GoldBee scores international wins for hit sports-themed series First Line

Barcelona-based distributor GoldBee is thrilled to announce the acquisition of sports-themed Canadian live-action tween/teen series “First Line” by a leading group of international broadcast partners.

France Télévisions acquired the exclusive Free-to-Air and Free VOD rights for Season 1 of the series (26×21’).
The rights cover both its linear TV channels and the Okoo streaming platform. In separate deals, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT also secured exclusive Free TV and FVOD rights for Season 1. In Finland, YLE picked up exclusive FVOD rights for the first season on its Arena streaming platform. RTBF has joined as well.
The Belgian public broadcaster acquired Free TV and FVOD rights for Season 1 in French-speaking Belgium.

First Line is commissioned by Radio-Canada (ICI TOU.TV EXTRA and ICI TÉLÉ) and produced by award-winning Canadian studio Avanti-Toast. Seasons 1 and 2 already air on Radio-Canada (ICI TOU.TV EXTRA and ICI TÉLÉ) with record-breaking ratings on both outlets. Building on these incredible results, Season 3 is now in post-production. With an additional 26 half hour episodes delivering in the Spring of 2025, for a total of 78×21’.

First Line won 3 Gémeaux Awards in Canada this past September. The first one was awarded for Best Youth Fiction Series (12 years old and under). Charles Grenier and Philippe Grenier were recognized for their outstanding Direction. Mathieu Drouin caught the Academy’s attention, earning his first Gémeaux in the category of Best Supporting Role.

First Line centers around the remarkable journey of star athlete Chloe as she steps up to join an elite all-boys hockey team. As a young teenager, she’ll courageously navigate the challenging and often masculine world of sports. While managing the complexities of rivalries, friendships, and relationships that teenagers experience. The series beautifully portrays how every aspect of her life becomes intertwined in a true coming-of-age tale that celebrates the power of perseverance.

First Line is based on Nadia Lakhdari’s successful book collection.

Christophe Goldberger, Managing Director, GoldBee: “First Line is a phenomenon in Canada, and we are thrilled to see it reach new audiences internationally. We strongly believe in this universal tale of affirmation, which is told with a nuanced and contemporary delivery which strongly resonates with this hard-to-get-to tween/teen audience.”

Monique Lamoureux, co-president, Avanti-Toast: “It’s always a delight to see a project take off internationally. From the very beginning, we firmly believed in Nadia Lakhdari’s body of work. We assembled a talented creative team to bring her vision to life. First Line truly captures the challenges faced by tweens and teens as they navigate various fronts while coming of age. We are so proud of this work and the support we received from the original broadcast partners.¨

GoldBee has been appointed as distributor for global rights except for Spanish speaking territories. Christophe Goldberger will attend the Kidscreen Summit next month in San Diego.