FLOW's "Squaddy" set to "fly out"

Cable provider FLOW is continuing along the path of generating original programming acceptable to a wide audience, as news in The Observer indicates Jamaican police drama comedy Squaddy will soon be available to viewers in New York and the Tri-state Area, courtesy of Caribbean Interactive Network (CIN)

CIN, the report said,  made the agreement with the producer of the show, eMedia Interactive Ltd, which already distributes the comedy series through its own online platform iVu tv and Columbus Communication's Flow TV.

The comedy series stars Darielle Cummings, Randy McLaren and Chris Hutchinson in half-hour-long episodes. It is based around Hutchinson and McLaren's characters 'Touchie' and 'Scrapings', who are rookie cops. Darielle Cummings plays their superior, the intimidating Superintendent 'Bigga Blacks'.

"CIN looks forward to airing Squaddy. This programme is a continuation of CIN's efforts to present the best Caribbean programmes to the Diaspora in New York City and the Tri-state area," said CIN CEO Stephen Hill in a press release.

The deal represents iVu tv's first international distribution deal. Rachel Osbourne, the online network's assistant vice-president of original content, described it as "another major move" for the young platform.

"It's amazing what we have accomplished in just a few months with iVu tv. Squaddy peaked at number 6 on Flow cable in its time slot during this first run. Cracking the top 10 is something to be proud of. Now we're giving hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans in the Diaspora the chance to share the laughs with us," Osbourne said.

CIN has the distinction of being the most watched television channel in New York among the Caribbean community, which is measured at 550,000 viewers per day in the latest media survey done by Hope Research. Squaddy will run on CIN Sundays at 12PM and 11PM from January 12, 2014 to March 2, 2014.

Squaddy was introduced on Flow TV in October as part of a partnership agreement between Flow and eMedia that will see the latter distributing a slate of original local programmes to the cable provider.

Squaddy is set to return to iVu tv and Flow TV in May with five more episodes than its first season, for a total of 13 episodes.

"We've began the pre- production of season 2 of Squaddy and we're excited about the experience we can give viewers in the upcoming run," said Osbourne.

FLOW previously had a hit with the animated series "Cabbie Chronicles"