‘Peppa Pig’ Writer Joins ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Team; ‘House Of The Dragon’ Starbucks Promo; Crunchyroll To Prime Video India; Katja Oskamp Drama — Global Briefs

Jesse Whittock

25 June 2024 at 9:39 am·4-min read

‘Peppa Pig’ Writer Part Of Kartoon’s ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Team

Just days after unveiling a $30M, multi-year Winnie-the-Pooh plan, Kartoon Studios has unveiled its writing, directing and commercial team. Sam Morrison, who was part of the writing team for Nickelodeon’s Peppa Pig, has been named Head Writer, with Emmy winnner Michale Maliani the director. Kids TV industry veteran Paul Robinson, who was former Managing Director of Disney Channel Worldwide and is the current President of Kartoon Channel! Worldwide & Head of International Sales, will handle international distribution and former Paramount Pictures, Electronic Arts and DIC Entertainment exec Ryan Gagerman has been appointed Head of Global Licensing. He’s known for rolling out Strawberry Shortcake, on which he previously worked with Kartoon Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. As part of Kartoon’s plan to make several feature films and a series based on A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, a retail deal was struck with Alliance Entertainment for a nationwide consumer products launch, with Kartoon overseeing international. On screen, an animated holiday movie, five holiday specials and 104 episodes of a series are being rolled out over four years through the subscription kids network Kartoon Channel via Prime Video Channels. Funding for the content is coming through a $30M joint venture agreement with Winnie the Pooh SPV, a subsidiary of Catalyst Venture Partners. Kartoon unveiled its Winnie move on Friday, more than two years after the famous honey-munching bear entered the public domain in the U.S. This means Disney, which acquired the rights to the original Winnie-the-Pooh book in 1961, no longer has exclusivity on works based on the classic.

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‘House Of The Dragon’ Gives Euro Coffee Drinks A Choice

Arbor gold might be the drink of choice in Westeros, but Starbucks will be asking its European customers to make a House of the Dragon-themed choice when they get their morning coffee. A drinks promotion between the coffee chain and Warner Bros Discovery will see customers asked to pledge their choice of Team Black or Team Green, as the House Targaryen rivalry continues during season 2 of the HBO show. The ‘Max Nights, Starbucks Mornings’-themed brand partnership will comprise a drinks menu inspired by the fantasy drama in stores nationwide in Spain, France and Portugal. House of the Dragon‘s second season launched in Europe on Max on June 17, as the streaming service rolls out across the continent. Sounds like its Dracarys Matcha Frappuccinos all round.

Crunchyroll Joins Prime Video Channels India

Sony anime streamer Crunchyroll is launching on Prime Video Channels India. The service offers titles such as new sci-fi monster series Kaiju No.8, plus others such as Black Butler — Public School Arc, which recently returned a decade after its initial run. The service will be offered at ₹79 (95¢) per month as a Prime Video Channels add-on, with select shows and movies available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu along with English. ““The popularity of anime content in India has grown exponentially over the last few years, and through various Channels, we are working towards building a wide and diverse library of popular and blockbuster Japanese animation,” said Gaurav Bhasin, Head of Prime Video Channels and Movie Rentals, Prime Video, India.

Drama Based On Novelist Katja Oskamp Set At ARD

German novelist Katja Oskamp’s life as a chiropodist is being turned into a TV series for ARD Degeto. Her autobiographical book Marzahn, Mon Amour is being adapted into a six-part show of the same name (working title), with Fremantle’s UFA Fiction producing. The series will follow how the novelist became a pedicurist in one of the largest residential areas of Berlin. In her beauty salon, she and her colleagues hear exciting, bizarre and moving life stories from their customers. The book was her first to be adapted into English, and the translation won the International Dublin Literary Award last year. Director Clara Zoë My-Linh von Arnim is attached, with Leona Stahlmann and Niklas Hoffmann writing the screenplays together with Antonia Rothe-Liermann. Jördis Triebel, Yvonne Yung Hee Bormann and Deborah Kaufmann as Lulu Moll have been cast as leads, with other roles going to Maja Bons, Ursula Werner, Carl Heinz Choynski, Eva Weißenborn, Monika Lennartz and Hermann Beyer.

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