Channel 5’s Milkshake! Sets Kids Slate at CMC

Channel 5′s preschool strand Milkshake! today announced a broad slate of new kids’ commissions and acquisitions at The Children’s Media Conference 2022, which is underway in Sheffield, U.K. this week. Speaking at the Commissioner Conversations Pre-School panel this morning, Louise Bucknole, General Manager, Kids & Family U.K. & Ireland at Paramount revealed the new slate as part of Milkshake!’s commitment to providing British-originated children’s content that celebrates, inspires, educates and entertains the audience.

Milkshake! will introduce three new series to its extensive existing content mix – these include two new preschool commissions:

Tweedy & Fluff (40 x 5′, Second Home Studios / Stitchy Feet) Like a small child with their first pet, Tweedy and Fluff go everywhere together. A special bond between two big-hearted pals made from woolly yarn, who met on the workshop floor of a tweed mill and couldn’t imagine life without each other. A child’s first pet is an exciting challenge; learning to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak, getting comfortable with responsibility; feeling the anxiety that goes hand in hand with love. This new relationship journey can be hugely rewarding and frequently hilarious.

Created by children’s author Corrinne Averiss, Tweedy & Fluff explores love, nurture and friendship through visual comedy. Tenderly realized in handcrafted stop-motion at Second Home Studios, directed by Chris Randall. This series is supported by the U.K. Government’s Young Audiences Content Fund. Managed by the BFI, the fund supports the creation of distinctive, quality content for young audiences.

Cooking with The Gills (25 x 11′, MCC Media) The series follows popular presenter and farmer JB Gill and his family as they reach out to talented young cooks from all over the U.K. to ask for help in how to prepare and cook a wide range of delicious recipes from around the world. The Gills cook along and serve local families and friends in their rural pop-up kitchen & café. We find out about where these dishes and ingredients come from along the way.

The preschool programmer will also bolster its children’s content with a new acquisition:

Oggy Oggy (156 x 7′, Xilam Animation) This French animation series is a spin-off to Oggy and the Cockroaches, a popular children’s show which has aired globally over the past 20 years. Unlike the original show which catered to pre-teen audiences, Oggy Oggy is designed for younger audiences and follows a young kitten and his cat pals in a bright and colourful world.

The three new titles will be joined on Milkshake! by returning favorites, including the second series of Meet The Experts (20 x 11′) produced by Boom Kids, which has also received funding through BFI’s Young Audience Content Fund. Other returning titles include the fifth series of Daisy & Ollie (26 x 7′) produced by Hoopla, as well as the second series of Show Me How (20 x 7′) by eOne Unscripted, the second series of Pip & Posy (52 x 7′) the co-production with Sky Kids produced by BAFTA-winning production company Magic Light Pictures, and series 13 of Fireman Sam (26 x 11′) from WildBrain.

“We’re very proud to announce such a wide range of high quality new and established children’s series that represent the best of public service content on Milkshake! for 2022 and beyond,” said Bucknole. “Our expanding portfolio of British-originated animations, including stop-frame, live-action and factual entertainment content will be supported by fresh acquisitions that further cement the enduring appeal of Milkshake! as we strive to celebrate and reflect the pre-schooler’s world of wonderment, friendship and connection, to create those all-important memories that allow them to flourish.”