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Kenn Viselman Signs With UTA To Relaunch His itsy bitsy Entertainment Company Banner; Two Projects Set

Tom Tapp
·4 min read

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed of award-winning producer Kenn Viselman for worldwide representation in all areas. Viselman has driven more than $20 billion in commercial success.

UTA will also rep the relaunch of Viselman’s itsy bitsy Entertainment Company banner. That effort will begin with the animated series Moonzy and the animated family series BlackJack, based on Alex Simmons’ acclaimed series of graphic novels.

Viselman has produced, marketed and consulted on more than 50 children’s series. He was a producing partner on the franchises Teletubbies and It’s itsy bitsy Time!. He led marketing for Thomas the Tank Engine, which continues to air in more than 300 countries. He reassembled many of his former Teletubbies production team members, including Graham Halky, Emilia Nuccio and Marcio França Domingues, for the relaunch of itsy bitsy Entertainment. Maresa Pullman, Brooklyn Weaver, and Brandan McConnaughhay are also attached to produce original content with Viselman.

“UTA is the market leader in representing the most prominent creators and producers in animation,” said Anna Berthold, Viselman’s agent. “Kenn is a creative force with a proven track record of projects that have become mainstays in the hearts of kids and families around the world. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him as he relaunches his brand.”

Said Viselman: “To relaunch a brand in these trying times, especially one that has been as successful as the itsy bitsy Entertainment Company, requires a smart and experienced team with chutzpah. This relaunch is compounded by both the demand and massive importance of our first two projects: Moonzy, an adaptation of one of the most watched children’s series in history; and BlackJack, one of the most socio-relevant family series in modern memory. I feel confident that I have found exactly what I need in the group of professionals at UTA.”

Moonzy has 9.3 billion views on YouTube — more than the official pages for Disney, Nickelodeon and PBS Kids combined. The program is the No. 1 children’s animated series in every country in which it airs, and the brand has sold over 20 million books in Europe. The series is being adapted for the Americas under Viselman’s leadership and in partnership with itsy bitsy Entertainment, INK Media, Melnitsa Animation Studio, the series’ award-winning producers Sergei Selyanov and Alexander Boyarskiy, and its art director, two-time Academy Award nominee Konstantin Bronzit. The first season of Moonzy will consist of 108 existing episodes and three holiday-themed “Mini-Movies.” The second season is already in production.

BlackJack is based on the multi-Glyph Award-winning series of graphic novels by Alex Simmons, which he has been self-publishing for nearly 30 years. The first BlackJack novel was published in 1996 and has resulted in more than a dozen BlackJack stories. Based in the 1930s, the animated series adaptation will focus on the graphic novels’ protagonist Aaron Day, aka “BlackJack,” an African-American mercenary battling powerful enemies, the ghosts of his past and the bigotry of his times.

Viselman and itsy bitsy Entertainment join a roster of industry leaders represented by UTA’s animation division, including Chris Nee, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Justin Roiland, Elizabeth Ito, Frank E. Abney III, Malala Yousafzai, The Jim Henson Company and many others.

Viselman continues to be represented by Anne Jordan of the Jordan Group.

Viselman’s itsy bitsy Entertainment is one of the world’s most successful independent children’s entertainment companies. His brands have found success on and off the screen including award-winning television series as well as top-selling toys, books, videos, clothing and numerous other ancillary products. The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company is committed to engaging, entertaining, enlightening family entertainment which emphasizes the message of empathy and love.

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