Canadian animation producer Cin’Groupe has begun production on 13 new episodes of the adult prime-time animated series Tripping the Rift, which aired for two seasons on the SCI FI Channel in the U.S. and various outlets internationally. The third season order will give fans a total of 39 half hours of the series, which employs CG animation to spoof such science-fiction staples as Star Trek and Star Wars .
Tripping the Rift started as an award-winning short film by creators Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. The series follows the intergalactic adventures of the crew of a smuggling vessel captained by a stumpy purple alien named Chode, voiced by Stephen Root (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Office Space). John Melendez (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Howard Stern Show) provides the voice of the ship’s computer and Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain) voices Gus, Chode’s sexually confused and verbally abused robot slave. Six, Chode’s sexy cyborg, was voiced by Gina Gershon (Showgirls) in the first season but Carman Electra (Monster Island), took over the role for the second round of episodes.
The new episodes are being produced in Canada in association with TELETOON, which will air the English- and French-language versions. Canadians will also be able to catch the show on broadcaster SPACE: the Imagination Station. Since its debut in early 2004, Tripping the Rift has sold around the world. Pick-us include Sky One in the U.K., Sci Fi and NRJ12 in France, TV1 in Australia, SIC Radical in Portugal, Fox International in Italy, Cartoon Network in Latin America and Action-MNET in Africa
The first two seasons of Tripping the Rift are currently out on DVD and have been big sellers in the U.S. Other successful shows produced by Cin’Groupe include What’s With Andy?, Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, Charlie Jade and GALIDOR.
