Mystery Lane an exciting 3D animated investigative series with a carefully crafted narrative, was created by Antoine Rodelet and Josselin Charier, founders of Studio HARI, and is also distributed internationally by the company. The series has already begun airing in Germany and the Benelux countries, with significant audience shares, and has also won the Pulcinella Award for Best Kids TV Show. Josselin Charier, co-founder of HARI and co-creator of the series, talks about the birth of the project and the inspirations behind it, as well as its proven international potential.
Unifrance: How did the Mystery Lane series come about? Do you have any anecdotes to share with us about its genesis?
Josselin Charier : It's funny how ideas are formed in the development process! At the very beginning, the main character of the series, Clever, who is the best detective in the world in Mystery Lane, was a dumb character! We had in mind a short format comedy with a duo of hamsters, who thought they were clever but were, you know, just hamsters. But at the same time, we wanted to develop a half hour format with sophisticated storytelling.
As kids, we loved the character of Sherlock Holmes, capable of solving impossible mysteries. And we wanted to offer youngsters an investigative series with an atmosphere as mysterious and striking as that of Scooby-Doo, but putting the detective work and the suspense that goes with it back into the heart of the action. And there was a time when we asked ourselves: hey, what if we set our stories in the animal world, to appeal more directly to children's imaginations, and we use our duo of hamsters as heroes? So basically, Mystery Lane is the fusion of two very different potential series. And I guess these origins explain the very specific blend of comedy, investigation, and action.
What's the series' pitch in a nutshell? How does it differ from Hari's previous productions?
Josselin Charier: Strange things are happening in London. Only one animal is capable of tackling such enigmas, which border on the supernatural: Clever, a hamster and detective in her own right. Her prodigious powers of observation and deduction leave the average animal speechless.
But sometimes things don't go as planned... She can then count on her little brother Bro, who is always ready to take risks and confront opponents much bigger than himself.
Will they be able to solve the riddles that have stymied Scotland Yard?
It's clear that the aesthetic is extremely well thought-out. Can you tell us about the technical and artistic choices that were made?
At HARI, it's the story that counts—and in Mystery Lane, the stories take us to very different places, with varied atmospheres, and involve a huge number of characters! While the economy of the series pushes for a limitation of assets (settings and characters), the variety of Mystery Lane episodes demands the opposite.
This richness is felt and contributes to the series' exceptional character. But beyond the profusion of assets, production paid particular attention to detail—whether in textures, lighting, character furs, or animation quality. Throughout the production process, we tailor-made every story, every sequence, rather than reusing the same credits in every episode.
By pushing the quality cursors in each department, we're getting closer to the level of quality and exacting standards of animated films.
How did you convince the various partners who supported the project, as well as the first buyers? Did the worldwide success of Grizzy & the Lemmings open doors for you?
The studio's reputation for finely wrought storytelling and animation inevitably precedes us when we pitch a new series. After producing two seasons of Grizzy & the Lemmings, our partners already trusted us and we aroused the interest of the industry at large. When we decided that the Mystery Lane story was solid enough to present to potential partners, the ground was already prepared.
However, the two series are very different in terms of content, format, and theme, so while the success of Grizzy & the Lemmings may have opened doors for discussion, it's Mystery Lane's own character that was the persuasive factor. Grizzy & the Lemmings is a dialogue-free slapstick comedy with an episode length of seven minutes, while Mystery Lane is a comedy-adventure series with a sophisticated narrative and complex stories that unfold over twenty-two minutes.
The adventures of Clever and Bro have already met with critical and audience success in several countries...
Disney Channel in Germany has been reporting market shares significantly above channel average with kids 3 to 13; and very strong market shares among their key target group 6 to 9.
The show launched recently on France Télévisions digital platform Okoo, and already made it to the top 5 most demanded shows!
SVT (SVT Barn), the public broadcaster in Sweden, who launched earlier this summer, is also very happy with the results.
Our other partners are launching now or shortly, as they take advantage of the back to school momentum.
What are your ambitions for the future? Are there any particular territories you'd like to reach?
The sky's the limit! In EMEA we have some very strong partners aboard with the like of France Televisions, Disney Germany, ITV in the UK, etc, and we will be announcing more key partners soon for the region but there are still plenty of countries that are available and we’ll be speaking with them in the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz and at MIPCOM.
We hope that the very positive feedback we’re getting from the first buyers will convince other countries of the opportunity!
Asia and LatAm are equally key to us, we know that kids love an investigation show in LatAm, and we’re discussing with several partners there but also in Asia (regarding APAC as a feed, ABC has also been one of the first partners to trust the show and they’re just starting to air it!).
We produced Mystery Lane in English as a first language therefore we’re also very much focused on the US, especially since our aim is to produce more seasons like we’ve done with Grizzy & the Lemmings and build the IP worldwide, developing it beyond the small screen.
We call the show “a new classic” because we believe that it has the opportunity to become a worldwide success that kids around the world will support, the first ratings/feedback vouch for this!
The early fall period is hence very important for Mystery Lane, with the adventures of Clever and Bro arriving on France Télévisions. Do you have any other news to share with us?
ABC in Australia just made the episodes available on their player before putting it on air, it’s a common process now—France Télévisions is doing the same as mentioned before. Same goes for Télé Québec, and YLE, the public broadcaster in Finland, should follow this fall as we just signed with them.
We’ll have more announcements to make soon, it’s an exciting time for Mystery Lane and HARI in general!
