David Farnor | On 14, Oct 2014

Amazon and Viacom have sealed a deal that will bring six new TV series exclusively to Amazon Prime Instant Video in the UK.

The two companies already have an agreement that has seen popular kids’ TV shows, such as Rugrats and Dora the Explorer, available to stream to subscribers. Now, though, as well the renewal of these series, Amazon will also have the exclusive subscription streaming rights to six new shows: Awkward, Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesomeness, Penguins of Madagascar, Winx Club, Legend of Korra and The Hard Times of RJ Berger.

Penguins of Madagascar sees the dangerously violent penguins Skipper, Rico, Kowalski and Private jump onto the small screen – along with lemurs King Julien, Maurice and Mort and cheeky chimps Mason and Phil – for a string of covert adventures within Central Park Zoo.

Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesomeness will see Lucy Liu and James Hong reprise their roles as Viper and Mr. Ping for the animated spin-off.

The Daytime Emmy Award-winning Legend of Korra follows Avatar Korra trying to defend Republic City from spiritual and physical evil forces and will also star J.K. Simmons as airbender master, Tenzin.

Winx Club is a fantasy series about three schools – one for fairies, one for witches and one for wizards – and is the first Italian cartoon to be broadcast in America.

The multi-year contract arrives as VOD services race to build their family-friendly content, with Amazon and Netflix both commissioning their own original kids’ series and even YouTube hiring a Head of Family Entertainment and Learning. What is impressive about this new Viacom deal, though, is that it does not just focus on younger audiences: the diverse line-up also includes series for older viewers.

Ashley Nicole Rickards stars in comedy series Awkward as teenager Jenna Hamilton, who becomes famous at school after the rest of the school mistakes an accident for a suicide attempt.

The Hard Times of RJ Berger is a comedy from MTV by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith about an Ohio loser struggling through sophomore life.

Chris Bird, Director of Content Strategy at Amazon Instant Video EU, comments that variety is a priority for Amazon: “We’re really excited to be able to bring Amazon Prime Instant Video members such a huge raft of hit US shows. With hugely popular shows available to stream unlimitedly ranging from family friendly Penguins of Madagascar to American teen comedy Awkward, there’s something to suit every age group, taste and mood. Varied, quality content is our top priority so we’re always looking out for opportunities to forge partnerships which help make this possible.”

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