Carol Freeman: Last News

Ben Croll A pre-school series produced by Ireland’s Paper Panther Productions, “Little Whale” was one of the early-breakouts at this year’s Cartoon Forum. Following their Tuesday pitch, series director Car­ol Freeman and producer Chris Hees greeted a steady stream of French studios and U.K. buyers, among others, auguring a bright future for the maritime project. Paper Panther shared this exclusive first-look with Variety. Loosely adapted from Freeman’s 2018 short “The Bird & The Whale” – a hand-painted gem that would claim nearly 70 awards throughout its festival run – this series follows the gentle Little Whale and his courageous friend Narwhalia as they travel the ocean blue. Dealing with questions of family and ecology, the program is above all a way for Freeman to share her particular enthusiasm.

The Starfleet crew residing in the “lower decks” of the U.S.S. Cerritos includes Ensign Beckett Mariner, voiced by Tawny Newsome; Ensign Brad Boimler, voiced by Jack Quaid; Ensign Tendi, voiced by Noël Wells; and Ensign Rutherford, voiced by Eugene Cordero. The Starfleet characters that comprise the U.S.S. Cerritos’ bridge crew include Captain Carol Freeman, voiced by Dawnn Lewis; Commander Jack Ransom, voiced by Jerry O’Connell; and Doctor T’Ana, voiced by Gillian Vigman.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, the charming animated series from Rick and Mortywriter/producer Mike McMahan. Rather than putting the focus on the bridge crew, the series — which drops new episodes every Thursday —highlights the underlings who don't always get the glory but are just as important as their more well-known counterparts. Each episode delivers an outlandish adventure as the show's underappreciated support crew, including neurotic rule-follower Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid,) and proud slacker Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), tackle grunt work, unexpected mishaps, and anything else that's thrown their way aboard the U.S.S.