Gaming culture entertainment studio and production house behind ‘Rick and Morty’ to develop animated comedy starring gaming influencers VanossGaming, BasicallyIDoWrk, I AM WILDCAT and Terroriser.
3BLACKDOT, a leading entertainment studio focused on the intersection of gaming and culture, announced it’s developing a new animated comedy series, Alpha Betas, in partnership with Starburns Industries, the studio behind Rick and Morty and Anomalisa. The half-hour comedy stars gaming influencers VanossGaming, BasicallyIDoWrk, I AM WILDCAT and Terroriser; it marks the first long-scripted television series from the group, which bring a collective audience of over 40 million fans from across social media.
Creators Chris Bruno & David Howard Lee (Facebook Watch’s Human Discoveries) will serve as showrunners and executive producers, with Starburns producing the animation. Regi Cash, James Frey, Zennen Clifton, and Mitchell Smith of 3BLACKDOT along with Starburns’ Casey Rup, James Fino, Simon Ore and Paige Dowling will also serve as executive producers. The supporting voice cast includes Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty, Saturday Night Live), Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), John DiMaggio (Futurama, Adventure Time), and Brent Morin (Undateable, Merry Happy Whatever). The pilot is set to debut in early 2021.
"3BLACKDOT has made it its mission to push the boundaries of modern entertainment through innovative and immersive projects, and we're thrilled to take that mission to the next level by partnering some of the biggest names in gaming with a groundbreaking studio in Starburns Industries," said Zennen Clifton, EVP and Head of 3BD Networks. "As more opportunities arise for gamers in the broader entertainment landscape, we're eager to continue to develop, finance, and create new projects merging the art of storytelling with gaming culture through this dynamic and massive audience."
Alpha Betas further expands 3BLACKDOT’s growing slate of original programming produced with leading influencers in gaming who have 6B+ monthly viewers across the globe. 3BlackDot is also the creative force behind some of the most innovative cross-platform entertainment projects, including the 2019 box office hit Queen & Slim, the immersive horror universe of CLOWNPOCALYPSE, and the highly anticipated film Eat Brains Love.
Starburns Industries is the stop-motion, traditional 2D and digital animation studio behind the Academy Award-nominated animated feature, Anomalisa, and the blockbuster series Adult Swim series, Rick and Morty, as well as Morel Orel and Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole.
Source: 3BLACKDOT
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
