Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana Enterprises and Thunderbird Films announced today that they have sold the live-action comedy series, Mr. Young, to Disney XD channels in the U.S. and around the world. Territories in addition to the U.S. include the U.K., Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The series will premiere in most territories this year.
Filmed in front of a live studio audience in Vancouver, Mr. Young stars Brendan Meyer as Adam Young, a whiz-kid-turned-teen genius who hit the books hard enough to get into university at the age of 9. Now, at the tender age of 14, he’s headed back to high school – as a teacher. Being the same age as his students, Adam finds himself trapped between two worlds – coping with his co-workers, who happen to be twice his age, while teaching his best friend (Gig Morton), the girl he has a crush on (Matreya Fedor), and the class bully (Kurt Ostlund). With one foot in the lunch room and the other foot in the staff room, it’s Mr. Young’s social life that’s being put to the test.
Produced by Thunderbird Films in association with Corus’ YTV, the series was created by Dan Signer, who also created and is showrunner on the smash hit Disney Channel series A.N.T. Farm., and was previously senior writer/producer on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. Mr. Young premiered in Canada in March on YTV and has quickly become one of the network’s top-rated series. Thunderbird Films has commenced production on a second season, bringing the total number of episodes to 52.
“Both Nelvana and Thunderbird are delighted to be working with a company like Disney that shows such a commitment to delivering quality entertainment on a global scale,” said Jerry Diaz, Vice-President, Worldwide Sales, Nelvana Enterprises. “We are confident that audiences around the world will embrace the wit and charm of Mr. Young as much as they have in Canada.”
“We are thrilled to be on Disney XD,” said Michael Shepard, President of Thunderbird Films. “The show is beyond hilarious and we must point to the show’s creator, Dan Signer, who is a real life creative genuis!”
Nelvana Enterprises is the international distribution agent for Mr. Young, while Nelvana and Thunderbird are co-distributing the series in the United States.
