ABOUT
Available Light Productions
At Available Light Productions we're about telling stories that matter. Stories that surprise you, make you laugh, make you think and want to know more. Led by Nancy Kanter, who has spent more than two decades bringing beloved characters and unforgettable tales to screens, we've got a passion for creating content that resonates with audiences of all ages. Whether it's a heartwarming family movie, a mind-bending YA series or a romcom with a surprising twist, we're always looking to partner with storytellers and filmmakers to have their best ideas reach audiences around the world.
Our aim is to make films and series that not only entertain, but leave a meaningful impact on people's lives. We believe that storytelling has the power to inspire change, spark conversations, and help us make sense of the world around us. We're proud to work with a diverse range of talents to bring fresh perspectives and unique voices to all our productions.
Nancy Kanter has been a leader in the Kids and Family content business for more than 20 years. As Executive Vice President of Content and Creative Strategy at Disney Channel she developed original series and movies that are among the most iconic hits
and profitable franchises in recent years, including Descendants 3, Zombies and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney+. In addition she led the development for Disney+ of Monsters at Work -- a sequel to Pixar’s Monsters Inc and the feature length Phineas & Ferb Movie: Candace Against the Universe for Disney+. Her work in preschool programming, including Doc McStuffins, Sofia The First and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stand as some of the biggest hits of the last decade and earned global acclaim for its innovation and quality. It also produced franchise revenue for the Disney company in excess
of $2B.
The content created under Kanter’s leadership is unprecedented in terms of industry recognition having won awards from nearly every entertainment organization including Emmy, Annie, NAACP, IMAGEN, Environmental Media, GLAAD and Peabody Awards.
As a results-oriented leader she enjoys a warm and highly respected reputation within the creative development and production community as well as with business leaders around the world.
Nancy Kanter
Nancy Kanter has been a leader in the Kids and Family content business for more than 20 years. As Executive Vice President of Content and Creative Strategy at Disney Channel she developed original series and movies that are among the most iconic hits and profitable franchises in recent years, including Descendants 3, Zombies and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for Disney+. In addition she led the development for Disney+ of Monsters at Work -- a sequel to Pixar’s Monsters Inc and the feature length Phineas & Ferb Movie: Candace Against the Universe for Disney+. Her work in preschool programming, including Doc McStuffins, Sofia The First and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stand as some of the biggest hits of the last decade and earned global acclaim for its innovation and quality. It also produced franchise revenue for the Disney company in excess of $2B.
The content created under Kanter’s leadership is unprecedented in terms of industry recognition having won awards from nearly every entertainment organization including Emmy, Annie, NAACP, IMAGEN, Environmental Media, GLAAD and Peabody Awards.
As a results-oriented leader she enjoys a warm and highly respected reputation within the creative development and production community as well as with business leaders around the world.
William Goldberg
William Goldberg is a producer and development executive. He joined Netflix in 2021 as Head of Development for Nancy Kanter's exclusive overall deal at the streamer. He previously led the creative development team at Pearl Studio's US headquarters in New York, where he oversaw the development of such animated feature films as ABOMINABLE (DreamWorks Animation/Universal 2019), the Oscar-nominated OVER THE MOON (Netflix 2020), and THE MONKEY KING (Netflix 2023).
Prior to joining Pearl, William was a New York-based film producer and Director of Development at Paper Street Films. His credits include Maya Forbes' INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Sundance 2014, SPC 2015), Austin Stark's THE RUNNER (Alchemy 2015), Rachel Lambert's IN THE RADIANT CITY (TIFF 2016, The Orchard 2016), Galt Niederhoffer's 10 THINGS WE SHOULD DO BEFORE WE BREAK UP (Vision 2020), and Michael Mayer's THE SEAGULL (Tribeca 2018, SPC 2018).
William Goldberg
William Goldberg is a producer and development executive. He joined Netflix in 2021 as Head of Development for Nancy Kanter's exclusive overall deal at the streamer. He previously led the creative development team at Pearl Studio's US headquarters in New York, where he oversaw the development of such animated feature films as ABOMINABLE (DreamWorks Animation/Universal 2019), the Oscar-nominated OVER THE MOON (Netflix 2020), and THE MONKEY KING (Netflix 2023).
Prior to joining Pearl, William was a New York-based film producer and Director of Development at Paper Street Films. His credits include Maya Forbes' INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Sundance 2014, SPC 2015), Austin Stark's THE RUNNER (Alchemy 2015), Rachel Lambert's IN THE RADIANT CITY (TIFF 2016, The Orchard 2016), Galt Niederhoffer's 10 THINGS WE SHOULD DO BEFORE WE BREAK UP (Vision 2020), and Michael Mayer's THE SEAGULL (Tribeca 2018, SPC 2018).
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EXCLUSIVE: Coming off a three-year overall deal at Netflix, kids programming veteran Nancy Kanter is re-launching her production company, Available Light Productions, with several projects already in the works, live-action movie Wayward Girls; animated movie Penny Phantom, based on the novel Little Thieves by Margaret Owen; animated movie The Circus Ship, based on the picture book of the same name; and animated preschool comedy series Alexander the Post Fox done in partnership with Kevin Jonas.
