Amazon Greenlights Six Kids-Themed Animated Pilots

Amazon Studios will continue its outreach to kids with the greenlighting of six animated kids-targeted pilots that will debut on the Amazon Instant Video OTT service this summer.

The four pilots include pre-school kids-targeted The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop – created by created by brother-sister team Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio (Marvel Universe Live, Evergone; Lost in Oz is an animated, action-adventure comedy set in a modern, metropolitan Emerald City; Lily the Unicorn, based on the hit children’s book by Dallas Clayton (An Awesome Book) and produced by The Jim Henson Company (Dinosaur Train, Fraggle Rock);  Bear in Underwear, based on the bestselling books by Todd Goldman and written by Goldman and Dave Schiff (That 70s Show, Robot and Monster); A History of Radness, written and executively produced by Andrew Green (Hannah Montana) which captures the authentic experience of aspiring musicians forming their band; and The Kicks, based on a book series by US Olympic Gold Medalist and current US Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan and adapted by David Babcock (Brothers & Sisters, Gilmore Girls).

“These new pilots will bring sophisticated stories and unique points of view that we hope will resonate well with kids and families,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming for Amazon Studios in a statement. “We’re very excited to be working with such passionate creative teams and look forward to sharing these projects with our customers later this year.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.