Mark Canton (Power, 300) and Courtney Solomon (AFTER, American Haunting, Dungeons & Dragons) have teamed up with the executive producers of King of the Hill and American Dad!, the co-creators of Silicon Valley, and the talent and co-creators of Workaholics, to bring the infamous comic book The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers to the small screen with an adult animated series.
WTG Enterprises, LLC has greenlit eight 22-minute episodes which will debut in early 2020. The series will revolve around three rowdy characters looking to shake up history and push the envelope while keeping audiences entertained and wanting more. Starburns Industries (Rick and Morty, Animals) and Pure Imagination Studios (The Simpsons, LEGO Batman) will handle animation.
The showrunners, talent and writers will be at San Diego Comic-Con to reveal details about the show at a panel on Friday, July 19 at 7 p.m. in room 6 BCF of the Convention Center. The discussion will cover the behind the scenes process around adapting this iconic 50-year-old comic book into a unique series.
The animated series will draw from the comic storylines, with the original creator, Gilbert Shelton, joining as an executive producer. Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland (King of the Hill, America Dad!) will serve as showrunners, John Althschuler and Dave Krinsky (Silicon Valley) will write and produce, Adam Devine and Blake Anderson (Workaholics) will voice characters, executive produce and will also be involved in the creative development process, and Daniel and Jeremy Lehrer (Highly Gifted) will serve as writers and producers.
Executive producers include Solomon (CEO of WTG) and Canton (former Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Columbia Tri-Star Motion Picture Companies and President of Worldwide Production for Warner Bros. Pictures), and Jeffrey S. Edell (president of WTG and former Chairman of MySpace parent company Intermix Media, CEO of Soundelux Entertainment, The Kids Are Alright, Killer Elite, The Grey, Just Friends) will also serve as co-executive producer. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Gilbert Shelton by Manfred Mroczkowski, Executive Director of InterLicense, Ltd., who will also be joining as an executive producer.
“There is so much topical, pop-culturally relevant, irreverent and hilarious source material to pull from, we’re just beyond thrilled to be working on such a fun and layered property,” said Freedland and Cohen. ”Now is the time to be creating smart adult animated shows that touch on topics that are timeless and timely.”
“We connected so much to these characters,” said Devine and Anderson. “They’re just trying to enjoy life while understanding the world around them, and the adventures they go through along the way had us fully giggling while simultaneously making us think. When the opportunity arose to get involved not just as talent but also on a creative level, we jumped at the chance and also WEED, man!”
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers first appeared in 1968 as an underground press comic strip, and centered on a threesome of “freaks” and a mischievous cat from San Francisco who are consistently looking for a state of bliss, relieved only by bursts of paranoia or stimulant induced frenzies. The Freak Brothers quickly became beloved, being translated into fourteen languages with over 40 million comics sold worldwide. The adventures this group of misfits take are both wildly boundary-pushing and remarkably human, with common themes including cannabis, law-breaking and politics.
