A CHILDREN'S show created by the BAFTA winning Sixteen South studio in Belfast is going global.
Sixteen South Rights has confirmed new TV sales in key territories for its new hit preschool live-action puppet comedy Wildwoods to the USA and Russia.
WildWoods’ global audience is set to increase hugely with sales to Hulu in the US and Channel One Russia Worldwide.
Hulu is a leading premium streaming service available to millions of subscribers in America while Channel One has more than 250 million viewers worldwide.
In addition, UYoung, China’s leading children’s and family entertainment company, has acquired the distribution rights for TV series in the region.
These international sales follow the huge success of Wildwoods since its launch last autumn on RTEjr.
A firm favourite with that channel’s younger viewers, it is also shown on ABC Kids, where it was the top-rating kids show on its premiere and is consistently one of the channel's highest rating shows.
A new live-action puppet comedy series for four- to seven-year-olds, Wildwoods chronicles the unlikely friendship between Cooper, a gentle giant sasquatch, and Poppy, a feisty pint-sized sugarglider.
Filmed entirely in beautiful forest locations in Ireland, WildWoods aims to tempt children away from their digital devices and into the open air, while also tackling serious subjects such as sadness, jealousy, tolerance, trust and the loss of a friend.
Sixteen South creative director Colin Williams said: “I’m delighted that our rights department is doing great work in taking our incredibly funny odd couple, Cooper and Poppy, into wonderful new faraway countries.
"WildWoods is not only the most challenging show we've ever made, but probably our best live action work to date.”
The series was created by Colin Williams, winner of the of BAFTA Independent Children’s Production Company of the Year in 2016, and the production received production funding from Northern Ireland Screen and the Broadcast Authority of Ireland.
Sixteen South produces all its shows in-house and employs more than 100 people. Two years ago it invested £1 million in a new 7500 sq ft studio in Belfast.
