According to Adam Shaheen, president of Cuppa Coffee Studios, the animation house is working with U.S. cable network E! Entertainment to produce a stop-motion TV series tentatively titled Starveillance. From the mind of Celebrity Deathmatch creator Eric Fogel, the show will aim to offer a unique look at the cult of celebrity. Fogel will write scripts and serve as creative director, working alongside long time Cuppa Coffee director Andrew Horne, who will lend his talents as animation director.

Cuppa Coffee recently produced a new season of Celebrity Death Match that debuted June 10 on MTV2. MTV has also hired the studio to produce Rick and Steve, a specially commissioned stop-mo show for new gay-and-lesbian channel LOGO. The series is created by Alan Brocka and is based on a popular, independently produced short of the same name.

Also in production at Cuppa Coffee is Bruno and the Banana Bunch, new U.K. preschool show about to commence, as well as an unnamed Flash series. Three other shows are in development and the studio is in talks to animate a number of productions in the works around Toronto.

Nick Jr. has greenlit a second season of the animated preschool series The Wonder Pets! Since its premiere on March 3, the show has consistently ranked among the top three preschool programs on all of commercial television.

Created and exec produced by Josh Selig of Little Airplane Prods. Inc., The Wonder Pets! follows the adventures of a guinea pig named Linny, a duckling named Ming-Ming and a turtle named Tuck, who travel the world in their jet-powered, flying boat and use teamwork to save other animals in distress. Promoted as the first mini-operetta for preschoolers, the show has its cuddly stars singing to music written and developed by Tony and Grammy-winning composers. Musical contributors have worked on such Broadway productions as Avenue Q, Monty Python’s Spamalot and Fiddler on the Roof.

To bring its animal stars to life, the team at Little Airplane employ a cut-out style of animation dubbed ‘photo-puppetry animation,’ which allows animators to manipulate photographs of real animals.

The Wonder Pets! airs regularly on Nick Jr. weekdays at 11 a.m. (ET/PT), and has been sold to 67 countries around the globe including 49 countries in South America and the Caribbean, three countries in Europe and 15 countries in Asia and Asia Pacific.

The Detour, Canadian broadcaster TELETOON’s answer to Cartoon Network’s [adult swim], is adopting a slate of shows from its U.S. counterpart. Starting this September, [adult swim] favorites Robot Chicken, Tom Goes to the Mayor, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, 12oz Mouse and Squidbillies will join the Detour lineup, which already features Cartoon Network originals Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Venture Bros. and Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law.

“By acquiring the original [adult swim] titles, TELETOON is fulfilling its promise of offering different, smart and fearless entertainment for our 18-34 fans,” says Carole Bonneau, VP of programming for TELETOON. ‘The current success of our post-9 p.m. block is a critical stepping stone towards building a stronger and distinct destination for more mature viewers, setting itself apart from our kids and family fare. The addition of the new [adult swim] acquisitions to our fall line-up can only serve to better anchor this destination.’

Robot Chicken will join the Detour lineup on Fridays at 10 p.m., followed by Tom Goes to the Mayor at 10:30 p.m., Space Ghost Coast to Coast at 11 p.m., 12oz Mouse at 11:30 p.m. and Squidbillies at 12 a.m. Harvey Birdman installments and new episodes of Aqua Teen will fill in the 15-minute gaps throughout. The shows will premiere as part of TELETOON’s F-Night block, which was introduced last winter to boost adult male viewership. The [adult swim] titles will then air Saturday through Thursday during The Detour.

Before it joins the Nick Jr. lineup on Aug. 28, the new animated series

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! will be introduced to viewers via mobile phones, broadband video and a video podcast. Exclusive sneak-peek content including never-before-seen music videos and character segments will launch simultaneously every Tuesday from June 20 through Aug 22 on wireless carriers, Nick Jr. Video at Nickjr.com, on-air on Nick Jr. and on The Wubbcast,

Created by Bob Boyle Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, centers on a curious little creature named Wubbzy, who lives in the mythical city of Wuzzleburg. With the help of pals Widget and Walden, he tackles everyday kid problems so he can pursue such interests as chasing flutterflies, eating ice cream and playing hippity-hopscotch. Widget is a mechanical whiz and inventor who owns her own fix-it shop, and Walden is a quirky scientist who finds great wisdom in everything from ancient philosophy to tarot card reading. Each half-hour episode will feature two, 10-minute adventures with themes that are reinforced with original music videos.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is produced by Bolder Media for Boys and Girls in association with IDT/Film Roman. Creator Boyle is exec producer, along with Susan Miller and Fred Seibert, co-founders of Bolder Media for Boys and Girls. Nickelodeon will initially air 26 episodes of the show on its Nick Jr. preschool programming block, which airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (ET/PT) and is carried by CBS on weekends.

Having brought the hugely successful Dragonball Z property to the U.S. on Cartoon Network, Japan Entertainment Network (JEN) has its sights set on producing an aggressive slate of anime shows targeted primarilyto kids in North America. According to Daily Variety, the joint venture between Turner Entertainment Network Japan and the Itochu company has created a special department devoted to establishing production partnerships with outside anime and comic creators.

