(Cannes, FR) October 21, 2024 – Old Enough!, the hit series, based on the wildly popular Japanese format from Nippon TV, is back for another season with six brand new 30-minute episodes. Co-produced by TVO and Blue Ant Studios, the new installment will premiere on TVO across Canada in 2025. The news was jointly announced at MIPCOM today by Matthew Hornburg, Co-President of Blue Ant Studios, Natasha Negrea, Head of Programming at TVO and Akane Alex Inoue, Global Format Licensing, Nippon TV.
Building on the success of its first season, Old Enough! returns with a fresh cast of children aged 3-5. This time you can expect more precocious kids getting their first taste of independence while embarking on even more impressive errands than before.
“Old Enough! is a heartwarming and hilarious series that sparks engaging conversations around independence and parenting for families. By blending fun with a thoughtful social experiment, Old Enough! encourages audiences to reflect on what it means to be ‘old enough,’ said Matthew Hornburg, Co-President, Blue Ant Studios. “We’re thrilled to announce the Season 2 greenlight of this title at MIPCOM today, where Season 1 is currently available to buyers, offering a unique opportunity to share this delightful english-speaking format with audiences across the globe.”
“Our audiences have already fallen in love with the kids from Season 1 and we are truly excited to be working with Blue Ant Studios again to bring even more of these stories to life for our viewers” says Natasha Negrea, Head of Programming, TVO. “Through warmth and laughter, this show is inspiring our viewers to live vicariously through the little ones on screen and discover what it feels like to be ‘old enough’ in today’s world. But in true TVO form, Old Enough! not only entertains but also adds to the ongoing public conversations around the importance of providing children with opportunities to thrive on their own.”
“We are truly excited to announce the return of Old Enough! Canada at MIPCOM, when Season 1 is still successfully broadcasting on TVO”, said Akane Alex Inoue, Global Format Licensing, Nippon TV. “The creative teams at Blue Ant Studios and Nippon TV have strengthened their collaboration and are confident that Season 2 will be even more wholesome yet creative. We hope this continuing season reinforces Old Enough!’s universal message about parenting and children, paving the way for more international adaptations.”
Matthew Hornburg, Mark J.W. Bishop and Donna Luke from Blue Ant Studios are Executive Producers for the series. Stefanie Haist is the Supervising Producer. Mitch Burman (Undercover High, Extreme Babysitting) serves as Series Producer and Showrunner. For TVO, Natasha Negrea is the Head of Programming, Kirsten Hurd is the Commissioning Editor, TVOkids and Alexandra Roberts is the Commissioning Editor, TVO Docs. For Nippon TV, Naoko Yano and Akane Alex Inoue are Executive Producers. Kiyotaka Tokunaga (Masquerade) is the Chief Director and Ayaka Isshiki is the Producer for the original Japanese series. Tom Miyauchi (Sokkuri Sweets/Eye Candy, Mute it!) is the Format Producer and Yuko Nakano is the Flying Producer. Blue Ant Studios oversees the international tape distribution of the Canadian version. Old Enough! was produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.
Blue Ant Studios is an international production studio and rights business with offices in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, Singapore and Sydney. The company’s diverse production slate spans scripted comedy and drama, unscripted entertainment, formats, high-impact documentaries, live-action kids + family, and animation. The studio is anchored in original storytelling, with award-winning series that include Blown Away (Netflix), Canada’s Drag Race (Crave), the scripted teen comedy series, Davey and Jonesie’s Locker (Hulu and Prime Video), Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies (Peacock), Drink Masters (Netflix), Race Against the Tide (CBC), The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (Prime Video), 9/11 Kids (CBC), See No Evil (Investigation Discovery US), and the adult-animated series, Gary and His Demons (Prime Video, Amazon Freevee). The company’s recent feature-length documentary, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (Prime Video), was awarded the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary in 2023. Blue Ant Studios’ distribution arm has a vast catalogue of over 7,000 hours of premium programming from the studio and third-party, top-tier producers around the world. Blue Ant Studios is a subsidiary of the global media company, Blue Ant Media. blueantmedia.com⼁Instagram⼁LinkedIn⼁X
TVO Media Education Group inspires learning that changes lives and enriches communities. Founded in 1970, we are a globally recognized digital learning organization that engages Ontarians of all ages with inclusive experiences and diverse perspectives. Through our brands TVO Today, TVO Docs, TVO Learn, TVO ILC and TVOkids, we’re investing in the transformative potential of education for everyone. TVO is a registered charity funded in part by the Province of Ontario and supported by thousands of sponsors and donors. Visit TVO.me for more information. Stream TVO on your favourite device.
Nippon TV is Japan’s leading multi platform entertainment powerhouse and ratings champion broadcaster, as well as owner of streaming giant Hulu in Japan. Over 90% of its content IP is fully owned by Nippon TV and the company has been active in bringing its content to the international market in the form of anime, ready-made programs, formats, and through co-production partnerships. One of the biggest successes for the nation’s finest producer of all genres of programming is the Emmy Award-winning Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank, a globally successful business show format that has 50 versions in more than 180 countries across all continents of the world. Additionally, their hit drama series Mother has also achieved global success as the most exported scripted format out of Asia, with its format sales to South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Thailand,China, Spain, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia. The company is also known for its viewer-engaging show Old Enough!, streaming on Netflix in over 190 countries and adapted in Canada, BLOCK OUT, an action-packed game show format that has been adapted in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Spain, and the Netherlands, the award-winning unscripted format Mute it!, and Sokkuri Sweets, both produced in the Netherlands, and Sokkuri Sweets/Eye Candy on The Roku Channel in the US, UK, and Canada. Nippon TV has recently acquired Studio Ghibli, making the Academy Award-winning animation studio its subsidiary. Nippon TV⼁LinkedIn
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