Apr 29, 2019

TV summary: "Gerald's World", "Mom K's Team 4", "Inside Job"

A roundup of an animated series announced for development, production, or delivery.

Inspired by DJ/actor/record producer Dillon Francis' social media posts, donkey piñata is making a new Disney animated series on 20th Century Fox TV. This series, tentatively titled The World of Gerald, will focus on Gerald the Piñata, an inanimate character made of cardboard and paper who acts as Francis' sidekick in his video.

Writer Spencer Porter (Family Guy, we Bear Naked) pen the show and will serve as co-creator/executive producer along with Francis. McG and Mary Viola are produced through prodco Wonderland Sound and Vision, while Corey Marsh is also a producer.

Gerald Piñata was recently seen in Francis' Coachella ad for T-Mobile. A line of clothes for the characters was also recently launched.

The project is under development on the 20th Century Fox Television, owned by the Walt Disney Company. News about the series was first reported by the deadline.

Bringing African stories to its animated slate, Netflix has announced the first original series created on the continent by African talent: Team 4 of Mama K. The adventure show is produced by Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios and London's Cake Entertainment.In 2017, the two companies partnered on this project.

Set in a neo-futuristic version of Lusaka, Zambia, Mom K's Team 4 is still recruited by a retired secret agent committed to saving the world This series was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, who won the pan-African Talent Search initiative Triggerfish Story Lab in 2015. It was a great experience. Taking visual references from retro 90s R&B and hip-hop girl groups, Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wope has served as a designer.

Netflix is working with Triggerfish and Cake to recruit African female writing talent to inject the story of this female-led show with a more authentic voice. Writers interested in applying can learn more on the Triggerfish website.

"In creating a superhero show set in Lusaka, I want to introduce the world to four powerful African girls who will save the day in their own fun and crazy ways," Mulendema said in a statement. "The most important thing is that I want to explain that anyone from anywhere can become a superhero.

Added Melissa Cobb, Vice President of original animation at Netflix, "Mom K's Team 4 has the potential to give a whole new generation of African children the opportunity to see themselves on screen with powerful, aspirational characters they respect."

In another announcement, Netflix is expanding its adult animation lineup with an order of 20 episodes for Inside Job from Takeuchi Shion (Gravity Falls, Regular show, Disenchantment)., Inside Out) acts as a showrunner and executive producer. It marks the first project as part of Takeuchi's multi-year overall agreement with the streaming company. Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, co-produces the show.

Netflix describes the project as "a workplace comedy set in a shadow government where all conspiracy theories, from the Illuminati to the Leptoid, are true and one woman struggles to wrap up the mess."The series will be produced at Netflix Animation in Hollywood, the company's new studio, which opened in 2018 and has a lot of animation production.

"Shion represents Netflix's next generation of animation creators and is truly honored to work with her at Inside Job," Netflix's Adult Anime "We can't wait for adult anime fans around the world to fall in love with her idiosyncratic brand of comedy and characters."”