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French free-to-air kids’ broadcaster Gulli has given Watch Next the greenlight to begin production on “Wild Kat,” a new tween action series co-developed by M6 Group and Germany’s Super Rtl.

Created and developed in-house at Watch Next, “Wild Kat” will blend fantasy and adventure themes with humor and high-stakes action to appeal to a tweener audience and touch on themes important to them, such as identity and self-acceptance. Season 1 will include 26 22-minute episodes.

“Wild Kat” is set in a world like ours; only some individuals are gifted with the ability to transform into hybrid creatures known as Werelings. The show’s titular protagonist, Kat, is one such individual, and she works with her companions, Idris and Dimitri, to stop others from abusing their transformations for malicious purposes. As if that pressure wasn’t enough, Kat is also adjusting to life in middle school, one of the most impactful phases...

Exclusive: European toon Nate is Late is returning to class.

France Télévisions and Germany’s Super Rtl have put a third 52-episode season into production with a budget of €7M ($7.6m). Cofimage 34, Sofitvcine 11 and Cnc are co-financiers.

Edouard Kuchiman and Gaultier Buiret will co-direct and Philippe Alessandri’s Watch Next Media is again attached to make the show.

The Sylvain Huchet and Peter Saisselin-created series follows two friends, Nate and Malika, who are always late to school as they get sidetracked on adventures, which their teacher never believes when they arrive.

Production on season three is underway in Europe, relocating to Watch Next’s La Factorie facilities in Paris and Lille in France and Animato in Turin, Italy. Season 1, which launched in 2018, was a co-production with 20% made in Australia 20% and 80% in France, while season two was partly made in Asia.

The European production shift has been made possibly by Sherlock,...

Public broadcaster France Televisions has backed “Dungeons & Kittens,” a serialized animated fantasy from leading Gallic producer Watch Next. Following the development title’s premiere showcase at Cartoon Forum, Variety can exclusively share this first look.

Inspired by both role playing games and tabletop pets, the family-skewing project follows a herd of meowing marauders, banished from their cat kingdom and searching for the treasure that will grant them safe passage back. Over the course of 13 episodes, the four-strong, feline fellowship will rescale high fantasy tropes down to more kid-friendly size, overcoming obstacles and surviving cliffhangers in a serialized narrative apt for binging.

“[We wanted] to develop an epic saga to accompany the rise of our broadcasting partners’ non-linear platforms,” says Watch Next CEO Philippe Alessandri. “And we wanted to allow our team to showcase its own talent within a new format and genre.”

Alessandri, series head-writer Melanie Duval, and Watch Next head of...