Nickelodeon International Says “Action!” to Ricky Sprocket – Showbiz Boy

From AWN Headline News:

Nick Says “Action!” to Ricky Sprocket – Showbiz Boy

Bejuba! Ent. Inc., Snowden Fine Prods. and Studio B Prods. Inc. have announced that RICKY SPROCKET – SHOWBIZ BOY will air on Nickelodeon channels in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Scandinavia in the fall of 2007 and Nicktoons Network in the U.S. The series, created by Alison Snowden and David Fine, the Oscar-winning team behind BOB AND MARGARET, will be co-produced with Vancouver’s Studio B Prods. Inc. and distributed by Bejuba! Ent. Inc. Canadian broadcast partner TELETOON was involved in the early production of the property and is preparing to launch the series in the fall of 2007.

RICKY SPROCKET – SHOWBIZ BOY is a 26x22 (52x11) animated comedy series aimed at kids 6-12. The series follows mega superstar child actor Ricky Sprocket, a regular kid with an annoying sister, too much homework, childhood issues and a crazy showbiz life. Ricky is not only funny and quirky, but a real character with his own emotions and life concerns. Ricky’s fans adore him, but even though he’s the world’s biggest star, he still has to take out the garbage.

“Nickelodeon channels around the world and Nicktoons Network in the U.S. have embraced Ricky Sprocket from the moment they saw it,” says Tatiana Kober of Bejuba! Ent. “The series will strike a chord in children around the world as Ricky is a real kid living every child’s dream.”

“We are delighted to be working with Nickelodeon on this exciting new comedy. I think kids will really relate to the humor and pace of this cartoon,” said Studio B Prods. partner Blair Peters.

“We feel RICKY SPROCKET’s humor and strong character is a perfect fit with Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Networks we are thrilled that they feel the same way,” said David Fine of Snowden Fine. “It’s great that the show has found a home with such prestigious broadcasters.

Debbie Macdonald, vp, programming director, Nickelodeon U.K., said, “RICKY SPROCKET is a real gem of a series. The high standards of animation, brilliant humor and quirky characters will resonate with Nick audiences all over the world.”

Alison Snowden and David Fine recently moved to Vancouver after living in London, England for the previous fifteen years. In the U.K., they produced short films and numerous ads as well their award winning series, BOB AND MARGARET (produced with Nelvana Ltd), which was a primetime hit on Global TV in Canada and Comedy Central in the U.S. The series was Comedy Central’s highest rated series after SOUTH PARK. Snowden and Fine have won numerous awards for their work, including two Oscar nominations, finally bagging the trophy the third time for their short film, BOB’S BIRTHDAY, which was the precursor for BOB AND MARGARET. Visit www.snowdenfine.com for more information.

Bejuba! Ent. is an executive production/distribution company working with producers to bring quality children’s and family productions to the marketplace. The company, established in 2003 by Tatiana Kober, focuses on bringing production partners together, on closing gap financing and on distribution. Bejuba! is working with a number of companies on several different projects, including THE AMAZING ADRENALINI BROTHERS!, MONSTER WARRIORS, Tandem Films’ short films and ZDFE’s children’s programming.

An award-winning Vancouver-based animation studio founded in 1988, Studio B Prods. produces such original series as BEING IAN, CLASS OF THE TITANS, D’MYNA LEAGUES, WHAT ABOUT MIMI? and YVON OF THE YUKON. Studio B also provides service work for some of the most well-known companies in the world, including Jetix Europe (Pucca). For more information, visit www.studiobproductions.com.

Nicktoons Network, the 24-hour animation network owned by Nickelodeon, features a wide variety of programming that have defined kids’ and animation lovers’ television for more than 10 years. Targeting kids 6-14, Nicktoons Network features programming that is 75% exclusive to the channel. Nicktoons Network currently reaches 37 million homes via cable, digital cable and satellite, and can be seen on Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Cox Communications, DirecTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable.

Nickelodeon, the world’s most widely distributed kids’ network in the world, reaches a total of 200 million households in 169 territories worldwide via 29 channels, 27 websites, three mobile services and five broadband. Programming is also aired via 21 branded program blocks and syndicated on third party broadcasters.