BET's newly-established animation division announces two new major deals in the world of animation. BET has partnered with Film Roman, the award-winning animation studio behind primetime hits "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill," to produce a slate of animated films and multi-platform series. In addition, BET is re-uniting Denys Cowan, BET Senior Vice President of Animation and his former creative partner, Milestone Media co-founder Dwayne McDuffie -- the creative minds behind Static Shock, the WB's top-rated Saturday morning cartoon and top-selling comic series -- to create a new action adventure series. The announcements were made today by Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment and Cowan.

Through its pact with Film Roman, an IDT Entertainment Company, BET plans to produce a slate of animated films, series and multi-platform content for Internet, broadband and mobile applications. In addition, the companies plan to jointly develop and produce direct-to-DVD and theatrical releases. The terms of the three-year, non-exclusive deal also include international distribution outside of the BET Network.

This is BET animation's second major announcement, coming on the heels of the recent Hannibal the Conqueror series development deal with film star Vin Diesel and One Race Productions. In expanding the BET brand to animation, Hudlin is building upon a first-year success which has already generated some of the network's best ratings and critical acclaim in BET's 26-year history. He believes these new relationships in the world of animation will further fuel his growth strategy, and says viewers will begin to see animation on the channel this year by fourth quarter.

"If Black America is a cultural superpower, then there's no better medium to express the full range of our collective imagination than animation," said Hudlin. "There will be shorts that will air throughout our programming schedule as well as online content. Hopefully, by fall of next year, we'll begin to launch our animated series."

Sidney Clifton, Executive Vice President of Creative, Programming & Production for Film Roman, echoed Hudlin's enthusiasm about the partnership. "We are very excited at the opportunity to use animation to provide our audience with strong storytelling illustrating the full breadth, depth, and texture of the Black creative consciousness," stated Clifton.

In addition to the Film Roman partnership, BET has inked an agreement to develop a new original adult action/adventure animated series with Dwayne McDuffie, co-creator (with BET's Denys Cowan) of the Emmy Award and Humanitas Prize winning cartoon, Static Shock. Cowan and McDuffie were co-founders of Milestone Media, Inc., the most successful Black-owned comic book company in history. McDuffie is also a producer and story editor on Cartoon Network's Justice League, Editor-In-Chief of Milestone Media's award-winning line of comic books, and has worked as an editor for Marvel Comics and Harvey Entertainment. As head of BET Animation, Cowan will oversee the development of all new projects and work closely with McDuffie.

"Cowan and McDuffie are the Lennon & McCartney of the Black comic book industry," says Hudlin. "They've produced several of the top animated series on television. We're thrilled to have this 'dynamic duo' come together again to develop a new franchise for BET."

As a writer, Dwayne has created or co-created more than a dozen series, including Damage Control, Deathlok II, Icon, Xombi, The Road To Hell and Hardware. He has written stories for dozens of other comics, including Spider- Man, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Tick, Captain Marvel, Avengers Spotlight, Back To The Future, Hellraiser, Ultraman, (The Artist Formerly Known As) Prince and X-O Manowar.

"Black culture is youth culture. Where Black people go--pop culture follows," stated Cowan. "At BET Animation, with our creative partnerships and working with established superstars as well as young, hip creators, we hope to be the leaders of the next revolution in animation."

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