diverse production slate of Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family programming which has built up a library of over 2,100 hours of television.
The company has seen momentous growth over the past three years with recent success stories including the global phenomena and Netflix Original competition series Blown Away, hit family comedy Overlord and the Underwoods (Hulu, Nickelodeon, CBC, BYUtv, ITV), new Netflix Original competition series, Drink Masters, CBC original formats Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature (with discovery+ UK & Ireland), five seasons of hit competition series All-Round Champion (BYUtv and TVOKids), new format A Cut Above (Bell Media and Discovery US), family comedy The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker (Super Channel, BYUtv) and teen series Open Heart (Teen Nick, YTV). marblemedia is also looking forward to the release of the company’s first ever feature doc on the iconic and beloved Mr. Dressup coming out on Prime Video later this year.
marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a commitment to creativity and innovation. The company has offices in Los Angeles and London, plus a 50-acre production facility north of Toronto.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kelsey Aikman
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com
Playback: CBC sets new series and FAST channels for 2023-24 slate
From playback article: “As announced by playback: The pubcaster’s upcoming programming slate unveiled Thursday (June 1) has more than 40 original series from Canadian storytellers, which is on par with last year, as well as plans to launch more free, 24/7 ad-supported TV (FAST) channels this fall. CBC Comedy and CBC News BC build upon last November’s launch of CBC News Explore and will be followed by more local news channels…
Returning factual series include Race Against the Tide (marblemedia) for a 10 x 30-minute third season in July; 8 x 60-minute Best in Miniature (marblemedia) for a third season this fall."
Read the full article here:
https://playbackonline.ca/2023/06/01/cbc-sets-new-series-and-fast-channels-for-2023-24-slate/
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For more information about Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature reach out to:
Kelsey Aikman
VP, Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com
MARBLEMEDIA PARTNERS WITH THE JIM HENSON COMPANY TO DEVELOP NEW ORIGINAL LIVE ACTION-COMEDY SERIES, FELIX
CREATED BY MIKLOS PERLUS
BASED ON PERLUS’S SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SCRIPT, THE SERIES TAKES ON THE IMPORTANT TOPIC OF CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH
LOS ANGELES / TORONTO March 22, 2023 - Award-winning global production company, marblemedia, and The Jim Henson Company, an established leader in innovative and iconic entertainment, are partnering once again, this time on the original scripted comedy series, Felix (10x30), which will break new ground by debunking the stereotypes and stigmatization around neurodiversity and mental health challenges among children.
Created by Miklos Perlus, and inspired by his neurodivergent son, Felix is a live action comedy about a boy, his family, and his “feels” - five original characters to be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™ that manifest his larger-than-life emotions. They live in his house; they follow him to school; they eat all the good snacks; they’re like the worst pets ever. And now that Felix attends a school for neurodivergent kids like him, he’s finally learning how to live with his very real emotions.
“We could think of no better partner on this project than The Jim Henson Company to join us in creating a transformative family television series”, explains A.J. Trauth, VP Kids at marblemedia. “We share a desire to bring the much-needed conversation around children’s mental health directly to audiences across North America, and the world. Miklos has expertly crafted an authentic, optimistic, and hilarious story about this very important topic.”
“For generations, the art of puppetry has helped us process our thoughts and feelings. By authentically depicting the nuanced and complex ways that neurodivergent children experience the world, Felix will use comedy and a cast of original hilarious characters to introduce audiences to new ways of thinking, reducing the stigma around mental health and inspiring families to improve their own communication,” said Halle Stanford, President of Television for The Jim Henson Company.
marblemedia and The Jim Henson Company have partnered previously on live-action preschool series Hi Opie!, in 2014 and its spin-off Opie’s Home in 2016.
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About marblemedia
marblemedia is a global multi-award-winning production company based in Toronto, Canada. For over 22 years, the company has been leading the future of entertainment through its diverse production slate of Scripted, Unscripted, and Kids & Family programming which has built up a library of over 2,100 hours of television.
The company has seen momentous growth over the past three years with recent success stories including the global phenomena and Netflix Original competition series Blown Away, hit family comedy Overlord and the Underwoods (Hulu, Nickelodeon, CBC, BYUtv, ITV), new Netflix Original competition Drink Masters, CBC original formats Race Against the Tide and Best in Miniature (with discovery+ UK & Ireland), five seasons of hit competition series All-Round Champion (BYUtv and TVOKids), new format A Cut Above (Bell Media and Discovery US), family comedy The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker (Super Channel, BYUtv) and teen series Open Heart (Teen Nick, YTV). marblemedia is also looking forward to the release of the company’s first ever feature doc on the iconic and beloved Mr. Dressup coming out on Amazon Prime later this year.
marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a commitment to creativity and innovation. The company has offices in Los Angeles and London, plus a 50-acre production facility north of Toronto.
