Since becoming part of WOW! Unlimited Media in October of 2016, Frederator Networks has continued to be at the forefront of next-gen kids and youth animation through its Frederator Studios and Frederator Digital Ventures — and its roster of originals continues to grow. The studio was founded in 1998 by media entrepreneur and former Hanna-Barbera president, Fred Seibert.
Currently in production are season 2 of international hit Netflix series Castlevania, based on the Konami video game (the only game adaptation to be certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes); and Costume Quest for Amazon, based on the video game by Double Fine Productions and creatively helmed by showrunner Will McRobb (co-creator, The Adventures of Pete & Pete) and exec producers Seibert, Kevin Kolde and Eric Homan.
Frederator also continues to produce Pendleton Ward’s Bravest Warriors (with the latest S4 co-produced with Nelvana) for the studio’s Cartoon Hangover Select channel on VRV; Natasha Allegri’s Bee and PuppyCat, also on VRV. Bravest Warriors is exclusive to Cartoon Hangover Select on VRV in the US with linear rights through WOW! Unlimited; international rights are handled by Corus Ent.
Seibert pioneered the concept of compilation series as animation incubators for fresh talent, ever since Oh Yeah! Cartoons and Random! Cartoons on Nickelodeon helped bring popular shows to TV such as Butch Hartman’s The Fairly OddParents (Nickelodeon) and Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time (Cartoon Network). The latest such project, GO! Cartoons — co-produced with Sony Pictures Animation — just wrapped up on Cartoon Hangover channels. The incubator is build to bring promising talent and animation concepts to Sony’s attention through an alternate development method, which saw Frederator Studios’ dev team review hundred of pitches and, with SPA’s input and promise of funding, select a dozen short film projects. GO! Cartoons has more than 3 million views on Cartoon Hangover YouTube and is available on Cartoon Hangover Select VRV; at least one of these shorts will become a Cartoon Hangover series.
In development at Frederators Studios are an adaptation of award-winning author Faith Erin Hicks’ graphic novel series The Nameless City (with Recursion Media); and Manly by Jesse and Justin Moynihan, based on the original short film for Frederator’s Too Cool! Cartoons incubator series.
Frederator Digital isn’t lagging, either, programming a slew of online channels and producing original cartoons. Recently, the division released several new, original mini-series for Cartoon Hangover Select on VRV: Shadowstone Park by Jason Steele (Charlie the Unicorn) premiered in December 2017; Slug Riot from ike Rosenthal arrive in January; (not)Hero gave Liz Chun her series debut in February; and Cris P. Duck from Ralph Kidson arrived in March. Frederator Digital’s trio of YouTube channels — Cartoon Hangover, pop culture-focused Channel Frederator, and video game-centric The Leaderboard — garners over 30 million views a month. Frederator Digital also manages The Channel Frederator Network of over 3,000 artist and animation channels.
More information at frederator.com and channelfrederatornetwork.com.
