Paddington set for Adventures in China

The Adventures of Paddington’s voice cast is led by Ben Whishaw

French production and distribution firm StudioCanal has partnered with distributor Shanghai Senyu Media to shop animated kids’ series The Adventures of Paddington to buyers in China.

Based on author Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear book series, the show was commissioned by ViacomCBS-owned global kids’ net Nickelodeon and comprises 11-minute episodes.

The series is written by Jon Foster and James Lamont and produced by Heyday Films, StudioCanal and Copyrights Group with participation from French broadcaster M6.

Shanghai Senyu Media will now pitch The Adventures of Paddington to Chinese buyers, beginning at this week’s digital version of Hong Kong’s Filmart conference.

The Adventures of Paddington launched in 2019. Its voice cast is led by Ben Whishaw (Skyfall), who also voiced the Paddington character in hit feature films Paddington and Paddington 2.

Sarah Mottershead, senior sales manager for TV series at StudioCanal, said: “Our much-loved bear is adored by millions in China already, so we’re sure that both adults and children alike will enjoy these new light-hearted stories that embrace and encourage kindness and thoughtfulness as well as a great deal of fun.”