Gotham Group and Toonstar Team Up on Up to 12 Animated Kids Series
The Gotham Group and Toonstar will produce up to 12 new original animated series for children, the companies announced on 23 October 2026, according to Variety. The shows are planned for direct-to-audience platforms. That means online services that release programmes straight to viewers, rather than through a traditional TV channel's schedule.
The Gotham Group is led by founder and chief executive Ellen Goldsmith-Vein. Toonstar's co-founder and chief executive is John Attanasio, who started the company with Luisa Huang. Both founders previously worked at Disney, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks, three of the biggest names in animated film and television.
Toonstar describes its work as digital-first and creator-led. Digital-first means made for online release first. Creator-led means the shows are often built around people who already have large followings online. The company also calls itself an AI-powered animation studio, a label it used when it was reported in April 2026. Its investors include Founders Fund, Greycroft, Snap and GFR.
Toonstar has been building a web of partners in the months before this deal. In April 2026, it and HarperCollins Publishers announced an agreement to adapt a slate of popular books into direct-to-audience animated series. Its development partners also include Fox Entertainment and Penguin Random House. In July 2026, Fox Advertising struck a partnership with Toonstar, which the LA Times said gives brands a new way into creator-led animation.
Two talent agencies were involved on the business side. WME represented both The Gotham Group and Toonstar in the partnership deal. Hansen Jacobson acted as legal counsel to Toonstar. The Gotham Group has also signed filmmaker and showrunner Charlie Faulks to its roster, a showrunner being the person who runs a series day to day.
For families, the headline number is the important one. Up to 12 new kids' series is a big slate, and it would mean a steady flow of new animation for children on the platforms that carry it. Animated series like these take months, sometimes years, to move from a first idea to a finished episode. Each one needs writers, designers, animators and voice actors before anyone can press play.
Both companies are based in the United States, and the deal shows how traditional production houses and newer digital studios are now working together. The next thing to watch is which titles come first, and where they appear.
