+ Frederator Studios has announced that season 2 of Penn Ward’s (Adventure Time) breakout web series Bravest Warriors will headline the studio’s growing YouTube channel Cartoon Hangover‘s ongoing expansion. The new 12 x 5-minute season will debut new episodes every other Thursday at 4 p.m. ET and boast episodes written by Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim) and webcomic star Noelle Stevenson. After premiering last fall, the 11-episode first season has been viewed more than 32 million times, won the Shorty Award for Best Web Show of 2013, and is undergoing a major merch rollout.
Additionally, Cartoon Hangover will continue to unveil new toon shorts with an eye to developing more series for the channel. Up next is Dead End from Hamish Steele and animator Mel Roach (Rocket Dog), centered on three pals who discover a ghost is haunting their Wifi, which will go up in time for Halloween on October 24.
+ Australia’s SLR Productions has struck a deal with Air New Zealand to show two of their successful kids’ series on its in-flight entertainment service. Dex Hamilton: Alien Entomologist (kids 6-11) follows a young scientist in the year 3000 who must travel the world defending it from rampant E.T. bug infestations; co-produced with March Entertainment. Teenage Fairytale Dropouts is a high-def, Flash-animated series about three best friends and second generation fairytale characters who are determined to be themselves despite what the storybooks, and their parents, say; co-produced with Anima Estudios, Home Plate Entertainment and Telegael.
+ Online video platform Kidobi has struck a distribution partnership with Yellow House English for its preschool-targeted, animated English learning series Baby Beetles (20 x 5) and Tom and Keri (26 x 7), available now on Kidobi.com. Both series were created by writer/composer Claire Selby, who specializes in English as an additional language for children. Both CG-animated shows incorporate original songs to teach young children English skills.
