Continuing its emergence as a mainstream brand, the Discovery Channel franchise is adding even more programming to NBC’s Discovery Kids Saturday morning block by getting into the cartoon biz.
In addition to two new and three returning live-action series (many six year olds just can’t enough of Steve Irwin, the hyperkinetic Croc Files guy), Discovery Kids will debut in September an entirely new genre to its line-up with the launch of RealToons. "Our partnership with NBC has given us an incredible platform to introduce Discovery Kids to a whole new kid audience,” says Marjorie Kaplan, senior vice president and general manager, Discovery Kids. “Having gotten off to a strong start, it’s time to take it to the next level.”
For its part, the action-packed 13-part series Tutenstein will “star” a 10-year old Egyptian mummy boy (the Pharaoh Tuten-Astennu, nicknamed Tutenstein) who awakens from the dead in the present day. With the help of his feline protector Luxor, and a modern 12-year old girl named Cleo, Tut still thinks he’s King of all he surveys. Along the way, he interacts with everyday humans from the 21st century while he struggles with Egyptian god-set to regain his rightful place on the throne. In keeping with the mission of Discovery (and FCC regs regarding educational content in kid’s programming), interspersed throughout are well-researched facts about ancient Egyptian history and culture. The series is produced by Porchlight Entertainment.
Ani show number two is Kenny The Shark. The initial 13-part series, features Kenny, a tough tiger shark who learns to love the cushy life as the house pet of Kat, a girl obsessed with marine predators. To stay with best friend Kat, Kenny must make do with imitation seal flakes not human flesh. Kat learns that living with a shark isn’t easy; they eat everything, they never sleep and they constantly shed their teeth. Kenny The Shark is produced by Phase Four.
