EXCLUSIVE: De Fabeltjeskrant, the classic Dutch kids TV program set in the Great Animal Forest, is being given a new lease of life and a fresh international rollout.

Some 1,600 episodes of the puppet show will be restored, as a CGI incarnation of the property enters development and will be shopped to buyers at MIPCOM in October. The restored episodes are due to be released on the De Fabeltjeskrant YouTube channel.

 Three-time Tony Award-winning producer Robin de Levita Productions has partnered with the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, Monks and JVDB Studios on the restoration initiative, which is working from original 16mm film elements preserved for more than half a century.

The business case is that producers and distributors are continuing to look toward established family IP with multigenerational recognition for their content, and that streaming and digital platforms have created new opportunities for extensive TV libraries that were previously difficult for international audiences to access. De Fabeltjeskrant is designed to tap into both notions, restoring and distributing the original programming for the audiences who grew up with it and simultaneously rebuilding the property for children encountering its characters for the first time.

Spot-motion puppetry show De Fabeltjeskrant, created by Leen Valkenier, first broadcast in 1968 and went on to become a cultural phenomenon in the Netherlands and Belgium. With a title translating as The Fables Newspaper, the show took place in a forest filled with anthropomorphic animals where the main character, an owl named Meneer de Uil read headlines from a daily paper.

The show used humor as a mechanism to explore frienship, community, curiosity and respect. Running for more than 1,600 episodes it became a cultural touchstone for Dutch audiences, and was sold into 40 countries.

“Thanks to the extraordinary work of the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, these original films have survived for more than half a century,” said producer Robin de Levita. “Together with our partners, we can finally restore them with the care and precision they deserve and share them with audiences around the world. The world has changed enormously since 1968, but people haven’t. The stories of the Great Animal Forest are perhaps even more relevant today than ever before.”

CGI series

The new animated version is being billed as a “new creative future for the franchise,” and will see the Great Animal Forest and its inhabitants reimagined, while keeping the same underlying values as the original show.

Monks is working with Robin de Levita Productions on the new incarnation, using current-generation animation and digital production technology.

“Great entertainment brands are timeless,” said Victor Knaap of Monks. “Together we are combining heritage, creativity and cutting-edge technology to build a new international future for this extraordinary brand.”

Jordi van den Bussche of JVDB Studios added: “Technology should help great stories reach more people. By combining AI, digital production and global distribution, we can introduce one of Europe’s most iconic children’s series to new generations around the world.”

The new CGI show will be presented to buyers in Cannes for MIPCOM in October.

EXCLUSIVE: Ariana Madix is set to return to NBC‘s St. Denis Medical when the mockumentary returns for Season 3.

The Emmy-nominated Love Island USA host will reprise her role as Dr. Brooke Emerson, a cardiac surgeon and former girlfriend of Josh Lawson’s Bruce.

Deadline has learned that Madix will guest star in at least three episodes next season.

Madix joined the cast in Season 2 of the comedy with a multi-episode guest appearance and sharing credits with Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, and Kaliko Kauahi.

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The mockumentary is set at St. Denis Regional Medical Center, following an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity.

St. Denis Medical is not the only place Madix is returning this fall. This week, it was confirmed that she would return to Broadway and join the Just In Time musical as Connie Francis.

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Just In Time stars Jeremy Jordan as Bobby Darin, the legendary singer whose short but remarkable life took him from teen idol to global sensation and inspired generations of performers who followed. The musical transports audiences into an intimate, swinging nightclub complete with a live band, a stellar ensemble cast, and iconic Bobby Darin hits including “Beyond the Sea,” “Mack the Knife,” “Splish Splash,” and “Dream Lover.”

Madix will next be seen co-hosting the Love Island USA Season 8 reunion alongside Andy Cohen, set to stream Monday, August 31 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Madix is represented by Gersh, and her management is Venture Entertainment Partners; legal is Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.

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EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of this weekend’s release of his debut feature, the Neon horror thriller It Ends, Alex Ullom has set the lead cast for 4 X 4: The Event, his second feature for the studio.

The group of eight includes Sophia Lillis (It), Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why), Quintessa Swindell (Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma), Maddie Phillips (Gen V), Marcel Ruiz (One Day at a Time), Mitchell Cole (It Ends), Jaden Smith, and Jacob Tremblay (Room).

Character details are being kept under wraps. The film, which recently wrapped principal photography, follows eight contestants as they enter an illegal sensory-assault livestream where they must kill or be killed using only what they can order online.

Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios produced under their multi-title partnership, alongside Divide/Conquer & Phobos, with Neon taking worldwide rights to the horror flick earlier this year.

Producers include Roy Lee and Steven Schneider for Spooky Pictures, Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer, Chris Ferguson and Osgood Perkins for Phobos, Haley Johnson for Under the Shell, and Evan Barber for Barbershop. Executive producers include Ben Ross for Image Nation Studios, Jakob Pollack and Rami Yasin for Spooky Pictures, and Jesse Savath and Marlaina Mah for Phobos Pictures. The deal was negotiated by Kate Gondwe for Neon with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.

Rising genre filmmaker Ullom’s debut feature It Ends follows four recent college graduates on a late-night food run that turns into a nightmare. Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth and Mitchell Cole star in the flick, which opens this Friday. The filmmaker is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

Lillis is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment, Iconic Ink Management, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Minnette by WME, Monster Talent Management, and Skrzyniarz & Mallean; Ruiz by Range Media Partners and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Swindell by Gersh, Black Bear, and Myman Greenspan Fox; Phillips by CAA, Trisko Talent Management, and Artists First; Cole by Principal Entertainment LA; Smith by WME, The Team, Three Six Zero Group, Westbrook Studios, Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk, and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern; and Tremblay by UTA, Play Management, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.