Thunderbird Entertainment

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Thunderbird Entertainment, Inc.
FormerlyThunderbird Entertainment
Thunderbird Films
Company typePublic
TSX-V: TBRD
IndustryFilm
Television
Founded2003; 23 years ago (2003)
Headquarters
Vancouver, British Columbia
Toronto, Ontario
Los Angeles, California
Ottawa, Ontario
Key people
Jennifer Twiner McCarron (president, CEO and Ddrector); Barb Harwood (CFO); Matthew Berkowitz (CCO), Richard Goldsmith (president, Global Distribution and Consumer Products); Sarah Nathanson (general counsel)
RevenueIncrease $81.3 million (2020)[1]
Number of employees
1,000 (2018)[2]
SubsidiariesAtomic Cartoons
Great Pacific Media
Websitethunderbird.tv

Thunderbird Entertainment, Inc. is a Canadian film and television production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with additional offices in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Ottawa. Founded in 2003 as Thunderbird Films, the company develops and produces scripted, unscripted, and animated content for broadcasters and streaming platforms in Canada and internationally.

Thunderbird operates through several subsidiaries, including Atomic Cartoons, Great Pacific Media, and Thunderbird Releasing. In November 2025, Blue Ant Media announced its intent to acquire Thunderbird Entertainment.

History

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The company was founded in 2003 as Thunderbird Films by Tim Gamble and Michael Shepard, initially as a distributor of Canadian television series in the United States.[3]

After Thunderbird acquired a 50% stake in the film rights for a sequel to Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Gamble and Shepard were announced as executive producers.[4]

In February 2012, Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra made a major investment in Thunderbird.[5] Soon after, the company announced the formation of Sea to Sky Entertainment, a joint venture with Lionsgate. Like Lionsgate, Sea to Sky was named after a roadway in the Vancouver region, in this case Highway 99, whose Vancouver stretch is locally known as the "Sea-to-Sky Highway".[6]

Sea to Sky soon reached deals with director/producer R.J. Cutler and author Dennis Lehane.[7]

In April 2013, Thunderbird acquired Reunion Pictures, producer of series such as Alice and Continuum. The studio continued to operate as a subsidiary of Thunderbird.[8]

In September 2014, Thunderbird acquired a British independent film distributor, Soda Pictures.[9][10] In December 2014, Thunderbird acquired the Vancouver-based reality television studio Great Pacific Media, producer of the Discovery Channel Canada series Highway Thru Hell. Great Pacific Media continued to operate as a subsidiary, and in 2016 its co-founder Mark Miller was promoted to Thunderbird co-president.[11][12]

In July 2015, Thunderbird acquired the Vancouver-based animation studio Atomic Cartoons.[13] In 2018, Atomic Cartoons CEO Jennifer Twiner McCarron was named president of Thunderbird.[14] In August 2018, it was announced that Thunderbird Entertainment would go public on the TSX Venture Exchange via a reverse takeover by Golden Secret Ventures,[15]

In January 2021, Thunderbird named Richard Goldsmith, formerly of Cyber Group Studios, as its first president of global distribution and consumer products.[16]

In September 2021, Voss Capital acquired a 10.5% stake in Thunderbird.[17]

On November 26th 2025, Blue Ant Media announced its intent to acquire Thunderbird for $63 million.[18]

Assets

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Atomic Cartoons

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Main article: Atomic Cartoons

Atomic Cartoons is a Vancouver-based animation studio acquired by Thunderbird in 2015. It has produced series such as Atomic Betty,[19] Beat Bugs (with Beyond International),[20] The Last Kids on Earth,[21][22] Mighty Express (with Spin Master),[23] Molly of Denali (with WGBH-TV and CBC Kids),[24] and Pirate Express.[13][25][26]

Great Pacific Media

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Great Pacific Media was founded in May 2010 by Blair Reekie and Mark Miller, and acquired by Thunderbird in December 2014.[27] The studio focuses primarily on reality television, having produced series such as Highway Thru Hell and its Ontario-based spin-off Heavy Rescue: 401 for USA Network,[11][28][29] Save My Reno and Worst to First for Home Network,[30][31][32] and Queen of the Oil Patch for APTN.[33][34]

Miller retained his role as CEO of Great Pacific Media after the acquisition, and was subsequently appointed co-president of Thunderbird Entertainment in 2016.[12] In April 2016, it was announced that former Bell Media executive Paul Lewis had been named president of Great Pacific Media.[35] In January 2019, Wendy McKernan was named vice president of Great Pacific Media. Under her leadership, Lindsay Macadam (Motive) became head of a new scripted division that would focus on dramatizations of real events.[36][37] In 2020, it was reported that Simon Barry and GPM were developing a biographical drama based on Wernher von Braun, adapted from Michael J. Neufeld's book Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War.[38]

Thunderbird Releasing

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Thunderbird Releasing (formerly Soda Pictures) is a British film distributor, established in 2002 by Eve Gabereau and Edward Fletcher. It focuses primarily on independent and arthouse films. It was acquired by Thunderbird Entertainment Group in 2014, and renamed Thunderbird Releasing in 2017.[9][10]

Filmography

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Title Original run Broadcaster Notes
Zixx[citation needed] 2004–2009 YTV co-production with Mainframe Entertainment and The Nightingale Company
Zigby[39] 2009–2011 Treehouse TV
ABC Kids (Australia)
ZDF (Germany)[40]		 co-production with Flying Bark Productions[41], Avrill Stark Entertainment and Big Animation
Mr. Young[42] 2011–2013 YTV
Disney XD[43] (International)		 co-production with Gravy Boat Productions
Endgame[citation needed] 2011 Showcase co-production with Front Street Pictures
Some Assembly Required[44] 2014–2016 YTV co-production with Gravy Boat Productions and Remotey Funny Productions
Somewhere Between[45] 2017 ABC co-production with ITV Studios America and The Lion & the Rose
Kim's Convenience[46] 2016–2021 CBC co-production with Soulpepper Theatre Company

Scripted TV series

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Factual TV series

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  • 1800 Seconds: Chasing Canada's Snowbirds
  • Air Dogs
  • Airshow
  • Animal Miracles with Alan Thicke
  • Bulging Brides
  • Campus Vets
  • Confessions: Animal Hoarding
  • Daily Planet - Segments
  • Game of Homes
  • Heroines
  • Industrious
  • The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp
  • Makeover Wish
  • Megaroof: Rebuilding BC Place
  • Miss Landmine
  • The Mistress
  • Model Killers
  • Monster Quake: Chile
  • Monster Quake: Japan
  • My Evil Sister
  • Peak to Peak
  • Prisoners of Age
  • Raising Big Blue
  • Scared of my Shadow
  • Untold Stories of the ER

Animated series

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References

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