Superprod Looks To Grow Its North American Footprint With The Co-Production Company Acquisition

In an effort to expand its North American footprint, Paris-based development, production, and distribution company Superprod has acquired The Co-Production Company, a New York-based label which specializes in financing and distribution arrangements for international co-productions.

The Co-Production Company founder and CEO Doug Schwalbe will be president at the new Superprod US Inc. Schwalbe is a long-time industry vet who founded his company in 2021 after serving as senior vp of co-production at Dreamworks Animation Television. There, he managed co-pro agreements on numerous productions for the likes of Netflix, Apple TV+, Sky, and Peacock. Before that, he was executive vp at Classic Media, overseeing animated franchises including Casper the Friendly Ghost, Mr. Magoo, and George of the Jungle.

In his new role, Schwalbe will work with Superprod founders Clément Calvet (CEO) and Jérémie Fajner (COO) on expanding the company’s reach into the North American market. He will be responsible for managing a production slate of live-action and animated films and series.

“Doug’s expertise in acquiring exceptional IP, developing projects, securing financing, and finding distribution partners is second to none,” said Calvet in a release. “He will be a tremendous asset to Superprod – working on both existing projects and bringing new content and concepts into the company to be developed.”

Former Cartoon Network executive Tatiana Krokar has been appointed as vp of Superprod US Inc., reporting to Schwalbe and Superprod senior vp of animation Virginie Creance. During her time at CN, Krokar was responsible for acquiring and developing projects, including content from Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland; Adventure Time artist Andy Ristaino, and Bird & Squirrel creator James Burks. She also developed, created, and wrote original tv content for the network.

With the announcement, Superprod confirmed that The Co-Production Company animated series Iyanu: Child of Wonder, bound for HBO Max, will shift to the Superprod pipeline and continue production. The series is co-produced by Youneek Studios, Lion Forge Animation, and Impact X Capital.

“Superprod has been aggressively working to expand its global footprint,” said Fajner. “Bringing Doug onto our team, and adding the assets and equity associated with The Co-Production Company, enables us to build upon our North American presence in a way that is immediately impactful and extremely effective.”

“It has been my great pleasure both personally and professionally to work with Clement and Jérémie since the inception of Superprod ten years ago,” added Schwalbe. “They have created an incredible production and distribution organization and we see many great opportunities to continue to grow the company while expanding its North American presence.”

Superprod recently created the preschool series Anna & Friends for Nickelodeon International, its first multi-territory sale to Nickelodeon. The company is currently working on an animated family comedy heist movie for Netflix that will be directed by Aardman veteran Steve Box (co-director of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit). The untitled film follows Tibbles and his rag-tag gang of stray cats who are forced to go undercover to pull off the biggest heist of their lives: posing as the thing they most despise – the pampered pets of suburbia.