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Mischief meets Mission Impossible as Knee High Spies goes into production

Image credit: Olivia Peniston Bird

An ambitious new children’s series featuring state-of-the-art puppets, animatronics, VFX and live-action performances has begun filming in Melbourne, brought to life by a team of some of Australia’s most experienced kids’ TV creators.

Created by Tim Bain (Kangaroo Beach) and produced by the award-winning Werner Film Productions (Dance Academy), Knee High Spies is a fun, exciting and warm-hearted series that chronicles the secret lives of teddy bear Jeremy Buttons and his ragtag team of toy spies on a mission to save their humans from their family’s scheming pet guinea pig, Silver Paw.

Featuring fast-paced action, epic missions, loveable toys and puzzles that the audience helps to solve, Tim says the series is a sophisticated, cutting-edge and ambitious production that will be visually spectacular to watch.

“We're building animatronic heads so that the characters can have expressions and can move their eyes and wiggle their ears and eyebrows and talk. There's all this complex mechanics inside those heads. Then the amazing puppeteers inside those suits will be able to bring those suits to life.

“It's bringing in a lot of different elements: we’ve got children mixed with puppets, and a dog as well – the family dog that's a real dog. It’s an insane idea, but it's mixing puppetry with real animals. They say never work with children or animals and probably never work with puppets – we’re doing all three things on this show.”

Knee High Spies is a project at least seven years in the making. Creator Tim Bain first pitched the idea to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) in 2018 and was given development funding for scripts. Tim says it was during the Covid-19 lockdowns that the idea further developed.

“It started really formulating during the pandemic when we were trapped in a house full of children and toys and puzzles, and those things came together to form this crazy fever dream of an idea. I was binging on Mission Impossible movies, and it was the idea of bringing the excitement of espionage and the spy world to children's TV. I don't think it had been done for preschoolers before, but the idea of sneaky, cheeky missions in the shadows of the house, I think is really exciting and enticing to young kids.”

In 2020, the ACTF provided another round of development funding for a proof-of-concept trailer. Werner Film Productions came on board as producers in 2021. The ABC co-funded subsequent development before confirming the commission of the series in 2024.

Tim created the globally successful preschool animation Kangaroo Beach and has written for some of the world’s biggest children’s television shows, including Bluey, PJ Masks, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder and Thomas & Friends. Werner Film Productions is one of Australia’s leading film and television production companies, with credits including Dance Academy, Crazy Fun Park, Surviving Summer and The Newsreader.

Knee High Spies is directed by Jack Jameson (Sesame Street, Lovely Little Farm, Waffle the Wonder Dog, Topsy and Tim) and produced by Nicole Minchin (Fisk). It features a talented cast which includes Christie Whelan Browne, Mark Samual Bonanno and Ali McGregor.

ACTF Head of Content Bernadette O’Mahony says Knee High Spies is a one-of-a-kind project.

“From Tim’s very first pitch, Knee High Spies had us hooked. It was original, relatable, clever and funny. Kids around the world are going to love Jeremy, Silver Paw and their friends as they have their own adventures in the family home, right under the noses of their young owners!”

Executive Producer Joanna Werner said: “We are so delighted to be in production for our most technically ambitious production to date, the wonderful preschool series created by Tim Bain, Knee High Spies. Walk around suited puppets, hand puppets, stunt double toys, animatronics, action and VFX, this show has it all and at the heart of it are gorgeous characters who we hope our young audience will fall in love with.”

Knee High Spies will premiere on ABC Kids and ABC iview in 2025. The ACTF will distribute the series internationally.

Knee High Spies is a Werner Films production for the ABC. Production investment from the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF), ABC, Vicscreen and Screen Australia. Created, written and co-produced by Tim Bain. Produced by Nicole Minchin. Directed by Jack Jameson. Writers: Tim Bain, Charlotte Rose Hamlyn and Alix Beane. Script producer: Ray Boseley. Executive Producers: Joanna Werner, Stuart Menzies, Bernadette O'Mahony.