Apple and DHX Media have signed a deal to produce new content based on Charles M Schulz’s long-running Peanuts comic strip, Deadline reported. The online content, which will include new series, short films and specials, will be available on Apple’s streaming service set to be launched in 2019.
The deal will also lead to the production of content designed to encourage space exploration and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among children, Deadline added. Peanuts Worldwide, a subsidiary of DHX Media, recently signed a deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to this end. The character of the dog Snoopy will be seen as an astronaut.
Peanuts appeared as a syndicated comic strip in news dailies between 1950 and 2000. The strip concerns the adventures of a group of children. The primary characters include the shy and socially inept Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and Charlie Brown’s short-tempered friend Lucy.
The Peanuts comics have been adapted into multiple television specials, which have won or have been nominated for Emmy Awards. An animated film based on the series, The Peanuts Movie, hit theatres in 2015.
The deal between DHX Media and Apple follows a similar deal between Netflix and the Roald Dahl Story Company. Netflix will produce original animated series based on Roald Dahl’s books for children, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG.