Northern Star launches first joint call for children's drama across Northern Europe

The initiative aims to create new opportunities for producers, writers and creative talent to collaborate across multiple markets. Selected projects will be co-developed and co-commissioned by up to all five broadcasters, combining funding, editorial expertise and commissioning support.

A first for children's television, Northern Star aims to create high-quality drama that resonates with young audiences across Northern Europe, regardless of national borders. The call is open to producers from the five participating countries and seeks ambitious, original ideas that reflect the realities of growing up today.

Anne Dreesen, head of children's content at VRT: “This open call reflects our shared belief in the power of children’s fiction. Great stories help children understand themselves, each other and the world around them. At a time when ambitious productions are becoming harder to realise alone, collaboration is more important than ever. Through Northern Star, we are combining our strengths as public service media to support local creators and develop stories that reflect the experiences, curiosity and imagination of a new generation.”

Patricia Hidalgo, Director of BBC Children’s and Education said: “Launching Northern Star’s first development call at The Children’s Media Conference is a powerful statement of intent. We want to back bold, original ideas from the very best creative talent across Northern Europe and create children's drama that can compete for attention in a crowded global market. By combining our investment, expertise and shared commitment to public service storytelling, we can help bring more ambitious, authentic stories to young audiences across all five territories."

Morten Skov, Head of Childrens Department at DR said: “With Northern Star, we are looking for new, original fiction ideas for children. At DR, we have a core responsibility to continuously develop our portfolio of content so that it reflects children’s lives, with stories and characters they can recognise and relate to. Northern Star is an example of how public service broadcasters and producers across Europe can come together around a shared task: creating compelling stories that engage and connect with children.”

Hans-Jørgen Osnes, Head of International Financing Drama at NRK said: “Public Service partnering across Northern Europe is vital to stay competitive and relevant for our audience. Building on Nordic collaborations and New8, the Northern Star aims to open boundaries, inspire producers and strengthen the ties among the 5 strong partners in our region. As a result The Northern Star will by this serve our audience with new strong stories that resonate in our world today.”

Robert Fortuijn, Manager of NPO Zapp said: "It’s fantastic to see Northern Star move from ambition to reality. We are proud to take this first step together in developing and producing children's series through this unique partnership. By joining forces across Northern Europe, we can create stronger, more ambitious stories that connect with young audiences wherever they are."

The partnership will support projects that explore new approaches to storytelling and make effective use of emerging technologies, creating content that is relevant and culturally resonant across all five territories.

The broadcasters share four priorities:

• telling stories with relatable characters that reflect both the challenges and joys of modern childhood

• creating content that can compete for attention in an increasingly crowded media landscape

• ensuring authentic representation on and off screen through diverse casts, crews and creative teams

• developing platform-agnostic content that works across linear, streaming and online video services

Submission criteria

Northern Star is seeking original projects that meet the following requirements:

• scripted live-action series (no previously submitted concepts – rights to existing IP must already be held by the producer)

• multiple episodes of 30 minutes or less, with a total duration of 150–240 minutes

• aimed at children aged 7–9 or 10–12

• rights available across all five markets, including linear, streaming and YouTube

• submitted by production companies based in one of the five Northern Star territories (maximum three submissions per company)

Submissions must be made in English and consist of a pitch document of no more than three pages outlining the world, story, characters, episode length and series volume.

Shortlisted projects will enter a joint development phase supported by a shared development fund and editorial mentorship from all five broadcasters. Each project will be led by a commissioning broadcaster, with development beginning in 2027, production in 2028 and release from 2029.

Submissions close Wednesday 30th September.

More information can be found https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/development-opportunity-northern-star-july-2026/

Image caption: L-R: Morten Skov, Head of Children's channel and content, DR, Hans-Jørgen Osnes, Head of International Financing Drama, NRK, Patricia Hidalgo, Director, BBC Children's & Education, Anne Dreesen, Channel manager Ketnet, VRT, Robert Fortuijn , Manager NPO Zapp/Zappelin