10 x 22 minute adult animated anthology comedy fantasy series (development)
Batshit fairytales from around the world that you’ve never heard. Inspired by the indie podcast Old Wives hosted and created by Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers.
Batshit fairytales from around the world that you’ve never heard. Inspired by the indie podcast Old Wives hosted and created by Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers.
Short animatic for the animated series Old Wives in development by Mattfilms in Canada, based on the independent American podcast of the same name, created and hosted by the talented Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers.
Clip from pilot script 'Slavic the Hedgehog' about a rooster-riding hedgehog that helps some people out, falls in love with a princess, sheds his curse and becomes a prince.
Written by Amy and Casey, storyboards by Olga Ulanova, sound design and mix by Andy Goddard. Designs by Marine Varguy and Mack Sztaba.
Voiced by Poppy Hillstead as Hedgehog and Fern Brady as Princess and Amy and Casey as themselves.
Produced and directed by Ashley Matt for Mattfilms.
Clip from pilot script 'Slavic the Hedgehog' about a rooster-riding hedgehog that helps some people out, falls in love with a princess, sheds his curse and becomes a prince.
Written by Amy and Casey, storyboards by Olga Ulanova, sound design and mix by Andy Goddard. Designs by Marine Varguy and Mack Sztaba.
Voiced by Poppy Hillstead as Hedgehog and Fern Brady as Princess and Amy and Casey as themselves.
Produced and directed by Ashley Matt for Mattfilms.
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC
North America/Europe/New Zealand/Australia, Gen X/Millennial
FORMAT
10 x 22 adult animated comedy series
Traditional TV and web/streaming: Think Adult Swim, Global TV App, STACKTV, Channel 4, ITV, 9Go
SET UP
With OLD WIVES we aim to create a returnable streaming series that mixes sweetness, bloody violence, wit, sexual content and cute cartoon animals. Old Wives is silly, fun, takes risks and is a vehicle for guest international comedic talent. Tonally it fits in with Drunk History.
With a strong POV we follow life-long friends Amy and Casey who frequent a local cursed bar tended by an old crone, where they tell each other stories they’ve dug up in used bookstores and the dusty corners of the internet.
The bonkers, over the top stories bring us to the icy tundra of Nunavut, the seas of Spain, the villages of the Netherlands, the homes of West Bengal and to the enchanted forests of France, laced with biting ironic comedy, pop-culture references and the attitude and life experience of 21st century Americans.
The original podcast by design casts its net wide to share fairytales that sit outside of the typical white Euro-centric stories that are often reiterated in media. Inclusion is important and we want to find our place in helping birth that in a genuine way.
In the original podcast Amy and Casey voice concerns about the blatant racism and anti-Semitism they come across in A LOT of the stories they read while researching episodes.
They are also keenly aware that many of the books they get their stories from are translated in the most part by white people, which skews the narrative. Casey has spoken about avoiding many American tales because those stories often speak hideously about indigenous people. Sexism is something Amy and Casey often address, in a tongue and cheek way. They both are excited when they come across a story where a female character has a name or is the hero rather than just a plot device.
By challenging sexism, racism, anti-Semitism in a unique way we hope it will lead to lively, funny and important debate. By taking these risks we hope to draw in a culturally diverse audience and help us earn interest in the media and on social platforms.
Original creators and writers Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers
North America/Europe/New Zealand/Australia, Gen X/Millennial
FORMAT
10 x 22 adult animated comedy series
Traditional TV and web/streaming: Think Adult Swim, Global TV App, STACKTV, Channel 4, ITV, 9Go
SET UP
With OLD WIVES we aim to create a returnable streaming series that mixes sweetness, bloody violence, wit, sexual content and cute cartoon animals. Old Wives is silly, fun, takes risks and is a vehicle for guest international comedic talent. Tonally it fits in with Drunk History.
With a strong POV we follow life-long friends Amy and Casey who frequent a local cursed bar tended by an old crone, where they tell each other stories they’ve dug up in used bookstores and the dusty corners of the internet.
