Canuck nets bring Opie home

Hi Opie!

Three Canadian broadcasters have again teamed with The Jim Henson Company and Toronto-based Marblemedia to produce a spin-off from live-action preschool series Hi Opie!.

Ontario-based network TVOKids, Rogers Media-owned channel City Saskatchewan and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network are on board Opie’s Home (39×7′).

The series is currently in production in Hamilton, Ontario, and is due to premiere in 2017.

It follows four-year-old Opie, a puppet, as he plays, explores and discovers new things in and around his home with his parents, grandmother and next-door neighbour, played by Canadian actor Graham Greene.

The show comes after the companies worked together on Hi Opie!, which follows the puppet as he goes to school for the first time.

Opie’s Home will be joined by an interactive web experience and mobile app, produced by Marblemedia’s interactive team, which will be available in Canada on the TVO Kids website.

“Opie’s Home will help kids learn the skills required to make a smooth transition from home to kindergarten,” said Marney Malabar, director of kids’ TV at TVO.

“Episodes will feature Opie’s day-to-day interactions at home, reading and playing with his family and neighbours, as well as his family routine before and after school, helping kids to be successful both inside and outside the classroom.”

Marblemedia-owned Distribution360 will share the broadcast and digital distribution with The Jim Henson Company, which will also oversee format rights as well as all merchandising and licensing rights worldwide.