ViacomCBS brands Nickelodeon International and Network 10 have partnered for the first time to commission a new live-action children’s series, Taylor’s Island, from Fremantle Australia.
The 20 x 22-minute comedy created by Matt Cooke, Vince Lund and Michael Ford marks Nickelodeon’s first non-preschool Australian scripted live-action production, due to premiere globally on its channels from early 2022.
The series follows Taylor Young, a girl who is fascinated by the phenomena surrounding a mysterious island ever since her uncle’s disappearance there.
With a gang of friends, including Nori, a wisecracking local rebel; Meesha, a tough-as-nails thrill seeker; Ellis, a hypochondriac and born worrier; and Taylor’s stepsister Lila, an aspiring vlogger, Taylor is determined to get to the bottom of the secrets and inexplicable events of the island.
Taylor’s Island will shoot in Queensland from July. While no cast is yet to be announced, it is promised the show will be diverse and anchored by Australians.
Tim Powell will produce alongside co-producer Jonah Klein. The writing team is led script producer and writer Stephen Vagg, working alongside Sam Carroll, Alix Beane, David Hannam, Marisa Nathar, Natesha Somasundaram, Trent Roberts and Hannah Samuel.
Chris Rose, VP production and development for Nickelodeon International and VIS KIDS is overseeing the show with Rachel Davis serving as the executive in charge of production for Nickelodeon International in Australia. Fremantle Australia executive producer is Chris Oliver-Taylor, with additional EPs Cooke, Lund and Ford.
Screen Australia has provided major production investment, in association with Screen Queensland.
As part of the agreement Nordic Entertainment Group is also a partner, to premiere Taylor’s Island as an exclusive Viaplay Original on their Viaplay streaming service in the Nordic and Baltic markets
“As we continue to diversify our kids content pipeline, this is an exciting time for us to team up with ViacomCBS’s own Network 10 to bring new content to kids everywhere,” said Jules Borkent, executive vice president, kids and family, ViacomCBS Networks International.
ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand chief content officer and EVP Beverley McGarvey said: “We are thrilled to be announcing our first partnership with Nickelodeon International to create Taylor’s Island. This new original live-action series further cements our commitment to premium children’s content. It will be a fantastic addition and complement our diverse, entertaining and accessible slate of children’s programming already available on Network 10’s free to air channel, 10 Shake.”