Turner Asia Pacific (APAC) and TV Asahi have announced to have partnered on a new animated series titled, SUPER SHIRO. The collaboration was confirmed last week at Kidscreen Summit in Miami.
The agreement includes broadcast rights across Asia Pacific (ex-China) and is the first regional deal between the two parties that includes a sizeable investment from Turner.
Turner Asia Pacific acquisitions and co-productions director Edward Barnieh commented: “Turner’s investment in the series is testament to its strategy of developing quality local IP and takes our long-term partnership with TV Asahi to the next level. We’re confident that this collaborative effort will result in the creation of another awesome fan-favourite.”
The fast-paced chase series is inspired by the hugely-popular Crayon Shin chan franchise, which has aired internationally since 1992. SUPER SHIRO is produced by Shin-ei Animation, known for Doraemon, Crayon Shin chan, and Science SARU, a Tokyo-based animation studio led by Masaaki Yuasa, who’s also the executive director on the series.
Yuasa was a Cristal Award Winner at the 2017 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has recently won the 41st Japan Academy Prize for ‘Animation of the Year’. He also guest-directed the ‘Food Chain’ episode from Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time.
TV Asahi head of animation of International Business Department Takahiro Kishimoto added: “We are delighted to partner with an international media company like Turner. With its extensive reach and brand recognition in Asia Pacific, we are certain kids will get to enjoy SUPER SHIRO even more. We truly believe this collaboration strengthens the partnership between our two companies.”
The kids series (48×5.5’) is expected to launch in early 2020 across Turner’s Kids channels Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO.
