To kick off the summer viewing season and to mark the historic Juneteenth anniversary, ABC is announcing three new original short-form digital comedies: Viola Davis’ and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions’ Juneteenth (the end of slavery in the U.S.) tribute “American Koko” from rising star Diarra Kilpatrick, the animated comedy “Ginger Snaps” from Warner Bros. Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content and the off-beat “The Off Season” are live now on ABC.com and the ABC App.
American Koko:
The satirical comedy follows Akosua Millard (Kilpatrick), code-named “Koko,” as she investigates and solves sticky racial situations in a post-racial America as a member of the E.A.R. Agency (Everybody’s A little bit Racist). As she and her team of specialists tackle cases, she herself is trying to reconcile the trauma of her past that has led to outbursts of her Angry Black Woman syndrome. It gets in the way of her work … and, more importantly, her dating life as her latest boyfriend may be the downfall to her and the agency! Originally produced independently on Kilpatrick’s YouTube channel, Essence named “American Koko” among The 11 Web Series You Should Be Watching and the American Black Film Festival gave it the Best Web Series Award for 2015. The irreverent comedy, which solves sticky racial situations with sensitivity, vulnerability, honesty and humor, caught the eye of Viola Davis’ and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions, which signed on to produce – along with National Picture Show – a second season and a re-shoot of season 1.
Ginger Snaps (Animated Comedy):
In the middle of a quiet suburb, power-hungry pre-teen Calista (Lauren Lapkus) dreams of making her cookie-selling troop the most powerful clique. With the moral compass of a movie gangster, she is willing to use everything — her family, her friends and even a schoolmate’s terminal cancer diagnosis — as leverage in her quest for cookie world domination. Cookies must be sold, and power will be grabbed, no matter the cost! Other voice artists include Aparna Nancherla (“Crashing”) as Kishy, Cree Summer (“Miles from Tomorrowland”) as Rachel, Ashley Tisdale (“Clipped,” “Phineas and Ferb”) as Apple, and comedienne Maria Bamford (“Lady Dynamite,” “Fresh Off the Boat”) as Vivian. “Ginger Snaps” is created and executive produced by Sono Patel (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “A to Z”) and produced by Warner Bros. Television Group’s digital studio Blue Ribbon Content. The project originally emerged from the Warner Bros. Television Workshop’s Fresh Ink initiative, which is dedicated to seeking out new and diverse voices from within the creative community with the goal of developing comedy and drama ideas from women and ethnic minority writers into viable scripts for presentation to the marketplace.
The Off Season
Underwhelming and self-absorbed siblings Jack (Rob Belushi) and Laurie (Erica Rhodes) think they’ve hit the jackpot when they inherit a motel from a distant relative; but after one night, the pair learn they’ve been duped and cursed to spend the rest of their lives trapped on the dilapidated property. For fear of having to spend eternity with only each other, they quickly devise a plan to lure their friends over because, well, misery loves company. ABC is also featuring a VR/360 video experience, created by Light Sail VR, that captures some of the more frightening aspects of the eternally wretched Ship’s Helm Motel on Facebook, YouTube and the Littlstar app for the web, mobile devices, PSVR and all VR headsets. ”The Off Season” is written by Jessica Conrad (“Saturday Night Live,” “Stan Against Evil”) who also executive produced along with Chris Hanada and Tanner Kling of Retrofit Films.