Available Light Productions’s slate of original series and movies, which Kanter is shepherding with the company’s Head of Development, William Goldberg, are expected to be taken out to the broader kids, family and general audience market.
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Additionally Kanter, whose Netflix deal ended at the end of January, has animated and live-action projects across both the kid and adult demographic still in development at the streamer where her pact started in the kids and family space before migrating to YA and adult fare.
“My time at Netflix was a gift that allowed me to extend my creative development beyond Kids & Family, and while those projects will always be closest to my heart, I am excited to see some of my YA and adult projects move forward,” Kanter said. “I leave having had the great pleasure of working alongside so many talented folks on the live-action and animation teams, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their support. I look forward to landing new series and movies in just the right homes and continuing to develop material that speaks to me and to broad audiences in surprising and authentic ways.”
Prior to Netflix, Kanter spent 20 years at Disney, most recently as EVP, Content and Creative Strategy for Disney Channels Worldwide. She was responsible for such kid and tween global hit franchises as the Peabody Award-winning Doc McStuffins, the Emmy Award-winning Sofia the First and juggernaut Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; Descendants 3 and Zombies; and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the feature-length Phineas & Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe, both for Disney+. Kanter also spearheaded the creation of the preeminent Disney Junior preschool brand.
Here are details on Available Light Productions’ new projects in development:
Live-action movie Wayward Girls is a coming-of-age dramedy with an original screenplay by Kristin Belka Maier (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Kimberly McCullough (High School Musical:The Musical: The Series) is attached to direct.
Animated movie Penny Phantom is a fantasy comedy adventure based on the novel Little Thieves by Margaret Owen with a screenplay by Diana McCorry (Human Kind, Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time). Daron Nefcy (Star vs The Forces of Evil) attached to direct.
Kanter has partnered with Trustbridge Entertainment to develop animated movie The Circus Ship, an adventure comedy based on the best-selling picture book, The Circus Ship by award-winning author Chris Van Dusen, with screenplay by Lauren Faust (My Little Pony) and Craig McCracken (The Power Puff Girls, Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends)
Animated preschool comedy series Alexander the Post Fox is done in partnership with Copper Cup Entertainment & Kevin Jonas. It is created by Amy Higgins (Wander Over Yonder, Star vs the Forces of Evil) and written by Higgins and Brian Clark (Go, Dog,Go, Molly From Denali). Copper Cup’s Spencer Berman serves as executive producer.
LATEST NEWS
"Little Thieves" Margaret Owen," "The Circus Ship" by Chris Van Dusen, Nancy Kanter (inset) Kevin JonasGetty Images/Richard Harbaugh/Image Group LA
DEADLINE | February 9th, 2024
EXCLUSIVE: Coming off a three-year overall deal at Netflix, kids programming veteran Nancy Kanter is re-launching her production company, Available Light Productions, with several projects already in the works, live-action movie Wayward Girls; animated movie Penny Phantom, based on the novel Little Thieves by Margaret Owen; animated movie The Circus Ship, based on the picture book of the same name; and animated preschool comedy series Alexander the Post Fox done in partnership with Kevin Jonas. Available Light Productions’s slate of original series and movies, which Kanter is shepherding with the company’s Head of Development, William Goldberg, are expected to be taken out to the broader kids, family and general audience market. Additionally Kanter, whose Netflix deal ended at the end of January, has animated and live-action projects across both the kid and adult demographic still in development at the streamer where her pact started in the kids and family space before migrating to YA and adult fare. “My time at Netflix was a gift that allowed me to extend my creative development beyond Kids & Family, and while those projects will always be closest to my heart, I am excited to see some of my YA and adult projects move forward,” Kanter said. “I leave having had the great pleasure of working alongside so many talented folks on the live-action and animation teams, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their support. I look forward to landing new series and movies in just the right homes and continuing to develop material that speaks to me and to broad audiences in surprising and authentic ways.” Prior to Netflix, Kanter spent 20 years at Disney, most recently as EVP, Content and Creative Strategy for Disney Channels Worldwide. She was responsible for such kid and tween global hit franchises as the Peabody Award-winning Doc McStuffins, the Emmy Award-winning Sofia the First and juggernaut Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; Descendants 3 and Zombies; and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the feature-length Phineas & Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe, both for Disney+. Kanter also spearheaded the creation of the preeminent Disney Junior preschool brand. Here are details on Available Light Productions’ new projects in development: Live-action movie Wayward Girls is a coming-of-age dramedy with an original screenplay by Kristin Belka Maier (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Kimberly McCullough (High School Musical:The Musical: The Series) is attached to direct. Animated movie Penny Phantom is a fantasy comedy adventure based on the novel Little Thieves by Margaret Owen with a screenplay by Diana McCorry (Human Kind, Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time). Daron Nefcy (Star vs The Forces of Evil) attached to direct. Kanter has partnered with Trustbridge Entertainment to develop animated movie The Circus Ship, an adventure comedy based on the best-selling picture book, The Circus Ship by award-winning author Chris Van Dusen, with screenplay by Lauren Faust (My Little Pony) and Craig McCracken (The Power Puff Girls, Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends) Animated preschool comedy series Alexander the Post Fox is done in partnership with Copper Cup Entertainment & Kevin Jonas. It is created by Amy Higgins (Wander Over Yonder, Star vs the Forces of Evil) and written by Higgins and Brian Clark (Go, Dog,Go, Molly From Denali). Copper Cup’s Spencer Berman serves as executive producer.
