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Thunderbird Entertainment
Canadian film and television company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Thunderbird Entertainment Group, Inc. (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Vancouver-based film and television studio.
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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., 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 that 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 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 26, 2025, Blue Ant Media announced its intent to acquire Thunderbird for C$63 million.[18]
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Atomic Cartoons
Atomic Cartoons is a Vancouver-based animation studio acquired by Thunderbird in 2015. It has produced series such as Atomic Betty,[citation needed] Beat Bugs (with Beyond International),[citation needed] The Last Kids on Earth,[19][20] Mighty Express (with Spin Master),[21] Molly of Denali (with WGBH-TV and CBC Kids),[22] and Pirate Express.[13][23][24]
Great Pacific Media
Great Pacific Media was founded in May 2010 by Blair Reekie and Mark Miller, and acquired by Thunderbird In December 2014.[25] 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][26][27] Save My Reno and Worst to First for Home Network,[28][29][30] and Queen of the Oil Patch for APTN.[31][32]
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.[33] 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.[34][35] 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.[36]
Thunderbird Releasing
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]
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Filmography
 | This section may require copy editing for converting to a table similar to other studio articles. (November 2025) |
Scripted TV series
Factual TV series
- 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
- 101 Dalmatian Street
- Beat Bugs
- Ella the Elephant
- Johnny Test
- The Last Kids on Earth
- Lego Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit
- Little Charmers
- Marvel's Avengers Assemble
- Max & Ruby
- Maya the Bee
- Milo vs ALEX!
- Minecraft Mini-Series
- Mixels
- Nico Can Dance!
- Pirate Express
- Rocket Monkeys
- Spider-Man Unlimited
- Super Dinosaur
- Transformers: Rescue Bots
- World of Quest
- Zigby
- Zixx
References
External links
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