Studio Ghibli producing first ever TV show

Legendary Japanese animated movie producer Studio Ghibli is onboard its first ever project for TV, a toon based on a Swedish book character.

Ronia – the Robber’s Daughter will broadcast on satellite channel NHK BS Premium in autumn this year, with Ghibli and Polygon Pictures (Star Wars: the Clone Wars), Dwango and NHK-owned NHK Enterprises attached as coproducers.

Goro Miyazaki, who is behind animated films including Tales from Earthsea and From Up on Poppy Hill and son of Ghibli’s now-retired founder Hayao Miyazaki, is series director.

The series is based on a fantasy novel from Astrid Lindgren, who is best known as the author behind the Pippi Longstocking books, which have been adapted numerous times for television.

Ronia is set in Medieval Europe and follows the adventures of the young daughter of a clan bandit in a mysterious forest.