‘Billie B Brown’ author and creator Sally Rippin.
Fremantle and 720 Creative have acquired the screen rights to the children’s book character Billie B Brown, created by author Sally Rippin.
The option marks one of the first ventures between the two companies since 720 Creative inked a first-look development, formats and international sales deal with Fremantle last November.
The Billie B Brown series of books have sold more than 5 million copies in 14 languages around the world.
Funding for the co-production has been provided by Film Victoria as part of their Development on Demand Fund. The team developing the television series includes comedy writers Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish.
720 Creative managing director Paul Walton said: “We are proud to be part of Billie B Brown’s next chapter and excited that Film Victoria is supporting a story that holds such a special place in children’s hearts around the world.”
Fremantle Asia-Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor said: “For our first foray into children’s series production with the 720 Creative team to be such an iconic and established brand as Billie B Brown with enormous potential for an international screen audience is beyond exciting.”
Rippin said: “I celebrated Billie’s 10th birthday by releasing three new books and now this, Billie and I are thrilled. It’s a great next step for Billie and I am loving this collaboration with Fremantle and 720 Creative”