Upcoming adventure comedy series heads to BBC, RTS, RTBF, VRT, NPO, YLE, NRK, Noga, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Xilam Animation, Academy Award-nominated French animation studio, has inked a fresh wave of international pre-sales for Submarine Jim, its new 52 x 11’ 2D adventure comedy series which is scheduled to complete delivery in June 2026.
With premieres commencing via select partners in March 2026, the new free-to-air deals secured by Xilam include the BBC (UK and Ireland), RTS (French-Switzerland), RTBF and VRT (Belgium), NPO (Netherlands), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), Noga (Israel), alongside Warner Bros. Discovery in EMEA, Latin America, Southeast Asia and South Korea.
Targeted at kids aged 6-9 years, Submarine Jim was created by Frédéric Martin – the acclaimed director behind Xilam’s hit preschool series Oggy Oggy – and was previously pre-sold to France Télévisions (France) and Super RTL (Germany). The series delves into the tale of a naive, young dolphin named Jim, who when tasked with steering the world’s first-ever submarine on wheels, leads a motley crew of underwater friends on a whirlwind journey across the continents.
Their water-filled tube has left the ocean to seek out an unlikely destination, the fabled pristine waters of a place called… Las Vegas. Luckily, with no set route in sight, their journey promises to be a long and winding one. Along the way, as they embark on their mission and navigate plenty of twists, Jim will be torn between his captain responsibilities and fun times with his best friends: Bianca, the daring orca and the ever-reliable ship steward, Cyril the anchovy. Together, they navigate the choppy waters of friendship and self-discovery.
These new deals follow the recently announced sales and launch of Xilam’s CG preschool proprietary series Piggy Builders – commissioned by BBC (UK), France TV (France), ZDF (Germany). In 2025, the series sold to RTS and RSI (Switzerland), Warner Bros Discovery (Italy), YLE (Finland), Ketnet (Belgium), SVT (Sweden), HRT 3 (Croatia), MTVA (Hungary), Télé-Québec (Canada), LTV (Latvia), Mediacorp (Singapore), Noga (Israel).
Safaa Benazzouz, EVP Distribution at Xilam Animation, said: “Since we were first introduced to Frédéric’s vision for Submarine Jim, we knew it had all the ingredients to captivate broadcasters and audiences alike – with laugh-out-loud comedy, an unforgettable crew of characters and plenty of fun twists and turns along the way. Following our recent success with Piggy Builders, it’s fantastic to now be welcoming an array of leading broadcasters from across the globe for another of our original creations in this challenging market. We look forward to diving into the show’s international roll-out and introducing audiences to the hilarious adventures of Jim and his underwater friends.”
