Five European public broadcasters have decided to work together to produce TV series for children. The project is called Northern Star and was announced in June 2026 by BBC (United Kingdom), DR (Denmark), NPO (Netherlands), NRK (Norway) and VRT (Flanders). In July, during the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, the five broadcasters opened their first official call for projects.
The goal is simple: to pool funding and expertise in order to create high-quality drama series for children aged 7 to 12, capable of appealing across several countries. European public broadcasters are increasingly struggling to compete with major streaming platforms in children’s content, and Northern Star was created precisely to tackle this problem by combining resources rather than spreading them thin.
The call is open to independent production companies based in the United Kingdom, Norway, Flanders, the Netherlands or Denmark. Each company can submit up to three original projects, provided it holds the rights to them. The series must be live-action, with episodes of up to 30 minutes and a total duration of between 150 and 240 minutes. Proposals must be written in English, no longer than three pages, and submitted by 30 September 2026.
After an initial national selection in each country, the best projects will move on to a joint evaluation by the five broadcasters. Ten projects will reach an online pitching session in January 2027. Of these, only three will receive development funding of up to £20,000, around €23,400 each. Each selected project will be led by the broadcaster of the country where the production company is based, while the other four will be able to acquire the rights to broadcast it in their own markets.
If the schedule is met, development of the projects will begin in 2027, filming in 2028, and the first series will air from 2029. Northern Star draws on two existing Nordic collaborations, N12 and New8, originally created for adult drama series and now used as a model for children’s content too.
PhotoCredits: Foto di Kevin Woblick su Unsplash