Animated movie. Based on the best selling picture book, The Circus Ship by award winning author Chris Van Dusen, this animated adventure comedy tells the story of a circus ship that runs aground off the coast of Maine, leaving the poor animals on their own to swim to shore. When the animals arrive on a tiny nearby island, they’ll have to win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways and show them the value of acceptance to form the bonds of a true community.
The screenplay is being written by Lauren Faust (My Little Pony) and Craig McCracken (The Power Puff Girls, Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends) who will direct.
Circus Ship
Animated movie. Adapted from the YA novel Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, the film is set in a fantasy world of privileged royalty, gods and monsters. Vanja is a rebellious servant who’s been masquerading as a Princess in order to rob her kingdom’s nobility blind and buy her way to freedom. But when she gets cursed for her stealing, this lone wolf has to team up with everyone she thinks is out to get her to pull off one last impossible heist.
Diana McCorry (Human Kind, Tammy's Tiny Tea Time) is writing the screenplay and Daron Nefcy (Star vs The Forces of Evil) is attached to direct.
The Penny Phantom
Animated preschool series. Alexander the PostFox is an industrious mail carrier in his small seaside town of Brightwater Village. He and his mail truck, Bolton, are devoted to delivering their package of the day to its rightful owner no matter what the challenge. Not rain, nor sleet nor bumpy road or smelly box stands in the way of this comic duo getting the job done.
Created by Amy Higgins ( Wander Over Yonder, Star vs the Forces of Evil) and written by Brian Clark ( Go, Dog,Go, Molly From Denali) and Higgins. In partnership with Kevin Jonas & Spencer Berman at Copper Cup Entertainment.
Alexander the Post Fox
Animated series. An animated workplace comedy that rips the lid off the long held belief that Old MacDonald’s farm was a jolly place where all the animals sang E-I-E-I-O. Instead we’re treated to the behind the scenes gossip and undermining of The Office-like characters as they wrestle for recognition, unquestioned authority and the best slop in the trough.
Mark Dworkin & Sean Cunningham (Erin & Aaron, The Thundermans, Julie & the Phantoms) are attached to write.
The Farm
PROJECTS - Animation
PROJECTS - Live Action
Live action movie. A coming of age movie dramedy. In the summer of 1996,15-year-old KB Marinetti’s dad surprises the family when he announces that they’re moving to a fancier neighborhood on the right side of the highway. Realizing that she will no longer live next door to her inseparable best friends, KB decides that she has to make their final summer together epic. Lightning strikes when they decide to audition for Star Search, and the following weeks find the girls navigating challenging dance routines, blossoming romance, and surprising truths about family. Over the course of this one summer, KB and friends experience the immeasurable strength of friendship, the surprising
complexity of adults, and the sweet, unforgettable taste of growing up.
The original screenplay is written by Kristin Belka Maier (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) with Kimberly McCullough (High School Musical:The Musical: The Series) attached to direct.
Wayward Girls
Live action series. A modern retelling of the classic Oscar Wilde novella, The Importance of Being Earnest. The comically driven series charts the self-discovery of Janey Worthing, an unfinished 16-year-old from the moment her explosive past comes back to shake up her teenage life through her recognition that where you came from doesn’t always determine who you are.
Based on the YA novel written by Molly Horan, Epically Earnest. Madison Hatfield (Jenna Gets An Abortion) and Jono Mitchell (Bad Together, Courtney Gets Possessed) are attached to write.
Importance of Being
Live action comedy series. A teenage comedy centered on the staff of a high school newspaper as they desperately attempt to solve a mysterious crime that rocks the school. As the investigation unfolds, personal secrets are revealed, friendships are destroyed and unlikely romances bloom as every member of the school paper becomes a suspect.
Mark Dworkin & Sean Cunningham ( Erin & Aaron, The Thundermans, Julie & the Phantoms) are attached to write.
Papercuts
Drama series. Set on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1910’s, the series centers on recent immigrant, Livi Leitner who after emigrating from Russia is looking to create a new life for herself amongst the upheaval of this decade when women’s rights, free love, and bold artistic invention was emerging. As she forms friendships with two other young women and the men who surround them, Livi’s dark secrets threaten to unravel her new found freedom.
Jamie Rosengard (The Last Thing He Told Me, Empire) is attached to write and produce.
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