Russia’s Bazelevs Signs with Paramount Comedy

Viacom is partnering with Russian production house Bazelevs on an original, locally produced short form animation.

The animated comedy series, Chromosapiens (working title) will be aired exclusively on Paramount Comedy across the whole of Russia to more than four million households this autumn through brand new and recently announced distribution partnerships including Rostelecom and National Cable Networks, as well as in Kazakhstan via a new partnership with iD-TV.

Produced by Bazelevs owner and renowned Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov  — Abraham Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter; Wanted starring Angelina Jolie; Russia’s biggest grossing comedy franchise Yolki — the 12 x 2 animation is the first made-for-television animation project from Bekmambetov, who has chosen the newly expanded Paramount Comedy for his small screen debut.

The project also includes groundbreaking, patent-pending technology FilmLanguage, developed by Bazelevs with the support of Russian non-profit organisation, The Skolkovo Foundation.

FilmLanguage will enable users to create their own animated shorts featuring Chromosapiens characters by converting natural language text directly into animation. This platform will be released on Paramount Comedy’s Russian website and available to fans across the country.

Brand new deals with iD-TV, as well as Russia’s Rostelecom, further extend and build upon recently launched Paramount Comedy’s coverage in Russia and CIS, and follow last month’s newly announced partnerships with NCN and with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

Paramount Comedy offers a 24-hour, fully-localised and ad-supported premium comedy channel, broadcasting daily from Moscow to audiences in Moscow, St Petersburg and across Russia through local IPTV provider Onlime as well as Tvoe TV, extended social TV packages and the TKT analogue platform via NCN’s networks.