What will you be showcasing at Licensing Expo this year?
Technicolor and DHX Media, along with our licensing agent CPLG, will attend Licensing Expo to present the award-winning animated series, The Deep. Season one of the series airs in over 130 markets around the world and follows the adventures of the Nekton family, a brilliant team of underwater explorers.
In The Deep, kids are drawn to the adventure of exploring the ocean—the intrigue and mystery of not knowing what they might encounter next is incredibly appealing to them. The series is grounded in reality—yet pushed towards the fantastical!
The Deep has proven to be cross-generational, and we believe that the multi-ethnic makeup of the show also appeals to families worldwide—our characters are not from a specific place in the world—they are from anywhere and everywhere.
Co-produced by A Stark Production and DHX Media, The Deep is based on the Aurealis Award-winning graphic novel series created by multi-award-winning best-selling comic book author and playwright Tom Taylor (Earth 2, Superior Iron Man, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Star Wars: Blood Ties), illustrated by James Brouwer (Justice League Beyond), and published by Gestalt Comics.
Why is 2017 set to be a big year for The Deep?
The year kicked off well for us when The Deep won the Kidscreen Award for Best New Series in the Kids category. And season two of the series is set to debut this fall on the UK's CBBC, Germany's Super RTL, Canada's Family CHRGD and Netflix in the U.S., plus many others including Australia's ABC, who have not specified a launch date.
We are putting plans in place for kids to be able to interact with The Deep across a variety of platforms. Later this summer and fall we are launching a significant cross-promotion with a global location-based entertainment company, providing an immersive experience for families and kids to engage with The Deep in the real world.
And we are creating new online initiatives for kids to engage with The Deep on every platform they use. Complementing our immersive website, we are launching a YouTube channel, and two web and mobile games from DHX Interactive.
What demand from the international licensing space have you seen for The Deep?
The impressive ratings performance of this imaginative adventure series and its ability to engage viewers of all ages is driving a plethora of opportunities for licensing, merchandise and retail partners.
The biggest interest right now is coming from the international markets and we are signing major global toy and publishing partners, with products to debut first in key European markets such as the UK and Germany.
What are your plans for developing the licensing portfolio around the show?
Beyond the key toy and publishing categories, we are looking to expand into apparel, accessories, novelty, home décor, back-to-school and seasonal items. And we are also looking to expand into other live and location-based entertainment opportunities because the brand is perfect for kids to fully immerse themselves.
Why will this year and beyond be big for The Deep?
We can see from the level of partners we are attracting that the future for The Deep is very exciting. As season two launches in fall 2017 and with consumer products launching at retail in spring 2018, we're anticipating more global growth. With all of the positive momentum, great partners, and cross- generational appeal, we are confident that more and more people will dive into The Deep in 2017 and beyond.