NELVANA AND LAMBUR PRODUCTIONS START PRODUCTION FOR THIRD AND FINAL SEASON OF HIT MYSTERY DRAMA SERIES THE HARDY BOYS

Third Season Welcomes New Cast Member Bailee Madison

Epic Conclusion of the Daytime Emmy® Nominated Series Will Launch on Hulu in the U.S. and YTV and STACKTV in Canada in 2023

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TORONTO,  Oct. 12, 2022 /CNW/ - Corus Entertainment's Emmy® Award-winning studio Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor and licensor of children's animated and live-action content, together with Lambur Productions, have started production on the third and final season of their popular live-action series The Hardy Boys (8x60min). Based on the books by Franklin W. Dixon, the Daytime Emmy® nominated mystery drama is produced by Lambur Productions and Nelvana, in association with Corus Entertainment, and started production in September in Toronto and Southern Ontario.

"From its inception, it's been a joy to work with Lambur Productions, Hulu and YTV on The Hardy Boys and introduce these iconic characters and gripping adventures to a new generation," said Pam Westman, President, Nelvana. "The exceptional cast and crew brought the revered Hardy Boys adventures to life, successfully engaged audiences around the world and garnered awards and critical acclaim. As this mystery comes to a close, we're looking forward to providing fans with more mystery-solving action, surprising turn-of-events, and laughs in a wild final season."

The third season picks up where the shocking events of Season 2 left off. The Hardy boys and their friends dig up even more secrets, conspiracies and threats as they piece together their great-grandfather's long-lost map and race against time to uncover a powerful ancient relic before it falls into the wrong hands.

"We're excited that we've been able to produce a compelling and complex conclusion to The Hardy Boys this season," said Joan Lambur, Executive Producer, Lambur Productions. "It's been an honour to work on this iconic title with an amazing cast and crew, alongside our incredibly supportive partners at Nelvana, Corus and Hulu."

Bailee Madison (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Just Go with It) guest stars on the final season as 'Drew Darrow', a fun but often frustrating new ally with a brilliant mind and appetite for magic and mysteries. Returning cast members of the beloved Hardy gang include Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends) as 'Frank Hardy,' Alexander Elliot (Locke and Key) as 'Joe Hardy', Keana Lyn (The Yard) as 'Callie Shaw', Adam Swain (A Million Little Things) as 'Chet Morton', Cristian Perri (A Simple Favor) as 'Phil Cohen', Riley O'Donnell (Big Top Academy) as 'Biff Hooper', and Krista Nazaire (Before We Crash) as 'Belinda Conrad'.

The first two seasons received strong ratings and reviews, winning two Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 for 'Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series' and 'Best Direction, Children's or Youth', winning a Directors Guild of Canada Award for 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Family Series' in 2021 and earning a Daytime Emmy® Award nomination for 'Outstanding Young Adult Series' in 2021. The first season received additional nominations for CAFTCAD's 'Best Costume Design in TV Period' in 2021, DGC's Craft Award for 'Best Picture Editing – Comedy or Family Series' in 2021, Canadian Society of Cinematographer's Award for 'Best Cinematography in TV Drama – Non-commercial' in 2021, and a Canadian Screen Award for 'Best Photography, Drama' in 2022. The series also gained a loyal fan following, with Season 2 securing the number one program ranking on YTV this past Spring* and currently the number one YTV show streamed on STACKTV**.  

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Hardy Boys are currently available to stream on Hulu (U.S.), STACKTV in Canada and Disney+ internationally (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Latin America, and coming soon to Europe, Middle East and Africa). The final season will premiere on Hulu in the U.S. and YTV and STACKTV in Canada in 2023, with more international networks to be announced.

Season 3 of The Hardy Boys is executive produced by Lambur Production's Joan Lambur, Suzanne Wilson and Madeleine Lambur, Corus and Nelvana's Doug Murphy, Pam Westman and Athena Georgaklis, co-showrunner and head writer Chris Pozzebon (Blindspot, Schitt's Creek), and co-showrunner and head director Jason Stone (Riverdale, The Hardy Boys). Amanda Vaughan will serve as production executive for Corus.

*Source: Numeris PPM Data. SP'22 (Jan 3/22 – May 29/22) – confirmed data, 3+ airings. Total Canada, Mo-Su 2a-2a. Ind.2+ AMA(000). YTV.

**Source: Amazon Video Central Reporting

About Corus Entertainment Inc.  
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that develops and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world.  Engaging audiences since 1999, the company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 33 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a suite of digital and streaming assets, animation software, technology and media services. Corus is an internationally-renowned content creator and distributor through Nelvana, a world class animation studio expert in all formats and Corus Studios, a globally recognized producer of hit scripted and unscripted content. The company also owns innovative full-service social digital agency so.da, lifestyle entertainment company Kin Canada, leading 2D animation software supplier Toon Boom and children's book publishing house, Kids Can Press. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, Magnolia Network Canada, The HISTORY® Channel, Showcase, Adult Swim, National Geographic, Disney Channel Canada, YTV, Global News, Globalnews.ca, Q107, Country 105, and CFOX, along with broadly distributed Canadian streaming platforms STACKTV, TELETOON+, the Global TV App and Curiouscast. For more information visit www.corusent.com

About Nelvana
Entertaining kids for over 50 years, Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children's animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and action series, and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana's content airs on Corus Entertainment's kids channels in Canada and in over 180 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,700 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys® and Canadian Screen Awards. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.

About Lambur Productions
Launched in October 2017 by industry leader Joan Lambur, Lambur Productions was established to produce the highest quality children's and family programming. Building on the strength and experience of its team, Lambur Productions works with broadcasters, creators, writers and other creative talent to develop and produce internationally successful product for partners around the globe. Visit the Lambur Productions website at lamburproductions.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sue Baldaro
Publicity, Lambur Productions & The Hardy Boys
647.802.0739
[email protected]

Vanessa Obeng, Publicity Manager
Corus Entertainment
416.479.6618
[email protected]

SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.