Rai meets Cake’s Pablo

Preschool series Pablo launched on CBeebies in the UK in 2017

Italian pubcaster Rai has acquired season one of preschool animated series Pablo from UK kids’ producer and distributor Cake.

The show has already been picked up by TVE in Spain, RTP in Portugal, Czech TV, NRK in Norway, TV Brazil, RTS in Switzerland and Netflix in multiple territories.

It will appear on February 20 on streaming platform Rai Play before making its its linear debut on March 1 on linear kids’ channel Rai Yoyo.

Pablo tells the story of a small boy whose drawings come to life and help him to face the world. The show is also said to be the first ever children’s series to feature an autistic protagonist and is devised, co-written and performed by autistic people.

Pablo is produced by Paper Owl Films for UK pubcaster CBeebies and Ireland’s RTÉJr, in association with Kavaleer Productions and Ingenious, with funding from Northern Ireland Screen and BAI.

Luca Milano, executive director of Rai Kids, said: “Inclusion has always been a central theme for Rai, even more so in this period of emergency when the pandemic has made social interaction more difficult for everyone. Pablo is a series of great emotion and poetry that will find in Rai Yoyo, the leading Italian network for children, an attentive and sympathetic audience.”