Tomorrow Studios to launch animation studio in joint venture with Work Friends

Tomorrow Studios to launch animation studio in joint venture with Work Friends 

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (18 June 2020) - It was announced today that Tomorrow Studios, a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios, has finalized a joint venture with Emmy Award-winning animation television veteran Nick Weidenfeld to launch WORK FRIENDS, the first primetime TV animation label in ITV Studios’ current U.S. scripted television studio operation. 

This news follows the announcement yesterday by HBO Max for a series order of 10-Year-Old Tom, written and executive produced by critically acclaimed creator, producer and writer Steve Dildarian (The Life and Times of Tim) and executive produced by Weidenfeld and Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein (Hanna, Cowboy Bebop) and Becky Clements (Snowpiercer, Physical).

Marty Adelstein explained the partnership by saying:

 “Launching an animation company is a natural progression following our success in global sales of Japanese anime. I see TV animation as a unique opportunity to grow Tomorrow Studios’ business exponentially worldwide, especially under Nick’s leadership, one of the most respected executives and producers of primetime animation on television, with an eye for series that resonate globally. We’re excited to launch with the series order of 10-YEAR-OLD TOM and a great development slate to take to market immediately.”

“This is a particularly exciting time to be making cartoons.  And I couldn’t think of better partners to be doing it with - between the creative support of Marty, Becky and everyone at Tomorrow Studios; the robust studio business operation with Philippe Maigret and his team at ITV Studios America; and the international support from the ITV Studios team,” said Weidenfeld, adding, “And I am ecstatic to get to launch Work Friends with a series order for 10-YEAR-OLD TOM with Steve producing and writing the series. 

Maigret added:

“We are thrilled to come on board Marty’s partnership with Nick to build a new primetime TV animation company. Marty and Becky’s established success at Tomorrow Studios, together with Nick’s proven track record and wealth of experience across all facets of animation, give the new venture a great deal of creative and commercial potential. The launch of Work Friends marks another step forward in driving the growth of Tomorrow Studios and expanding ITV Studios’ U.S. scripted television studio operations and creative footprint.”

Emmy Award-winning producer and executive Nick Weidenfeld is one of the most well-respected and successful producers of primetime TV animation, with over 15 years of experience and a strong track record with oversight, development and as producer of hit series including the Peabody Award-winning animated series The Boondocks, Robot Chicken and Rick and Morty during his tenure as Head of Development for Adult Swim, as well as the adult comedy Childrens Hospital. In 2012, he was tapped by (then FOX President) Kevin Reilly to create ADHD Studios, where he developed and produced over 10 animated series for both FOX and FX. Most recently, he served as the President of Programming for Viceland, the youth-oriented television network co-owned by Vice Media and A&E Networks. Weidenfeld resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

The deal was negotiated by Jared Levine at Morris York Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman and Greg Cavic at UTA for Work Friends; and Tom Lane, Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs at ITV Studios America and Lindsay Conner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips for Tomorrow Studios. ITV Studios will distribute content resulting from the joint venture internationally.

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About Tomorrow Studios
Tomorrow Studios, a joint venture between CEO Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios, develops and produces dramas and comedies distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Spearheaded by Adelstein and Becky Clements, this highly successful producing duo has already enjoyed great success with FOX’s Last Man Standing and Hanna for Amazon Studios. Additional series include Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs for TNT in the U.S. and Netflix internationally; live-action adaptations of Cowboy Bebop and One Piece for Netflix; and Physical, starring Rose Byrne, for Apple TV+.

About ITV Studios America
ITV Studios America is ITV Studios’ LA-based U.S. independent scripted television operation. The studio, and its affiliated joint-ventures Tomorrow Studios and Circle of Confusion Television Studios, develops and produces scripted programming, based on original ideas or established IPs, for global exploitation across all platforms. The studio has been building a growing portfolio of projects in development and production with multiple broadcast and cable networks, and OTT services. ITV Studios’ scripted TV production output in North America currently includes Snowpiercer, Physical, One Piece and Cowboy Bebop from Tomorrow Studios and Good Witch from ITV Studios America.

About ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a creator, producer and distributor of world-leading programmes that people can’t get enough of. We connect millions of people every day and shape and reflect the world they live in, we are More Than TV. ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting over 8,400 hours of original programming across 55 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 46,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world. ITV Studios is part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster.