Freeform Picks Up Mermaid Drama to Series, Teams With ‘Broad City’ Duo for Animated Comedy

Freeform is expanding its slate.

The Disney-owned network used its upfront presentation Wednesday to announce a series pickup for mermaid drama Siren (formerly titled The Deep) as well as Sticks, an animated pilot from Broad City duo Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. The former ABC Family also unveiled first-look trailers for Siren, Alone Together, The Bold Type and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, while also revealing the characters set to participate in the comic book giant’s buzzy New Warriors. (Click here for Cloak and Dagger and here for New Warriors.)

Siren (renamed, since there’s a Netflix animated comedy called The Deep) stars Alex Roe as Ben, a marine biologist who finds himself drawn to the mysterious Ryn (Eline Powell), a strange young woman with a deep dark secret. The project, picked up to pilot in July, is based on a story by Eric Wald and Dean White, who both executive produce. Emily Whitesell (Finding Carter) serves as showrunner and exec produces alongside Brad Luff, Nate Hopper and RD Robb. The series will premiere in summer 2018.

Siren joins a scripted slate that also includes Baby Daddy, The Fosters, Shadowhunters, Stitchers, Young & Hungry, Beyond, Famous in Love, Cloak and Dagger (early 2018), Alone Together (summer 2018), The Bold Type (July 11) and New Warriors (2018) and comes as Freeform is wrapping the final season of signature hit Pretty Little Liars.

On the pilot side, the network has picked up its first animated comedy in Sticks. The pilot presentation, from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (Robot Chicken) and Broad City duo Glazer and Jacobson, is described as a cross between Daria and Girls. It follows the life of Sticks, a neurotic twentysomething with a head filled with pop culture references and a love of Chili’s who lives with a giant eagle. Jessica Stickles will pen the script and co-exec produce, with Glazer and Jacobson, Will Gluck (Easy A) and Richard Schwartz also exec producing. The comedy hails from Gluck’s Olive Bridge Entertainment, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and Sony Pictures Television.

Meanwhile, live-action comedy pilot Brown Girls is still in contention at the cabler.

Additionally, Freeform also announced it was teaming with People magazine to develop multiple scripted original movies based on stories from the magazine including its Heroes Among Us franchise. As part of the movie push, the network has also picked up Angry Angel from Gluck. The story of a young woman who tries to get back to heaven after she messes up, it is set to premiere in December, while the Tyra Banks animated vehicle Life-Size 2, about a grown-up doll who comes to life in a Christmas-themed movie, is set for December 2018.

The cabler also has greenlighted Hollywood Movie Night With Karlie Kloss, a commentary show from Hollywood Game Night producers Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills Productions. Each segment will include supermodel Kloss and her friends offering moment-by-moment commentary around their favorite movies. Ben Nemtin and Duncan Penn from Four Peaks Media Group will exec produce alongside Kloss‘ Klossy Productions.

Watch the trailers for Siren, Alone Together and The Bold Type, below.