Berry Bees (TV series)

Berry Bees is an Australian-Italian animated television series developed for the Nine Network that premiered on 9Go! in Australia on 5 October 2019.[3] The series is based on the Italian book series of the same name by Cat Le Blanc. The series is produced by Atlantyca Entertainment, SLR Productions, Telegael, and Cosmos-Maya Production.[4] The entire series is available to stream on Stan.

Berry Bees
Official poster for the series featuring the Berry Bees. From left to right: Juliette, Lola, and Bobby.
Genre	Action[1] Adventure[1] Comedy Spy[1]
Based on	Berry Bees book series by Cat Le Blanc
Directed by	Niccolò Sacchi
Creative directors	Lisa Arioli Jo Boag
Voices of	Sheena May Nneka Okoye Harriet Kershaw Tim Howar Josie Taylor Harriet Collings Daniel Fletcher Dan Russell Ben Whitehead Colin Cassady
Theme music composer	Fabrizio Baldoni
Opening theme	"Berry Bees" by Filip (StudioPros)
Ending theme	"Berry Bees" (instrumental)
Composer	Fabrizio Baldoni
Country of origin	Italy Australia Ireland India Singapore
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Caterina Vacchi Suzanne Ryan Paul Cummins Anish Js Mehta Sara Cabras Jo Rooney Andy Ryan Claudia Mazzucco Pietro Marietti
Producers	Lorenza Lazzarini Yasmin Jones Cathy Ní Fhlaithearta
Running time	11 minutes
Production companies	Atlantyca Entertainment SLR Productions Telegael Cosmos-Maya Production
Distributor	Atlantyca Entertainment (Asia)[2] Cosmos-Maya (Asia)[2] SLR Productions (Australia and New Zealand)[2] Telegael (UK and Ireland)[2]
Release
Original network	9Go! (Australia) Rai Gulp (Italy)
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	5 October 2019 – present
External links
Website

The show centers around three young girls who carry out spy missions.

Plot

Bobby, Lola, and Juliette are three extraordinary 10-year-old[4] girls who live a seemingly normal life. However the trio work undercover as the "Berry Bees" for the Bee Intelligence Agency (B.I.A. for short), a secret agency that selected them to carry out special spy missions. The girls, all codenamed after a type of berry, are given gadgets each episode by the head of the agency, Ms. Berry.

Usually the girls have to foil the evil plans of recurring villains such as Tara Bytes, Mirage, and the Greenthumbs. At the end of each episode, the villain escapes the confusion to fight the girls another day while things return to normal.

Characters

Main

• Bobby – An expert in technology and a nerd.[5] Her codename is Raspberry.
• Lola – A skilled contortionist and acrobat.[5] Her codename is Strawberry.
• Juliette – A talented actress and mentalist.[5] Her codename is Blueberry.
• Ms. Berry – The head of the B.I.A.[5]

Recurring

Villains

• Tara Bytes – A diabolical mastermind.
• Mirage – A transformative thief.
• Cosmo and Fauna Greenthumb

Production

On 16 October 2018, it was announced that an animated series based on the Berry Bees book series was being produced.[6] The series is produced by Atlantyca Entertainment in Italy, SLR Productions in Australia, Telegael in Ireland, and Cosmos-Maya Production in India and Singapore.[7]

The show's visual team found their inspiration in Mission Impossible and James Bond movies. The director, Niccolò Sacchi also singled out The Incredibles for its character and action scenes. He looked at Kim Possible all the time, "because of the show’s fantastic direction and staging of the shots." The team's reference for design was Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure. "[He] wanted to have the same feel for the characters with no outline and where shadows were used to give depth to the characters' skin and expressions."[4]

Episodes

The first season consists of 52 11-minute episodes.[4][7]

