European multi-genre indie Mediawan Kids & Family has announced its first international acquisition for the division, with the purchase of a majority stake in U.K.-based production company Wildseed Studios. The multi-award-winning outfit partners with both emerging and established talent to produce creator-led scripted animated and live-action content for children, families and young adults with international appeal.
Wildseed Studios was founded in 2013 by Jesse Cleverly, former Head of co-productions and acquisitions at BBC Children’s, and Miles Bullough, former Head of broadcast at Aardman Animations. It has produced worldwide hits such as children’s animation series Dodo (Sky Kids), kids 8-11 animated comedy Counterfeit Cat (Disney Channel) and in live-action, the family series The Last Bus (Netflix), multi-award winning feature film Hungerford and the soon-to-be-screened special Ama’s Story (Sky Kids).
“I am delighted to welcome Jesse, Miles and their team to Mediawan Kids & Family,” says Julien Borde, President of Mediawan Kids & Family. “Wildseed is a renowned and well-established U.K. producer with a strong network of international talent and partners. They have a unique take on innovation and a real know-how on talent incubation. We are thrilled to start working with them to allow new talent to bring new stories and universes to kids, young adults and families. Wildseed will pursue the development of its own slate of content but also partner with our studios in Europe to bring new co-productions to the market.”
Jesse Cleverly, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Wildseed Studios, adds, “We are excited to be part of the Mediawan family and hugely admire their modern, agile approach to creativity and partnership. With Mediawan’s support, we look forward to discovering more award-winning creators and their original properties, producing more world-class content for audiences below 30 and growing Wildseed within the Mediawan group. One of the attractions of Mediawan for us was the ability to continue to drive our own diverse slate of shows, as well as working with other studios in the group to develop co-productions with a truly international focus.”
The new partnership will allow Mediawan Kids & Family to enrich its catalog with new animation and live-action content and extend its network of international talent. It will also provide a strong and complementary addition to its existing portfolio of studios.
“We are thrilled with this new partnership. After Italy and the development of an Animation branch within our studio Palomar, it is a new establishment in a territory where animation is key, matching perfectly with our European studio strategy we are developing on all our genres”, concludes Elisabeth d’Arvieu, Managing Director of Mediawan Pictures.
