Netflix Acquires ‘Inspector Gadget,’ ‘Danger Mouse’ Remakes

The 1980s animated classics are among five new children’s shows that will be available on the streaming service in March

DHX Media

“Inspector Gadget” stretched children’s imaginations to the fullest in the ’80s, and now the bumbling bionic private eye will do the same for Netflix viewers.

The streaming service has ordered five new kids shows, including updated versions of “Gadget” and “Danger Mouse,” USA Today reported on Wednesday.

Produced by Canadian television company DHX Media, the new series of “Inspector Gadget” has already aired on broadcast TV in Europe, but will premiere exclusively in the U.S. on Netflix in March.

Originally running from September 1983 to February 1986, “Inspector Gadget” chronicles the adventures of a cyborg detective with a seemingly endless amount of gadgets that he summons by saying “Go-Go-Gadget,” which then usually prompts their malfunction.

The cartoon classic was later made into a live-action comedy film in 1999 starring Matthew Broderick in the title role and Rupert Everett as the villainous Dr. Claw.

“It’s one of those shows where we’re able to hit a few different audiences,” Erik Barmack, VP of global independent content at Netflix, said. “We think that kids are going to love the show … but it’s also going to get some co-viewing because there is a generation of parents who grew up on the original.”

Another Netflix acquisition is “Danger Mouse,” a far more organized secret agent who just happens to be a mouse. Loosely based on the James Bond franchise, it aired on ITV in the U.K. and Nickelodeon in America from 1982-1992. Netflix will debut 26 half-hour episodes of produced by Fremantle and the BBC, in the U.S. in spring 2016.

The streaming service has also acquired three additional children’s shows including the Canadian “Some Assembly Required,” a live-action series about a 14-year-old who becomes CEO of the toy company Knicknack Toys, “Bottersnikes & Gumbles,” an animated series based on the book series of the same name, and” SUPER 4,” a Playmobil-inspired cartoon series.

In December, the media provider’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos indicated at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York that his company’s goal is to launch new “Netflix Originals” every two and a half weeks, which translates into about 20 new shows or seasons each year.

Netflix is not the only streaming site increasingly reaching out to younger viewers.

As TheWrap previously reported, Amazon Studios has renewed four kids series for second seasons: “Creative Galaxy,” “Annedroids,” “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street” and “Tumble Leaf.” The studio is also developing a reboot of 1970’s kids series “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” it revealed earlier this month.

Comments