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Australian air date	Italian air date	Prod. code
1	"Princesses Pose a Problem" "Missione doppia principessa"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock and Keith Brumpton	Ivan Evans	5 October 2019	19 December 2019	TBA
2	"Social Oversharing" "Ladri di segreti"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock	Ian Milne	5 October 2019	16 December 2019	106
3 4	"Xmas 2.0" "Natale 2.0"	Niccolò Sacchi	Story by : Charlotte Hamlyn Written by : David Witt	Regine Clarke Caiyen Tse	12 October 2019	24 December 2019	TBA
5	"The Milk Shakey Shook" "Spie, animali e passepartout"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock and Keith Brumpton	Cindy Scharka and Simon Turnbull	19 October 2019	17 December 2019	102
6	"Stars Fall" "Le scarpe Salta-Salta"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock and Keith Brumpton	Greg Ingram	19 October 2019	18 December 2019	103
7	"It's a Winner Wipeout" "Una buona torta non si scorda mai"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock	Paolo Solaro	27 October 2019[8]	22 December 2019	112
8	"Hypnotic Hair Don't Care" "Brillantina con ipnosi"	Niccolò Sacchi	Joel Slack-Smith	Archi Bolina	27 October 2019[8]	18 December 2019	104
9	"Haunted Amusement Park" "Fantasmi al luna park"	Niccolò Sacchi	Maria Chiara Oltolini	Ian Milne	3 November 2019	22 December 2019	120
10	"Drop in the Ocean" "S.O.S. Barriera corallina"	Niccolò Sacchi	Senta Rich and Nick Wilkinson	Caiyen Tse	3 November 2019	16 December 2019	121
11	"Tricky Business" "Missione spettacolo truccato"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	9 November 2019	21 December 2019	128
12	"To Bee or Not to Bee" "Non ti ricordar di me"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	9 November 2019	21 December 2019	125
13	"String Sting" "Un violino sotto chiave"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	10 November 2019	17 December 2019	111
14	"Growing Pains" "Teneri pelosetti crescono"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	10 November 2019	23 December 2019	117
15	"Love Is in the Net" "Troppo perfetto per essere vero"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	17 November 2019	19 December 2019	109
16	"Clover's Got Talent" "Sfida tra talenti"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	17 November 2019	29 December 2019	TBA
17	"Someone Went Off Course" "Una nave fuori rotta"	Niccolò Sacchi	Andrea Marchetti	Cristina Parisotto	24 November 2019	26 December 2019	110
18	"Rare Earth Sledding" "Che fine ha fatto la neve?"	Niccolò Sacchi	Katiedid Langrock	Paolo Solaro and Laura Davanzo	24 November 2019	23 December 2019	124
19 20	"Berry Fall" "Tre volte trappola"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA TBA	1 December 2019	31 December 2019	TBA
21	"Look, Up in the Sky" "Un eroe in ognuno di noi"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	8 December 2019	28 December 2019	138
22	"Cowabunga, Bees!" "Cowabunga, Berry Bees!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	8 December 2019	28 December 2019	144
23	"A Prank Is Not a Crime" "Scherzare non è reato"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	14 December 2019	30 December 2019	115
24	"Action! BBs on the Movie Set" "Pronte, apine, si gira!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	14 December 2019	26 December 2019	118
25	"Mission to Mars" "Missione su Marte"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	15 December 2019	29 December 2019	137
26	"License to Munch" "Bruchi mangia kart"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	15 December 2019	30 December 2019	105
27	"Chinese Shadows" "Ombre cinesi"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	4 July 2020	6 May 2020	126
28	"Nightmare Before Halloween" "Un Halloween da paura"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	4 July 2020	14 May 2020	122
29	"Micro Mayhem"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	11 July 2020	TBA	TBA
30	"The Winner Loses It All"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	11 July 2020	TBA	TBA
TBA	"Attenti al gatto!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	7 May 2020	116
TBA	"Pioggia di aquiloni"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	8 May 2020	119
TBA	"Tropici in Irlanda"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	15 May 2020	127
TBA	"Il ruggito del criceto"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	13 May 2020	129
TBA	"Mistero a Venezia"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	10 May 2020	130
TBA	"Un tuffo a rana"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	6 May 2020	131
TBA	"Giovani geni in pericolo"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	7 May 2020	132
TBA	"Mummie, dinosauri e falsi allarmi"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	18 May 2020	133
TBA	"Un campione alla Paillard"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	11 May 2020	134
TBA	"Una musica spinosa"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	16 May 2020	135
TBA	"Tutti in carrozza!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	14 May 2020	136
TBA	"Verdure all'arrabbiata"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	12 May 2020	139
TBA	"Scambio di posto"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	10 May 2020	140
TBA	"Furto tra i ghiacci"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	8 May 2020	141
TBA	"Acchiappa la racchetta, Lola!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	17 May 2020	142
TBA	"Spionaggio con stile"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	12 May 2020	143
TBA	"La scuola è chiusa!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	13 May 2020	145
TBA	"Patty Pizza"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	17 May 2020	146
TBA	"Yeti o non Yeti?"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	9 May 2020	147
TBA	"Ogni desiderio si avvera!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	9 May 2020	148
TBA	"Gattastrofe"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	18 May 2020	149
TBA	"Apine in campeggio"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	11 May 2020	150
TBA	"Missione parole da dividere"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	15 May 2020	151
TBA	"Fiuta, agente Fluffy!"	Niccolò Sacchi	TBA	TBA	TBA	16 May 2020	152

Broadcast

Berry Bees first premiered on 9Go! in Australia on 5 October 2019.[3] By the 7th episode, premieres suddenly moved from Saturdays to Sundays starting 27 October.[8] In Italy, the series premiered on Rai Gulp on December 16[9][10] with episodes 2 and 10. Since two segments are combined into one in the Australian broadcast of the series, the cold open in every second episode that airs is cut, but is retained in the Italian broadcast due to the segments being separately aired.

Awards

On 12 July 2019, the episode "Hypnotic Hair Don't Care" was nominated in the 52nd Annual AWGIE Awards in the "Animation" category, with writer Joel Slack-Smith as a recipient, before the series premiered in Australia.[11][12] It lost to an episode of Beat Bugs.[13]

References

1. https://www.telegael.com/animation
2. "Broadcasters Swarm to 'Berry Bees'". licenseglobal.com. 16 October 2018.
3. Zahed, Ramin (11 October 2019). "Atlantyca Buzzes with 'Berry Bees' at MIP Junior".
4. Zahed, Ramin (15 February 2019). "Atlantyca's 'Berry Bees' Sends Young Jane Bonds to the Rescue".
5. "IT'S TIME FOR BERRY BEES". 18 September 2019.
6. Milligan, Mercedes (16 October 2018). "Atlantyca, SLR, Telegael & Cosmos-Maya Team for 'Berry Bees' Mission".
7. "ATLANTYCA announces the production of brand new BERRY BEES tv series at MIPCOM". 25 October 2018.
8. http://www.slrproductions.com/now-on-9go-until-sunday-december-15-2019-berry-bees-buzzing-on-sundays-at-7-30am/
9. "Le Berry Bees in arrivo su RAI Gulp: intervista ad Atlantyca". 22 October 2019.
10. "Il Natale di Rai Ragazzi". 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
11. https://www.if.com.au/nominees-for-52nd-annual-awgie-awards-announced/
12. https://twitter.com/OzKidsTV/status/1151378522872717312?s=19
13. https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/full-list-winners-52nd-annual-awgie-awards/

External links

• Production Site
• Berry Bees on RaiPlay
• Berry Bees on Stan