The executive producer discusses the ‘flaptastic’ production of Scholastic Entertainment’s 3DCG series about Eva, a creative, cheeky owlet with big ideas and an even bigger personality, who goes on high-flying adventures while expressing herself in her diary; debuts January 24 on Apple TV+
As part of his development executive role at Scholastic Entertainment, Jef Kaminsky gets to identify Scholastic books that will translate well to screen.After helping develop some of the company’s most iconic TV shows – from to and, more recently, – it’s safe to say Kaminsky’s got a good eye for success.
A couple years ago, Kaminsky set his sights on Rebecca Elliott’s “Owl Diaries.”
“I have been incredibly fortunate to work with the team at Scholastic Entertainment on a wonderful range of book-based television series over the years and ‘Owl Diaries’ was a perfect example of a book property that really needed to be brought to life on screen,” says Kaminsky, executive producer with Caitlin Friedman on.“A huge part of what makes the story of Eva the owlet so special is the vivacious and over-the-top owlet herself.
Not only is she bold, bright, and adventurous, she’s also unafraid to challenge her perceptions of herself and her community.It’s not often that we get to see a character processing their emotions as openly as Eva does while she’s writing in her diary.That element alone was very compelling.” , adapted from Elliott’s book series, stars Eva (Vivienne Rutherford), a creative, cheeky owlet who lives next door to her best friend Lucy in the woodland world of Treetopington.
With big ideas and an even bigger personality, Eva goes on high-flying adventures, expressing herself in her diary along the way.Season 2, releasing Friday, January 24 on Apple TV+, takes viewers through a night in the life of Eva.Whether she’s planning a backyard campout with her friends or saving the town’s Spring Acorn Roll from hungry squirrels, Eva tackles her goals with conviction and flair.
“‘Spunky’ is a word that really works for some of these owlets, especially Eva,” notes Kaminsky.“Kids may not have the same kind of outgoing personality that Eva has, but her enthusiasm shines a spotlight on feelings that viewers might be having, too.They may go through a day being frustrated or scared or embarrassed but might not be outgoing enough to share how they are feeling.” Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell of Brown Bag Films also executive produce.
Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White, who both developed the series for television, co-executive produce.Damien O’Connor serves as supervising director.Check out the trailer: A beloved Scholastic property for many years, “Owl Diaries” is a New York Times bestseller and a USA Today bestseller, with over 20 books currently published.
So, there were plenty of reasons – including its cute characters – to adapt the books into a series.But, for Kaminsky, one of the most intriguing features of “Owl Diaries” was taking the concept of journaling and making it part of an accessible and dynamic viewing experience for kids. “That was a unique and fun storytelling challenge,” admits Kaminsky.“Working with the team to create Eva’s journey – from processing her original thoughts and realizations, to journaling about her feelings, to her final viewpoints – was exciting across scripting all the way through to final delivery.
We had a blast telling Eva’s stories.” , another Scholastic Entertainment series on Apple TV+, also embodies mindful practices of getting in touch with one’s feelings through communication and meditation.Kaminsky feels that Scholastic, through their shows, has an opportunity to model to kids the vital behaviors and skills needed to maintain healthy relationships and healthy mentalities. When kids see Eva acting in ways they can relate to and then talking about her feelings, it ideally puts kids’ own feelings in perspective and could make it easier for them to recognize and identify their emotions – and hopefully share their feelings with the people around them.Alongside , joins Scholastic’s lineup of successful 3D animated series.
But, with each owl in Elliott’s books containing complex textures and patterns, there were questions whether 2D or 3D would work best for the series. “Both options would definitely have worked,” notes Kaminsky.“All of us are huge fans of Rebecca Elliott’s illustration style in the ‘Owl Diaries’ books, and we know that her readers love her artwork as well.
We wanted to bring that same look and feel to our TV episodes.” He continues, “We went with 3DCG for a few reasons.One of them was to really enhance the nocturnal aspect of owl life and, with 3D, we can really play with that soft nighttime lighting of the exteriors and the coziness of warm lighting inside the houses.Another reason was to develop and expand on the world Eva lives in.
With 3D, you can fly with the owls and owlets through their environment – and we wanted viewers to feel like they were right there with Eva, living their very best nocturnal forest lives.While it was challenging in the early design stages, the team at Brown Bag Films is amazing and they’re always extremely adept at finding ways to address visual challenges.” On Season 2, for the first time, the team had to tackle the unique challenge of 3DCG snow. “We had two winter stories, ‘Eva on Ice’ and our Winter Solstice special, ‘Eva’s Moon Wish,’” shares Kaminsky.“The snow in both of those episodes looks absolutely beautiful! Adding snow to an animated series can be complicated and difficult, but the team at Brown Bag Films made it fun and really brought a sense of wintertime joy to both episodes.
There’s just something magical about a winter wonderland, especially in the treetops!” Kaminsky says he’s personally most excited for viewers to see the Season 2 episode, “Welcome to Treetopington.” “In that episode, we meet a new character, Milo,” says Kaminsky.“Not only is Milo a new Treetopington neighbor, but he’s also a raccoon.I think this episode really models how to look at someone else and your shared environment from their perspective instead of your own.
It’s also exciting to see a character who has different abilities – since raccoons can’t fly – and who is still completely accepted by the kids around him without drawing attention to the physical differences.This episode also has a new song from Fitz, of Fitz and the Tantrums, that’s a lot of fun!” Though a third season of has yet to be confirmed, Kaminsky notes that Eva continues to learn and grow with every episode and would be more than ready for the series to continue. “My main hope for the new season is that even more people spend time with Eva and her friends in Treetopington,” says Kaminsky.
“The entire team had a tremendous amount of fun producing seasons one and two.It would be absolutely ‘flaptastic’ to produce a third season of .We’re incredibly excited to share more of Eva’s stories with the world!” Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime.
She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment.Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
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