David Farnor | On 27, Aug 2014

Amazon has greenlit five new kids’ TV pilots, ranging from a pre-school whodunit to an epic quest to defeat darkness.

Amazon Prime Instant Video has already seen the arrival of three original childrens’ shows through its public voting pilot scheme: Tumble Leaf, which won the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival award and features a curious blue fox named Fig and his best friend, Stick, on playful adventures; Creative Galaxy, an interactive art adventure series for preschoolers; and Annedroids, from Emmy-nominated J.J. Johnson, a live-action adventure series about Anne, a young scientist, her human friends and their android assistants.

While new episodes of each of these will arrive in the coming months (5th September, 3rd October and 30th October respectively), the company has wasted no time in adding more possible shows to the mix.

The new line-up of trial episodes will include animated programmes The Stinky & Dirty Show, Buddy: Tech Detective, Niko and the Sword of Light and two live-action kids pilots: Table 58 and Just Add Magic. Together, they will join Sara Solves It for its third round of kids’ pilots, which will debut in early 2015.

“We’re very excited to be working with such talented creative minds in kids entertainment to bring these five new pilots to life,” says Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “At Amazon, we’re focused on great characters and storytelling to create engaging programming for children. We’ve been overwhelmed with the positive reaction to our first three children’s series that debuted this summer and look forward to giving parents more episodes of these beloved shows to enjoy.”

Here what we know about the new batch of childrens’ pilots:

Buddy: Tech Detective (for preschool-aged children)

Written by Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood), produced by The Foundation, a part of Zodiak Kids, and animated by Jellyfish Animation Limited, Buddy: Tech Detective is an exciting preschool whodunit that follows super-sleuth Buddy, his incredibly organized best friend Trudy, the funny furry ferret Ferdo and you, the smarty-pants viewer! Using a myriad of interactive technologies, Buddy and his team gather evidence, follow cues and crack the case.

The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)

The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Jim and Kate McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (Littlest Pet Shop) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Octonauts). The Stinky & Dirty Show follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.

Niko and the Sword of Light (for children ages 6-11)

Niko and the Sword of Light is based on the motion graphic comic by Imaginism Studios, Inc., the studio behind character and concept designs for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Men in Black 3, and Studio NX (The Carrot and Rabbit Show, Tree Fu Tom). Written by Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex) and animated by Titmouse (Turbo FAST), Niko and the Sword of Light follows ten-year-old Niko who is the last of his kind in a strange, fantastical world. He must embark on an epic quest to defeat the darkness and bring the light back to his land. Armed with his magic sword, brave Niko journeys to the Cursed Volcano, making new friends and powerful foes along the way, all while uncovering secrets about his mysterious past. Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Jim Cummings (Shrek) lend their vocal talent.

Table 58 (for children ages 6-11)

Written by May Chan (Phineas & Ferb), Table 58 is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Gil Junger (10 Things I Hate About You). In Table 58, they’re not a part of the popular crowd, and they’re not a part of the geek crowd. The only thing they’re a part of is Table 58: the odd table in the lunchroom, made up of kids from all different cliques who have been ousted from the table where they seemingly belong. When new kid Logan moves to town, he rallies the group of six mismatched middle schoolers to form a tenuous partnership in order to help each other get back to their rightful place in the cafeteria.

Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)

Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (My Little Pony) and Nancy Cohen (Sabrina), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love). The story centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic.

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