In its second studio presentation of the Annecy festival, Netflix spilled the beans on its upcoming TV slate from their pre-school series all the way to their cinematic adult spectacles. Immediate headline news for the French crowd was Netflix’s acquisition of Émilie Tronche’s black-and-white 2D series Samuel, which will be distributed by the streamer in North America, Latin America, Australia & New Zealand, India, Spain, and France (SVOD only). Produced by Paris-based production and distribution company Les Valseurs, the charming show follows the adventures of a 10-year-old boy as he navigates the complexities of growing up in a small town, particularly the transition from elementary to middle school. (The show is co-produced by ARTE and Pikkukala.)
VP of series animation John Derderian highlighted the streamer’s dedication to expanding their animated horizons, “Over 130 million homes watch animation every single month, and we are actively seeking out new voices. One of the reasons we are here today, we want unique stories from the animation community all around the world. We want everything for big, brash, adrenaline field shows and the most intimate and unique jewels out there.”
Samuel is part of Netflix’s strategy to produce content for each stage of childhood, from toddler to tween, as laid out by director of kids and preschool original series Heather Trilert. Laying out the philosophy for this department, she said “You probably all remember your favorite show from your childhood. You can probably still sing the theme song. Maybe you have a picture of yourself when you were a kid wearing a t-shirt or having a birthday party. That is the joy and the love that we want to create through the new stories we’re looking to tell.”
This section of the presentation included footage from a range of Dr. Seuss adaptations. Red Fish, Blue Fish is a 2D animated show focused on children aged 4-7 which follows the two titular sea creatures in underwater adventures. Aiming for the same age range and produced by Brown Bag Animation is Horton, a CG series based on one of Seuss’s most famous stories. Rounding out these adaptations was The Sneetches, another CG Brown Bag series which aims slightly older for children rising to 10 years old.
Billy Wee, director of adult animation at the streamer, showed some footage of the new show from Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg called Long Story Short. The series, whose supervising producer is Lisa Hanawalt (Tuca & Bertie), takes on a much more minimal art style than Bojack but takes its sharp, incisive writing to new heights, with many overlapping conversations creating a satisfying dichotomy between the density of the dialogue and the simplicity of the visuals.
More details were also shared from Haunted Hotel, the new show from Matt Roller, executive produced by Chris McKenna, Dan Harmon and Steve Levy. In a 2D style reminiscent of Big Mouth, this show takes the form of a family sitcom set inside a haunted house where ghosts and ghouls have everyday interactions with this regular family. The footage shown had fun paralleling the attitudes of newer ghosts and those who have been around for centuries.
Big Mouth showrunner Nick Kroll made a pre-recorded appearance to introduce a pencil test for his new show Mating Season. To boil it down simply, Kroll said the series was about “adorable and horny animals.” True to its word, the pencil test was meta and raunchy, all while showcasing some very cute animal designs.
To talk about adult spectacle series, Dylan Thomas took the stage and dug into what spectacle series mean to the streamer, “Most animated TV shows are perceived as being just one for one audience, preschool, big kids, young adults, etc. That’s very different from animated films where broad audiences, including adults, see no hurdle to watching animated features. We see no reason why series cannot achieve the same reach and transformation as animated films. We want to create cinematic level masterworks in series form. We see a huge opportunity to make both broadly appealing animated series, and we are deeply committed to making it happen, devoting the time and the resources to succeed. We all remember watching Spider- Verse and being blown away by the imagination and beauty on screen. They blew the doors off what was possible, and we can do the same in series.”
Thomas then unveiled a trailer for video game adaptation Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. True to the Ubisoft video games, the footage depicted a shadowy, moon-lit world of espionage, complete with a barrage of silenced gunfire and paranoia. The bloody 2D series enlists writer Derek Kolstad, a screenwriter responsible for the John Wick franchise.
Another gaming adaptation comes in the form of Magic the Gathering, the first time this trading card game has been adapted from its source material for the screen. Very little was shown, but based on some concept art, the scope of the show seems to be huge, a massive attempt to establish a new fantasy universe. To help, animation studio DIGIC has been enlisted. Rounding off this section was the second season of the beloved Blue Eye Samurai. Again, footage was in short supply, but we see snippets of Mizu’s quest for revenge taking her to London.
Snapping back to the family side of things, the Netflix team was keen to stress the development of spectacle series for younger audiences. Head of family spectacle Dominique Bazay boasted a new show from Sony Pictures Animation and Flying Bark based on the Ghostbusters franchise. No animation was shown, but the mood-setting concept art was deeply impressive and immersive.
Following the success Warner Bros. experienced with their live action Minecraft movie, Netflix are aiming for a piece of the pie with their own animated adaptation. Once again, only concept art was shown, but even in those images, it was clear the showrunners had a vision on how to make Minecraft’s blocky style look lush and appealing. Remaining the gaming sphere once again, Bazay also showcased artwork for a Clash of Clans adaptation, described as a workplace comedy set in a fantasy world based on the mobile games. Based on Supercell franchises Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, the series will be show-run by Fletcher Moules (Entergalactic, Agent Elvis) who directed the original Clash of Clans animated videos. The series is executive produced by Ron Weiner (Silicon Valley, 30 Rock, Futurama, Arrested Development) with Vancouver-based ICON Creative Studio producing the animation.
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