The
highly anticipated primetime half-hour series features
a group of musically gifted kids and an unlikely visitor
that brings sunshine to their lives.
The
series is scheduled to debut in 2006. The show title
will be named at a later date.
The
series is produced by Cartoon Network in conjunction
with the Tom Lynch Co. and Andre Benjamin's production
company, Moxie Turtle.
Benjamin
and Lynch will serve as executive producers, and Benjamin
will provide voices and musical direction for the
show. The show's co-executive producer and head writer
is Patric M Verrone, a writer for Futurama,
The Critic and Pinky and the Brain and
a supervising producer on Futurama. Animation
veteran Donovan Cook (Two Stupid Dogs, Mickey,
Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers) joins the
production as supervising producer.
Andre
Benjamin is best known as one half of the Grammy-winning
musical group OutKast. His acting career has led to
roles in Four Brothers starring Mark Wahlberg,
Be Cool, starring John Travolta, and Hollywood
Homicide, featuring Harrison Ford. He also lends
a voice to Elwyn in the film Charlotte's Web,
which blends live-action and animation and will be
released in 2006.
Tom
Lynch has been an innovator in the field of kids',
tween and teen programming for the past 20 years.
His groundbreaking debut series, Kids Incorporated,
was the first variety show for youngsters; his series
The Secret World of Alex Mack was both the
first series created for tweens and the first show
to feature a tween girl as its central character.
Since then, Lynch has continued to blaze new trails
with such original programs as the Emmy-nominated
Scout's Safari (filmed in South Africa) and
Romeo!, starring the real life musician Romeo
and his father, music mogul Master P.
In
addition to the untitled Andre Benjamin Project, Cartoon
Network Studios' current production slate includes
four half-hour series set to premiere on Cartoon Network
in 2005 and 2006 (The Life & Times of Juniper
Lee, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's a Monkey and Ben
10), three original shorts and ongoing production
of hit series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.