The first foreign language format co-production for the hugely successful Australian children’s television series The Fairies begins pre-production later this year.
New York-based TV broadcaster V-me Media Inc. initiates the first international production based on the original format of The Fairies and will produce 26 half hour episodes and two ‘direct to DVD’ specials in Spanish and Portuguese. V-me will have exclusive broadcast rights in the US, and will distribute the series to Spanish-speaking Latin America, Spain, Brazil and Portugal.
‘V-me is thrilled to bring the universal appeal and positive message of The Fairies to children in the US, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. That this is our first original children’s production makes it even more special, as V-me was developed in large part to meet the enormous need in the US for high quality children’s programming in Spanish with real educational value,’ says Carmen DiRienzo, President of V-me.
Savvy business woman, mother of three and creator of The Fairies Jen Watts is also delighted to see her South Australian based TV series begin the foreign language production phase.
‘It is enormously exciting to partner with V-me in producing a Spanish language version of The Fairies. I created The Fairies with the dream of making the magical and musical concept accessible to all children around the world and I am confident V-me will ensure their production has the fabulous qualities that are already loved by English-speaking children,’ says Watts.
The characters and sets in The Fairies were created from the outset to ensure easy replication and adaptation for all nationalities. The brand, sets, music, costumes, characters and their personalities are adored worldwide, and can be universally marketed and adapted with minor changes to suit cultural differences. International formats enable broadcasters to capitalise on the many years of intense educational and viewer research and the subsequent development of all elements into a successful concept.
There are plans to produce international formatted versions of The Fairies in other territories, with Germany, Scandinavia, Chinese language territories and India being the next targeted markets.
The intention is to create three production hubs around the world to produce formatted versions of The Fairies, utilising the existing Adelaide studios in South Australia for the various Asian language versions, and a studio in Europe (possibly in Brussels) for the European language versions. As the production hub for North and South America, Spain and Portugal, V-me will work closely with series creator Jen Watts to adapt selected characters and story lines to make them as culturally relevant as possible for those audiences.
These filming hubs will all use the stunning and magical Australian production sets designed by the multi-award winning production company responsible for Lord of the Rings, Weta workshop. The Australian production of The Fairies can now be seen in the UK (where it ranks #1 on Nick Junior 2), Malaysia, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq and Qatar.
Grahame Grassby is working as The Fairies International Consultant, and alongside Jen Watts, will be attending the Brand Licensing Show 2007 in London and MIPCOM/MIP Junior in Cannes during October to further the international development of The Fairies. V-me President Carmen DiRienzo and SVP/Chief Content Officer Guillermo Sierra will also be attending the MIPCOM market.
[release from Osmopolitan PR & Events]