Corus Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment Partner to Launch Bento Box Canada

• New partnership to develop and produce animated series targeting 18-34 demographic
• Production begins on The Pandas, from internationally renowned comic strip creators

CANNES, France, Oct. 5, 2015 /CNW/ - Corus Entertainment Inc. and Bento Box Entertainment, LLC today announced the creation of Bento Box Canada, an animation production company based in Toronto. The venture follows last year's announcement of the multi-year, co-development deal between the two companies. As part of the agreement, Bento Box Entertainment and Corus will work side-by-side to develop and produce a slate of original, primetime animated series for Corus networks, to be distributed internationally by Bento Box Entertainment.

The partnership will draw on Bento Box Entertainment's award-winning experience and relationships with acclaimed primetime comedy writers, showrunners and animators as well as the expertise of Corus' animation studio, Nelvana, to produce animated series targeted to the 18 to 34 demographic. Bento Box Canada will operate from Corus Quay, the state-of-the-art technical facility that is home to Corus and Nelvana, and will utilize creative, technical, and back office services from both companies.

"Over the past year, our teams at Corus and Bento Box Entertainment have been collaborating on a creative pipeline that will see a raft of edgy new animated series come to light for 2016," said Scott Dyer, President, Nelvana. "We're excited to be bringing two world-class teams together to produce fresh new content for the savvy, millennial demographic."

This fall, production will begin on the first  Bento Box Canada series, The Pandas.  From creators Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler, The Pandas is an irreverent, animated family comedy full of hard jokes, whimsical wonder, biting satire and just the right amount of heart.

"Bento Box Entertainment is thrilled to be joining forces with Corus to develop a creative slate of primetime animated programming," said Scott Greenberg, CEO and Co-Founder, Bento Box Entertainment. "The Pandas is an ideal first project to launch this collaboration as it brings together a team of strong creators in Wulff and Morgenthaler, as well as the production expertise of both Bento Box Entertainment and Corus."

Bento Box Canada's board of directors will include Scott Greenberg, CEO of Bento Box Entertainment, Brett Coker, Chief Operating Officer, Bento Box Entertainment, Colin Bohm, Executive Vice President, Head of Corus Kids and Scott Dyer, President of Nelvana. Along with other executives from Corus, Nelvana and Bento Box Entertainment, the board will provide strategic leadership and assist in growing the production slate. 

Bento Box Entertainment is known for producing the Emmy^® award-winning series, Bob's Burgers, as well as Brickleberry, The Awesomes, Allen Gregory, and Out There. Founded by Scott Greenberg, Mark McJimsey and Joel Kuwahara, the company brings years of experience in producing and creating audience-favorite primetime animation hits on multiple platforms. Prior to Bento Box Entertainment, their collective production credits include The Simpsons and The Simpsons Movie, King of the Hill and The Goode Family among many others.

About Bento Box Entertainment
Bento Box Entertainment is an Emmy^® award-winning studio that develops and produces quality animated content for all distribution platforms worldwide.  With studios in Los Angeles and Atlanta, the company is recognized as the leading producer of primetime animated comedy series for broadcast, cable and digital networks.  Bento Box Entertainment is currently in production on: the Emmy^® award-winning series Bob's Burgers on FOX; Legends of Chamberlain Heights on Comedy Central; The Awesomes on HULU; Bordertown premiering on FOX in 2016; the puppet series Glove & Boots on YouTube; and multiple other pilots and presentations for the leading studios, networks and distribution platforms. Visit Bento Box Entertainment on the web at www.bentoboxent.com.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company that creates, broadcasts and licenses content across a variety of platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing, children's animation and animation software. Corus' brands include ABC Spark, Cartoon Network (Canada), CMT (Canada),  Disney Channel (Canada), HBO Canada, Nickelodeon (Canada), OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), TELETOON, Treehouse, W Network, YTV, Historia, La chaîne Disney, Séries+, TÉLÉTOON as well as Nelvana, Kids Can Press, Toon Boom and 39 radio stations including CKNW AM 980, Rock 101, Country 105, 630 CHED, Fresh Radio, JUMP! 106.9, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

Follow Corus PR on Twitter @CorusPR

Follow Bento Box on Twitter @bentoboxent
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bentoboxent
Tumblr: bentoboxent.tumblr.com
Instagram: @bentoboxent   

SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.

Netta Rondinelli, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6443, [email protected]; Kate Calder, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6319, [email protected]