The bonkers, over the top stories bring us to the icy tundra of Nunavut, the seas of Spain, the villages of the Netherlands, the homes of West Bengal and to the enchanted forests of France, laced with biting ironic comedy, pop-culture references and the attitude and life experience of 21st century Americans.
The original podcast by design casts its net wide to share fairytales that sit outside of the typical white Euro-centric stories that are often reiterated in media. Inclusion is important and we want to find our place in helping birth that in a genuine way.
In the original podcast Amy and Casey voice concerns about the blatant racism and anti-Semitism they come across in A LOT of the stories they read while researching episodes.
They are also keenly aware that many of the books they get their stories from are translated in the most part by white people, which skews the narrative. Casey has spoken about avoiding many American tales because those stories often speak hideously about indigenous people. Sexism is something Amy and Casey often address, in a tongue and cheek way. They both are excited when they come across a story where a female character has a name or is the hero rather than just a plot device.
By challenging sexism, racism, anti-Semitism in a unique way we hope it will lead to lively, funny and important debate. By taking these risks we hope to draw in a culturally diverse audience and help us earn interest in the media and on social platforms.
Original creators and writers Amy Stephenson and Casey Childers
Meet AMY, CASEY & Hedgehog
|
|
|
Amy is a recovering chaotic and works hard not to be irritated by you. Amy is a straight talking, sarcastic, joke making machine. She suffers no fools or rubbish people but has a deep kindness and understanding of many of the characters she reads about. Tell her about a woodland creature with a leather pouch and sword or a party of boozing anthropomorphized cats and she’ll melt (as we all rightly should). Amy is married to an army veteran and the two own an old dog that’s been through it all with them and a new cat that doesn’t hold a candle to its recently deceased predecessor (well, they’re slowly warming to each other).
Amy is grappling with her mother’s disowning of her and has recently traveled back home across the US from California to New York State. What’s a positive of being closer to Long Island again? She gets to visit her father more and see how nice his lawn is looking – he named the lawn Gary by the way. When she’s coming off her depression meds she’ll let you know, that way you’ll understand why she’s crying all over you.
Casey the family man is a warm soul with a dry and sharp tongue. Don’t let his good nature fool you though; he’s not beyond throwing down the hard truth when it’s called for. When Casey’s not doodling cursed illustrations for his and Amy’s stories you’ll find him sticking up for the underdog and driving his family three hours each way to pick up a used electronic synthesizer – and for some strange reason the kids thought that was fun.
Casey is more subtle about his past than Amy, mainly so he won’t perpetuate the negative history of his relationship with his father to his kids. Casey’s life is lived around the edges of his career as a software engineer but he still managed to buy and more importantly visit a cottage in the California woods so he can give his two children and partner a place to make memories. Casey likes to find poetry in the everyday, even the new cottage has a way of offering life advice as he wades through the discarded junk left behind by the previous owner’s kids who didn’t want the task of cleaning up their parent’s mess.
Amy is grappling with her mother’s disowning of her and has recently traveled back home across the US from California to New York State. What’s a positive of being closer to Long Island again? She gets to visit her father more and see how nice his lawn is looking – he named the lawn Gary by the way. When she’s coming off her depression meds she’ll let you know, that way you’ll understand why she’s crying all over you.
Casey the family man is a warm soul with a dry and sharp tongue. Don’t let his good nature fool you though; he’s not beyond throwing down the hard truth when it’s called for. When Casey’s not doodling cursed illustrations for his and Amy’s stories you’ll find him sticking up for the underdog and driving his family three hours each way to pick up a used electronic synthesizer – and for some strange reason the kids thought that was fun.
Casey is more subtle about his past than Amy, mainly so he won’t perpetuate the negative history of his relationship with his father to his kids. Casey’s life is lived around the edges of his career as a software engineer but he still managed to buy and more importantly visit a cottage in the California woods so he can give his two children and partner a place to make memories. Casey likes to find poetry in the everyday, even the new cottage has a way of offering life advice as he wades through the discarded junk left behind by the previous owner’s kids who didn’t want the task of cleaning up their parent’s mess.
