Rachel Bright’s Love Monster series scoops TV deal

Canada’s Boat Rocker Studios, Chinese animation company UYoung and the BBC are developing Rachel Bright’s Love Monster series into an animated series.

The companies, which acquired the development rights from the series’ publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books, will create a 54-episode show that will screen on CBeebies and Chinese channels and digital platforms.

The show will be about a googly eyed 'Love Monster' who searches for the right thing to do in a world where he is one of a kind. With help from his friends, Love Monster learns to follow his heart rather than his ‘over-thinky’ head.

Cheryl Taylor, head of content at BBC Children’s, said: “Rachel’s warm and witty books will translate perfectly into a series for our youngest viewers. CBeebies celebrates inclusive behaviour and "Love Monster" embodies a sense of collaboration. We are delighted to be working with Boat Rocker and UYoung bringing a truly international collaboration to pre-school screens right round the world.”

"Love Monster" will be exec produced by Tony Reed for the BBC, Chapman Maddox for Boat Rocker and James Chen Gu for UYoung. The UK share of the animation for the series will be produced by Karrot Animation and A Productions whilst a proportion of pre-production on scripts, storyboards and design will be provided by UYoung’s studio in China.

Boat Rocker Rights will distribute the series and manage the global brand and licensing, except in China and South-East Asia, where they will be managed by UYoung.