Posted in: Nickelodeon, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: animation, bleeding cool, cable, cartoon, nickelodeon, papa smurf, smurfette, smurfs, streaming, television, tv

The Smurfs, Nickelodeon Team on New CG-Animated Series, Products Line

The Smurfs are making the move to Nickelodeon, and the ViacomCBS-owned network is doing its best to make them feel right at home. On Thursday, the cable announced that it is partnering with Smurfs licensors LAFIG Belgium and IMPS for a new original CG-animated series. Set to debut in the U.S. in 2021 (followed by international Nickelodeon channels), the series focuses on Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Hefty, Clumsy, and the rest of the little blue folk as they face all-new adventures packed with humor, heart, and high-stakes action.

So let's say you're a big fan of The Smurfs and Nickelodeon knocks it out of the ballpark with the new series. You're going to want to get your hands on some merch, right? ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) will have your back (and bank account), managing the consumer products licensing for The Smurfs across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia. Set for a 2022 retail launch, VCP is looking for ways to promote the "classic" Smurfs brand while also moving ahead with a new product line to promote Nickelodeon's series (toys, clothes, food product tie-ins, etc.). Produced by Peyo Productions, Dupuis Edition, and Audiovisuel, The Smurfs is directed by William Renaud (Calimero, Casper's Scare School), and written by Peter Saisselin (Sonic Boom, Alvin!!! And the Chipmunks) and Amy Serafin (Sonic Boom, Alvin!!! And the Chipmunks). Layla Lewis, Senior Vice President, Global Acquisitions and Content Partnerships, and Dana Cluverius, Senior Vice President, Current Series Animation will oversee production.

For Véronique Culliford, Founder and President of IMPS/LAFIG, the partnership with the children's network feels like a natural fit for the Peyo-created little blue folk: "I am extremely proud and happy to have Nickelodeon and its fantastic team to represent our Smurf brand both for the broadcast of our beautiful New TV series and as an agent. We are making history again more than 40 years after the global success of the first TV series of the Smurfs, which is broadcast in more than 100 countries still today! I am convinced that we could not have found a better partner to smurf our beautiful blue planet."

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