As Japan’s satellite broadcaster of Cartoon Network, JEN tailored U.S.-produced toons such as The Powerpuff Girls for Japanese viewers. Now the company appears to be more interested in exporting than importing.

In two years’ time, JEN plans to be producing around two new animated series per year, working with companies in the U.S. and other countries. All projects will be squarely aimed at kids 6-11, a demographic that has made massive hits of such Japanese anime properties as Pok’mon and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

U.S. telephone company Verizon Communications has inked a multi-year deal with the Public Broadcasting Service and the Association of Public Television Stations to provide public television programming over its new fiber-optic Fios TV subscription television service. In each market, Verizon will carry as many as three digital public television stations and their multicast outlets, which include the cartoon-focused PBS Kids Go, and Spanish-language station Viva TV.

“This agreement is a major step forward for public service media in our country,’ comments John Lawson, president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations. ‘It is the culmination of hard work by APTS, PBS and Verizon to ensure that public television’s content is available to consumers who choose to receive their television programming from Verizon. At a time when some in Congress question the important contribution that public television stations make to the communities they serve, Verizon’s commitment to public television and to delivering high-quality programming to its growing television-customer base is significant.’

PBS stations are home to a number of award-winning animated favorites including Arthur, Clifford The Big Red Dog, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Dragon Tales, Bob the Builder and Franny’s Feet. Newly added toon and hybrid series include Curious George, Fetch! and It’s a Big Big World, and 2007 will see the addition of a CG-animated show titled Animalia.

Currently available in seven states, Verizon’s Fios TV service delivers more than 400 all-digital channels, including two dozen high-definition channels, as well as an extensive library of on-demand content. News of the PBS deal follows last week’s announcement that the service will carry the FUNimation Channel. The 24-hour digital anime network from Navarre Corp.’s FUNimation Ent. will be added to the FiOS TV Premier package this summer, offering some of the most popular anime brands in the U.S.

Cartoon Network in the U.S. will be the exclusive broadcast carrier of Pokemon: Battle Frontier, the ninth season of the successful cartoon series in which kids duel with their pocket-sized monsters. Scheduled to debut this fall, the all-new episodes will take Ash and Pikachu back to the Kanto region to complete the Battle Frontier, seven ultimate tests that will challenge Ash’s skills as a Pok’mon Trainer.

“We’re thrilled to be the new home of Pok’mon in the U.S., and to be bringing first-run, never-before-seen episodes of this tremendous series to our audience,” says Bob Higgins, senior VP of programming and original animation for Cartoon Network. “We’re looking forward to working with Pok’mon USA to grow Battle Frontier into a top television destination for boys and girls of all ages.”

On June 3, Cartoon Network debuted Pok’mon Chronicles, which was never before seen in the U.S., during its Toonami action block. Featuring a mix old friends, unsung heroes and villains, the series focuses on what the characters do when they’re not accompanying Ash on his action-packed journeys.

Celebrating its 10th worldwide anniversary this year, the Pok’mon property was launched in Japan in 1996 with a game for Nintendo’s Game Boy system. The brand has since generated more than $25 billion in worldwide retail sales. More than 14 billion trading cards have sold globally to date, and the animated Kids’ WB! series consistently ranked among the top shows for boys ages 6-11.

Late last year, Pok’mon USA ended its successful, eight-year, exclusive relationship with 4Kids. All brand activity outside of Asia is now is being handled by Pok’mon USA Inc.’s own licensing group. For more information, go to www.pokemon.com.

Mike Young Prods.’ popular animated shows Pet Alien, ToddWorld and Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks will soon be entertaining kids on planes and trains. International rights, distribution and brand management company Taffy Ent. has signed a deal with portable in-flight entertainment provider digEcor, which will add the shows to its digEplayer kids’ package.

All three cartoon shows will be shown on Alaska Airlines starting in July, and will be available to Amtrack passengers in August via a deal with partner company Railway Media. Springville, Utah-based digEcor hopes to sell the package to an additional sixteen international airlines.

DigEcor’s handheld digEplayer is a brandable, portable in-flight entertainment device that features a 7-inch screen and hard-drive that comes loaded with movies, music, TV shows and music videos. The company has content deals in place with major Hollywood studios and other leading distributors.

“This deal is indicative of our desire to reach out to non-traditional distribution

outlets.’ says Taffy Ent. exec VP Regis Brown. ‘This is a non-exclusive ancillary rights deal and one that sets the foundation for many more to come. The strength of Mike Young Prods.’ product is opening up non-traditional doors for us, while

helping to increase our brand presence in the market place.”

Jointly owned and operated by Mike Young Prods. and French animation company MoonScoop, Taffy Ent. handles a library that includes more than 2,400 half hours of animation. Key titles include MoonScoop’s Code Lyoko, Titeuf, The Fantastic Four, Funky Cops, Doctor Dog and Little Vampire, and Mike Young Prods.’ Growing Up Creepie, I Got A Rocket! and Dive Olly Dive! The company also distributes third party properties including Sunwoo Ent.’s Mix Master: King of Cards and Entara’s Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks.