Music-centric cable TV network fuse has commissioned seven episodes of Empire Square, a new animated show based on a series of edgy shorts by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree. Critically acclaimed in the U.K., the property is being adapted for U.S. viewers and will preview on Dec. 24 at Midnight (ET) before settling into a weekly schedule in the first quarter of 2006.
Empire Square delivers biting, social commentary via lovably anti-social, foul-mouthed characters named Rabbit and Hooks, and a Tourette’s-suffering, rockstar wannabe named Richie. The trio cook up bizarre, get rich quick schemes and chase music superstardom in this twisted series that is being compared to South Park and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Co-created by Rowntree and music industry insiders Ant Cauchi and Lloyd Salmons, the series features retro video-game-style animation and was originally intended for distribution over mobile platforms. Execs at Britain’s Channel 4 then caught wind of it and commissioned a series of three-minute episodes that aired during its late-night music programming block in early 2005. The new series is being created exclusively for fuse by Cauchi’s and Salmons’ Outside Line shingle.
‘Empire Square reinforces fuse’s commitment to expanding its original programming,’ says Andrea Greenberg, pesident of Rainbow Media Ventures. ‘We think Empire Square will undoubtedly resonate with our hip, young adult viewers.’
An aggressive marketing campaign for Empire Square will include promo spots slated to appear in more than 200 theaters. The show will also be promoted at f.y.e. retail stores nationwide, while college and high school street teams distribute specially designed Empire Square toilet paper in bathrooms, dorm rooms and school facilities across the country. More 125,000 CD Rom teaser-trailers to high school students which, when finished, will redirect the consumer to the fuse.tv/empiresquare website. fuse will also distribute a holiday e-card to over
Fuse will also rely heavily on the internet to build the Empire Square brand. In adition to sending out more than 150,000 holiday e-cards, the network will offer streaming mini-episodes and downloadable content at www.fuse.tv. On the mobile front, clips of the show will be available through fuseMobile, while full episodes are made available on fuse OnDemand.
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