Roku, Inc. will premiere its first original adult animated series Doomlands on The Roku Channel this Friday, January 28. The irreverent end-times show started as creator Josh O’Keefe’s university film project turned crowd-funded pilot, and was later developed by Josh Bowen and Look Mom! Productions. The series will be available exclusively for free on The Roku Channel in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
The series looks at the life of the infamous Danny Doom and aspiring bartender, Lhandi, as they sling beers across a hellish wasteland in their mobile pub: The Oasis. Facing ruthless desert gangs, memory-stealing creeps, and even mean bathroom graffiti, all this crew’s got to do to survive is not kill each other.
“Doomlands is a post-apocalyptic animated comedy soaked in dust, beer and blood. It’s an homage to Ozploitation and sci-fi cinema, and after many years in development, I’m so stoked for it to debut on The Roku Channel,” said O’Keefe.
Executive producer and managing director of Look Mom! Productions Josh Bowen added, “Doomlands is Mad Max meets Cheers in the Mos Eisley Cantina, which is a major part of what originally attracted us to the concept. This project was produced almost entirely throughout the pandemic. In fact, Josh literally produced this show from my mom’s basement with the help of her home-cooked meals. The final product is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of our team, and we’re so excited that it’s now a Roku Original.”
Doomlands was originally ordered by mobile-first streamer Quibi in 2020,before the Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman-founded platform shuttered after just six months and set several animated projects adrift.
“I believe Josh O’Keefe is well on his way to becoming a household name in animation,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming. “What he’s created with Doomlands is clever, laugh out loud funny, and indisputably wild, all while grounding the show in excellent characters. We feel so lucky to be the home to his brilliance.”
Mark Little and Kayla Lorette star as Danny Doom and Lhandi, respectively. Produced by Look Mom! Productions, a Blue Ant Media company, Doomlands was written by O’Keefe, Roger Bainbridge, Brandon Hackett, Lorette and Little. Lee Porter and Josh O’Keefe served as co-showrunners. The series is directed by O’Keefe.
Blue Ant’s Look Mom! specializes in producing original animated content for teens and adults with a foucs on a creator-driven approach and collaborative process. Its slate of premium programming includes Adult Swim Canada’s Night Sweats, VRV’s (U.S.) Bigfoot and Gary and His Demons for Mondo Channel on VRV (U.S.), CBC Gem (Canada), Comedy Central (U.K.) and ABC Comedy (Australia). Look Mom! is also known for digital shorts such as Don’t Feed the Humans, World Doctors, Crack-Duck and more.
Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel in Q1 2021, The Roku Channel reached U.S. households with an estimated 70 million people. In Q3 2021, The Roku Channel was a top five channel on the platform in the U.S. by active account reach. The channel features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 free movies and programs and 220+ free live linear TV channels. It licenses and distributes content from more than 200 partners. In addition to Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on Web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs and can be accessed in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
lookmomproductions.com | therokuchannel.roku.com
