The animated show co-production brings together Vérité Films, Oddly Quiet Ltd., and Media Tech Productions with Television New Zealand (TVNZ), Canada’s TVOKids, TFO, and Knowledge Network.
Vérité Films (Corner Gas, Jeremy & Jazzy), Oddly Quiet Ltd., and Media Tech Productions (Badjelly) have announced that Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Canada’s TVOKids, TFO, and Knowledge Network have greenlit a new animated preschool series, Be With Zee (52 x 6').
The original format series and brand focuses on mindfulness, play, and connection between a parent/caregiver and child. It centers on Zee, a cuddly forest creature, experiencing the adventures and emotions of life with the support of narrator Matua, a nurturing parent/caregiver. Created by Matt Haworth, Be With Zee starts production this fall for delivery in fall 2026. Vérité International Distribution, a division of Vérité Films, will bring the series to MIPJUNIOR for the first time this month.
“Be With Zee is a beautiful celebration of all the feelings that make up the human experience, and I'm super excited for our little blue hero to charm the rest of the world,” says Haworth, creator, writer, and producer at Oddly Quiet Ltd. “I feel we are making something that is truly needed right now, a show with human-made artistry, positive messaging, and a safe world for kids and parents to spend time in, together.”
“With joy, charm, and delight, Be With Zee is an inspired series that meets the needs of today’s kids, parents,and caregivers,” says Virginia Thompson, president of Vérité Films and Vérité International Distribution. “We are honored to work with this truly exceptional creative team from New Zealand and bring this series to the world.”
According to Oddly Quiet, the show is designed to bring happiness, calm, and connection to anxious kids and stressed parents by sharing the small challenges in everyday life. It’s “a poetic antidote to the overstimulation of modern kids’ media; Be With Zee embraces a slower, more intentional rhythm, fostering mindfulness, curiosity, and emotional depth through gentle storytelling and rich, hand-crafted visuals.”
Each episode follows Zee and Matua on lighthearted forest adventures, from collecting Zee's favorite objects and organizing them by colors to drawing feelings with crayons when feeling overwhelmed. Together they laugh, explore feelings, encourage each other, and overcome challenges, giving kids and parents real-life coping skills in the process.
Haworth is a New Zealand writer, art director, and children’s book illustrator. He discovered and uses the techniques of mindfulness to preserve his own health and well-being as a person living with cystic fibrosis.
A Canada-New Zealand co-production, Be With Zee is produced by Haworth, Tim Evans, and Simon Ward of Oddly Quiet Ltd. and Roger Shakes of Media Tech Productions, part of the creative team behind Badjelly (ITV, ABC, TVNZ, & Family Channel). Canadian producers are Virginia Thompson and Robert de Lint of Vérité Films. New Zealand animation veterans Mukpuddy are onboard for production in New Zealand, with additional support from Smiley Guy Studios in Canada. The series is distributed internationally by Vérité International Distribution. Made with the support of New Zealand On Air, the Canada Media Fund, the Shaw Rocket Fund, and the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate (NZSPR), as well as the Ontario and Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credits.
The series is scheduled for delivery fall 2026, in English to TVNZ, TVOKids, and Knowledge Network and in French to TFO. It is being developed in consultation with early childhood education professors from Canada’s Sheridan and Humber Colleges as well as experts in child psychology from York University and l’Université de Montréal with the goal to create a series that helps young viewers build focus, empathy, and imagination in a screen environment that soothes rather than overwhelms.
Source: Vérité Films
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
