Netflix orders Scholastic kids original

Streaming service Netflix has commissioned family-focused producer Scholastic Media to create an animated series based on The Magic School Bus.

The Magic School Bus 360 Degrees will launch on Netflix in all of its operating territories in 2016.

It is being billed as a “new iteration” of The Magic School Bus, which launched in the 1990s. it will see a modernised Ms. Frizzle and her class exploring science along with an inventive school bus.

Netflix has been ramping up its original children’s programmes with series such as Turbo FAST and King Julien. Scholastic Media, meanwhile, the entertainment arm of US-based Scholastic, sold the original Magic School Bus (pictured) to Netflix last year.

“Scholastic Media is a powerhouse creator and producer of top-quality programming for kids and families and its flagship series like The Magic School Bus, Clifford The Big Red Dog and Goosebumps have been huge hits on Netflix in all our territories,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix.

“We’re thrilled to expand our relationships and to be the first-run home of The Magic School Bus 360 degrees, introducing a whole new generation to Ms. Frizzle and her high jinks.”