An Original Comedy For Kids 6-11, Team Spirit Is Created By The Team Behind The Animated Series KIYA And The Kimoja Heroes For Disney+
LOS ANGELES (February 14, 2023) – IDW has put the full force of the company’s Publishing and Entertainment operations into the development launch of TEAM SPIRIT, an original comedy for kids 6-11 created by Tshepo Moche, Raffaella Delle Donne and Marc Dey, a trio of Cape Town, South Africa-based writer-producers who have gained industry recognition for handling the creative on behalf of a wide array of global animated successes for Disney, eOne, Baobab Studios, Wekids, Snipple Animation, Netflix, Cartoon Network/Boomerang, Cbeebies, Urucu Media, Zodiak Kids, Illuminated Films and Triggerfish Animation Studios.
Moche, Delle Donne and Dey are currently serving as the creative team behind the Disney+ preschool animated series KIYA And The Kimoja Heroes, a co-production with eOne Entertainment, Triggerfish, Frog Box, Entertainment Media, TeamTO and France Télévisions that was created by Marc Dey and Kelly Dillon.
TEAM SPIRIT follows the comedy adventures of a middle school girl who also happens to be a were-hyena and her best bud – a hulking dancing demon – who form their own cheer squad to show that despite their typical teen angst (and atypical supernatural oddities) they have enough Team Spirit to just about raise the dead.
“Team Spirit is a shout-out to those of us that aren’t natural achievers or super-talented. The truth is, Luna is a little ungainly and will never be the best cheerleader but what’s not to love about a were-hyena who puts the grrrrrrr in grit!,” said Dey. “We are over the moon to be partnering with IDW, who right from the get-go, fell in love with Luna and the Moonbeams and have been champions of our supernatural oddballs ever since.
“Tshepo Moche, Raffaella Delle Donne and Marc Dey are incredibly gifted creative talents with a track record of proven successes that have placed their projects front and center in the global animation community. TEAM SPIRIT is a widely offbeat and fun comedy tailor-made for today’s 6-11 year-olds that will impact both the worlds of publishing as a graphic novel series and television as an animated series. We are excited to join with Raffaella, Marc, & Tshepo and apply our full resources in both areas of publishing and entertainment to bring their uniquely off-the-wall vision to life,” said Daniel Kendrick, Senior Director of Kids, Family & Animation.
About the creators:
Raffaella Delle Donne is currently living and working in France as a writer and Executive Creative Consultant on Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes, an upcoming preschool series produced by eOne, Triggerfish, Frog Box and TeamTO, in partnership with Disney Jnr. She has been working in the animation industry for over 15 years developing and creating content for Disney, eOne, Snipple Animation, Wekids, Baobab Studios and Triggerfish Animation Studios. She was the TV Development Executive for the Triggerfish Studios/Disney Storylab which incubated multiple shows and features, including Mama K’s Team 4 acquired by Netflix. Raffaella has also written on shows for Disney Jnr, Cartoon Network and Cbeebies, as well as two feature films for Triggerfish Animation Studios. Her first graphic novel, Pearl of the Sea, has just been released in the US.
Marc Dey is a scriptwriter and creator who has the most fun when he’s hanging out in his imagination. Years of watching cartoons and behaving like a kid have paid off because now his show, Kiya is in production with eOne, Triggerfish, Frog box and TeamTO, and will be broadcast on Disney+ and Disney Jnr in 2023.
Tshepo Moche is a writer, director who stepped into the animation as a writer on Netflix’s Mama K’s Team 4. She is currently working as an Executive Creative Consultant and Writer on Kiya, a preschool series produced by Triggerfish, eOne, Frogbox, TeamTO and Disney Jnr. Tshepo is now also taking a seat in the Director’s chair as part of the Disney/Triggerfish Kizazi Moto short film anthology. She continues to work in both animation and live-action, developing and scriptwriting with the likes of Urucu Media, Zodiak Kids and Illuminated Films. With a focus on youth development and education, the African narrative and social/gender-based subject matter.