Zig & Sharko

Zig & Sharko
GenreSlapstick
Created byOlivier Jean-Marie
Directed by
  • Olivier Jean-Marie (season 1)
  • Andrés Fernandez (seasons 2–3)
  • Khalil Ben Naamane (season 3)
  • Cédric Dietsch (season 3)
  • Yani Ouabdesselam (season 4)
  • Nicolas Bougard (season 4)
Composers
  • Fabien Nataf (season 1)
  • Alain Mouysset (season 1)
  • Vincent Artaud (seasons 2–4)
Country of originFrance
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes104 (312 segments) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producerMarc du Pontavice
ProducerMarc du Pontavice
Running time22 minutes (7 minutes per segment)
Production companyXilam Animation
Original release
NetworkCanal+
Gulli
M6
ReleaseDecember 21, 2010 (2010-12-21) 
April 16, 2024 (2024-04-16)
Related

Zig & Sharko (French: Zig et Sharko) is a French animated slapstick comedy television series, created and directed by Olivier Jean-Marie, and produced by Xilam Animation for French networks, including Canal+ Family, Gulli and M6. The series focuses on the adventures of Zig, a brown hyena who is often aided by a hermit crab named Bernie, and Sharko, a great white shark, over their conflicts regarding the mermaid Marina.

Much of the series is inspired from classic cartoon series such as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner and Tom and Jerry, with animators employing the use of silent comedy for each plot - characters do not speak, instead conveying thoughts and feelings through gestures, emotional expressions, and unintelligible vocalization. After the first season, additional minor characters were created, most based on marine creatures such as dolphins, octopuses and fish, whilst the setting and main characters received updates and changes to their background.

Zig & Sharko was first broadcast on December 21, 2010, and has featured to date four seasons with 104 half-hour episodes. The series later was distributed globally after episodes were put online on YouTube by Xilam, with English titles and credits. A spin-off series, The Adventures of Bernie, was created by Xilam and broadcast in 2021.