Genius Brands International has begun production on its new animated children’s series Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab.
The pilot episode, titled “If the Fossil Fits,” has been produced with Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Edison Innovation Foundation.
The series follows Angie, a 12-year-old prodigy, and her science club friends as they discover Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab – a dream lab equipped with everything they could ever imagine, including a hologram that brings Edison himself “to life,” and a whacky robot called Von Bolt.
“‘Learning and innovation go hand in hand,’ characteristics that are synonymous with Thomas Edison,” said Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Global Brands. “By blending real science educational experiences with fun, interactive entertainment, we hope to inspire children and encourage them in the love of science.”
Thomas Edison is being voiced by American singer, songwriter and Berklee College of Music Professor Livingston Taylor. Emmy-nominated writer Steve Banks (SpongeBob SquarePants) wrote the pilot episode. Jeffrey Scott, multiple Emmy Award-winning writer, creator and story editor (Dragon Tales), and production supervisor Chris Keenan (Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs) serve as the series’ story editors; Emmy Award-winning Michael Maliani (Madeline, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?) serves as co-producer and director; Kevin O’Donnell (Mask, Inspector Gadget) is the series co-creator and co-executive producer; and Emmy winner Mark Young (All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Tutenstein) serves as co-producer and writer.
The series will comply with the FCC’s educational and informational standards, and will be supported with an interactive website, digital applications, toys, games, electronics, in-school curriculum — all of which are in development.
International distribution of the series outside of the U.S. and Canada is being handled by PGS Entertainment.
