A gURLs wURLd, Penelope K, FlickerLab

Southern Star Singapore, Southern Star Entertainment (Australia) and Nord Deutscher Rundfunk (Germany) unveil their US$9million international co-production of A gURLs wURLd (26x30), a tween-targeted live-action series supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and Screen Australia, Australia's film and TV agency. The series will be distributed by Endemol Worldwide Distribution, and is set to premiere on ARD Network (Germany) and Channel Nine (Australia). Shot in part on location in Singapore, A gURLs wURLd is a multi-platform property that will feature unique content and virtual communities online for fans around the world created by Southern Star Singapore and Southern Star Entertainment. The series revolves around three teen girls, one each from Australia, Germany and Singapore, who become friends while attending school in Singapore. At the end of the term the girls return home and find that through technology they can transport them via a chat room portal to one another's home and thus a range of adventures.


BBC Worldwide Channels commissions a new live-action preschool series Penelope K, By The Way (25x12), the first original production for the international CBeebies channel. Developed by Australia's Blink Films the property was selected earlier this year from 100 submissions as part of a local production initiative in Australia. Produced by Blink Films in association with Freehand, Penelope K, By The Way will debut on CBeebies in Australia next year, followed by CBeebies in the UK and then rollout around the world. The series revolves around Penelope K and the Information Station she runs, which is a place where one goes to find answers to questions. Penelope K and her friends help collate information and provide answers to inquiring minds.

FlickerLab launches its newest K8-12-targeted animated series, The Wild Life (26x5), at Mipcom. The story driven series, which debuted earlier this month on TV2 (Denmark), is designed to teach kids about climate change and is produced using FlickerLab's real time animation software, Go. Each episode is comprised of a three minute story introducing a theme, followed by a two minute animated Climate Cartoon on that theme. Additionally, viewers can use FlickerLab's Animtoon animation software to create and share their own Climate Cartoons, the best of which will be shown with customized introductions by the series characters. There is also a corresponding website for the show that features a range of information, games and activities and other interactive elements. FlickerLab plans to expand The Wild Life into a longer form series (40x11) with production set to begin in fall 2010.