As part of a new first look deal with Amazon Studios, character design studio Superplastic is developing a series starring two synthetic celebrities from their canon.
“The Janky & Guggimon Show” follows the adventures of two lazy and spectacularly incompetent best friends who are hell-bent on getting rich and famous but leave a trail of chaos and destruction in their wake. The first half of the endearing duo is Janky, a loveable idiot who spends his spare time scamming celebrities, and the second is Guggimon, a fashion icon and master manipulator who’s too narcissistic to care.
Each episode features a cast of animated and human celebrity friends. If ordered to series, it will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
The development of “The Janky & Guggimon Show” comes as Superplastic and Amazon Studios have signed a first-look deal to facilitate the creation of additional series and films starring other characters in the Superplastic universe.
Prior to landing the deal with Amazon, Janky and Guggimon built a massive fan base on social media.
“Superplastic’s universe of synthetic celebrities have earned a cult following in every medium they’ve touched,” Superplastic founder and CEO Paul Budnitz said in a statement. “The new collaboration partnership with Amazon Studios reaches a massive audience and provides a new playground for us to wreak havoc worldwide.”
In addition to the first look deal, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, a venture capital arm focused on new media, smart consumer electronics, ambient intelligence and other areas of digital technology, led a $20 million Series A extension investment round for Superplastic. Other investors in the round included Craft Ventures, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, Scribble Ventures, Kakao, Animoca Brands, Day One Ventures and Betaworks.
The latest investment brings Superplastic’s total funding to $58 million to date and will support the expansion of the Superplastic character universe.
“Superplastic’s virtual celebrities delight audiences and meet their customers where they are, and we see them as demonstrative of a new class of IP that is going to be increasingly relevant with younger generations,” Alexa Fund director Paul Bernard said in a statement. “We are excited to be an investor and to continue to help Superplastic and Amazon’s Media and Entertainment teams identify more ways to delight customers.”