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 65 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company’s most recent credits include the acclaimed Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix, the Emmy®-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV+, and the feature film The Portable Door for MGM+. Other television credits include Slumberkins, Harriet the Spy and Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, all for Apple TV+, Word Party for Netflix, Earth to Ned for Disney+, and the Emmy-winning Netflix Original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Other TV productions include Dinosaur Train (PBS), Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Sid the Science Kid (PBS), and Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), as well as Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, and the sci-fi series Farscape. Feature film credits include The Star (Sony Pictures Animation), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Disney), and the ground-breaking fantasy classics The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.
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 post-production 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 credits include The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (Netflix), the feature film The Happytime Murders, and the popular live puppet improvisational show Puppet-Up! – Uncensored.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kelsey Aikman
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com
MARBLEMEDIA ELEVATES THEIR SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH THE PROMOTION OF DIANE RANKIN TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, RIGHTS & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
LONDON/LOS ANGELES/TORONTO January 20, 2023 - Leading producer and distributor marblemedia, is pleased to announce the promotion of Diane Rankin to Executive Vice President, Rights & Executive Producer. In this newly created position, Rankin will lead the content commercialization strategy for the company to support and accelerate growth across the scripted, unscripted, kids and family genres to establish more commercial partnerships, pre-sales and coproduction opportunities, while continuing to elevate the growth of Distribution360 (D360). Known as one of few independently controlled distributors of scale, D360 manages and monetizes IP rights globally, and oversees the CAVCO-certified YouTube channel marbleKids and marbleJr, which features content from Canadian and International producers for global kids’ audiences.
A 25-year industry veteran, who joined the company in 2015, Rankin recently served as SVP, Rights & EP. Rankin has led the company’s international growth across all content divisions; scripted, unscripted, kids & family, and third-party acquisitions. She was responsible for all aspects of sales, rights management, digital (YouTube) programming, distribution strategy, including oversight as an Executive Producer on unscripted series with a dedicated focus to maximize profitability with partners rapidly scaling in the international space. Rankin will continue to report to Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg in her elevated role.
The promotion aligns with marblemedia’s 2023 strategic plans to increase production output by elevating existing, and establishing new international partnerships. Rankin will collaborate with the talented department heads of marblemedia’s scripted, unscripted, kids and family divisions to develop new projects and inform new revenue opportunities. Capitalizing on strong Canadian financial incentives and applicable co-production treaties, Rankin will be tasked with establishing more coproduction and presales opportunities to deliver hit series and formats that are adaptable to foreign markets and global audiences, while continuing to grow revenue across the Distribution360 catalogue of premium scripted, unscripted, kids and family programming including original hit series from marblemedia like Blown Away (Netflix), Drink Masters (Netflix), All Round Champion (TVO, BYUtv), and Overlord and the Underwoods (CBC, Nickelodeon, BYUtv, Hulu) and 3rd party titles like Super Simple Songs (Skyship Entertainment), Crime Stories (Partners in Motion), Bryan Inc. (Si Entertainment), and mathXplosion (GAPC Entertainment).
“Co-financing and collaboration have proven to be critical to the diversification of the content we produce and distribute” shares EVP Rights & Executive Producer, Diane Rankin. “In such a vibrant and ever-changing market, partnership is more important than ever, particularly as we expand further into scripted and continue to elevate premium original content across all our genres through high quality production with global appeal. The opportunity to work with new partners is incredibly exciting as we continue to take an innovative approach to the opportunities in front of us and the deals we are making to meet market demand and navigate the current economic climate.”
“Diane has an incredible track record for developing and managing our strong and diverse slate of titles, while driving new exciting partners to our projects. The evidence of our success is in the work Diane has done with regards to delivering new financing opportunities for our content”, shares Co-CEO, Mark Bishop. “Diane is a key player in the critical success of marblemedia and will play an integral part in the exciting new projects we will be announcing in the coming weeks, and year ahead”.
Prior to marblemedia, Rankin held senior leadership positions at DRG, Cineflix Rights and Brunico Communications.
About marblemedia
marblemedia is a global multi award-winning production company anchored in original storytelling. For over 20 years, marblemedia has been trailblazing the future of entertainment across its premium content divisions primetime scripted, unscripted, kids & family. The company has built up a library of over 2,100 hours of television.
Recent unscripted series include the global phenomenon Netflix Original Blown Away, Netflix Drink Masters, Discovery Original A Cut Above, CBC original Best in Miniature, CBC original Race Against the Tide, and five seasons of the high-octane competition series All-Round Champion.
Recent scripted series include the hit family comedy Overlord and the Underwoods, interconnected family comedies The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker and teen series Open Heart.
Powered by the reach of its own international distribution company, Distribution360, which has sold programming to over 200 territories. The company continues to rack up accolades such as, being named one of Variety’s Reality Impact Report 2022’s “Titans of Unscripted TV” as well as a “Next Gen Content Producer” by the Hollywood Reporter.
marblemedia was founded in 2001 by co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg with a vision of creativity, partnership, and innovation, the company is headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Los Angeles and London, plus a 50-acre production facility north of Toronto.
For more information, please contact:
Kelsey Aikmant
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
kaikman@marblemedia.com