Channel 5’s preschool strand Milkshake! has added a slew of new commissions and acquisitions to its lineup, including Stan & Gran and Animal Care Club.
Stan & Gran (pictured above), a 52-part CG animated series from Jellyfish Pictures and Jollywise, follows the excitable young nature lover Stan Breakwater and his fun-loving Gran as they investigate strange occurrences in their fictional British coastal village.
From Toronto's eOne Unscripted, Animal Care Club (25 x 11 minutes, pictured below) is a factual live-actioner that gives animal-loving kids the chance to get up close and personal with pets, farm animals, wildlife and exotic critters across the U.K. The kids will team up with experts to get experience helping these animals. They will work with vets, zookeepers and at animal sanctuaries, and deliver educational content (like wildlife behaviors) while also teaching kids how to be kind to animals.
Milkshake! acquired Canadian prodco WildBrain Studios and British indie Darrall Macqueen’s Chip & Potato for its lineup as well. This 40 x 11-minuter follows the adventures of Chip, a friendly and curious 4-year-old pug puppy, and Potato, a tiny, furry snuggly toy that is actually a curled up real mouse. The series sees Chip navigating the highs and lows of kindergarten with her unlikely BFF.
These titles will join an extensive lineup of returning fan-favorites and previous commissions. Tweedy & Fluff and Mixmups, both commissioned last year, will debut this autumn. Tweedy & Fluff centers on two woolly yarn pals who met in the corner of a weaver’s cottage. Mixmups features three lovable friends.
Returning series include Odo, Milo, Meet the Experts, Fireman Sam and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!
These commissions align with a nature-adjacent programming strategy that’s currently in play at Milkshake!, according to Louise Bucknole, general manager of kids and family for the U.K. and Ireland at Paramount in an April interview with Kidscreen. Bucknole, who oversees the block, said there is a demand in the UK for environmentally savvy content that showcases the outdoors.
In today's (July 5) announcement, Bucknole added: “Milkshake! is a beloved brand for preschoolers and families in the U.K. with a compelling combination of top-rated U.K. power brands and new, highly anticipated children’s series,” said Louise Bucknole, general manager of kids and family for the U.K. and Ireland at Paramount. “We’re excited to announce our expanding lineup of content for 2023 and beyond, which will engage our preschool audience through universal themes of creativity, play, adventure, friendship and teamwork, to help them understand their world.”
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