Spain’s Secuoya Studios and Mexico’s Dopamine, two of the most ambitious TV production outfits in their respective regions, are teaming to co-produce “Camp Newton,” a new kids sci-fi adventure series for the Disney Channel, which will exclusively air the series in 2022.
Based on an original idea from on-the-rise writing duo Jésica Aran and Juan Lombardi (“Millenials,” “Pájaros Negros”), the series unspools at a summer science camp for kids. On their first day back at camp after a long school year, a group of four friends skip their curfew and, while outside their bunks, witness the crash of a flying saucer. Curious, the group of friends approach the ship and meet Hoshi, an alien on the run from the authorities.
The series is co-produced by Secuoya and Dopamine along with Álamo Audiovisual 12 and in association with Avi Films and with the participation of Disney Channel. Shooting took place in July of this year on the Canary Island of Tenerife, a hotbed of production activity thanks to a competitive tax regime, diverse shooting locations and a well trained and highly professional workforce.
“Camp Newton” is directed by award-winning filmmaker Max Lemcke, whose “Cinco metros cuadrados” was a big winner at Malaga 2011 and played in competition at the Montréal World Film Festival. The series’ ensemble cast includes several Spanish TV regulars including Eva Marciel, Ava Salazar – daughter of Paz Vega and a rising star in her own right – Yanai Cruz (“Hierro”), Manuel Baldé, Adrián Checa, Hugo Morenilla, Iratxe Emparán and Julia Serra.
According to the show’s producers, it is inspired by and aspires to be like supernatural family classics from film, such as “ET” and “The Goonies,” and memorable TV series like “Alf” and “Stranger Things,” and proposes an off-the-wall fiction which is “didactic, fun, full of adventure, humor, tenderness and with a touch of nostalgia.”