News brief: Professor Balthazar returns to US

Kids streaming site Oznoz has bought classic toon series Professor Balthazar, a deal claimed to mark the first time the property has headed to North America since the 1980s.

A partnership with creative studio DVDLab will see the 59-episodes show, which ran on Nickelodeon in the Eighties, launch on the bilingual children-focused platform, which Shabnam Rezaei of Canadian toon studio Big Bad Boo heads up.

The show will be available via streaming and downloads in English, French, German, Korean and Persian, and offer an exclusive non-dialogue version.

“I am so excited to get this show on Oznoz,” said Rezaei. “I grew up watching it in Persian and it’s one of the most popular and favorite animated shows of all time.”