Former NHL star P.K. Subban is set to star in, and executive produce a new Screech Owls animated series.
The show, created by production company Shaftesbury and animation studio Sphere Animation, in partnership with the NHL and Boat Rocker Studios, was announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Based on the book series by Canadian author Roy MacGregor and the 2001 live action series of the same name, Screech Owls will launch in fall 2027 on CBC and winter 2028 in French on Radio-Canada and TFO (Télévision française de l’Ontario).
Screech Owls is about a team of hockey players solving mysteries, guided by Coach P.K., friendship and teamwork. The new show will include 26 episodes of 11 minutes.
The Toronto-born Subban is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2009 and 2022, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils.
“A major focus of my career has been finding new ways to grow the game and reach young, diverse audiences with positive role models and Screech Owls, a series I grew up reading, does both,” said Subban in a press statement.
Screech Owls is a book series by Canadian author Roy MacGregor. (Screech Owls)
“Hockey teaches character, leadership and teamwork. You don’t need to know what ‘offside’ means to watch Screech Owls — you just have to love globe-trotting kids solving mysteries, working together and having a blast.”
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John May and Suzanne Bloch, who wrote the live-action Screech Owls, will also write the animated series.
Sarah Nurse, of the PWHL and Team Canada, will make a cameo as herself in the series.
“This gem of a series is just what kids need right now — Screech Owls wraps friendship, teamwork and sport in a lighthearted and uplifting animated version of Canada,” said the senior director of children’s content at CBC Kids, Marie McCann, in a press statement.
“It’s an honour to collaborate with P.K. Subban on this fresh adaptation of the classic Canadian books, which will no doubt captivate a new generation of young audiences with the perfect mix of mysteries and hockey.”
