MADMAN, ABC and SA FILM CORPORATION STRIKE CO-DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH EPIC FILMS TO PRODUCE ALL-NEW WASTELANDER PANDA FOR ABC iview.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Madman Production Company, the ABC and the South Australian Film Corporation are proud to announce a co-production/co-development deal with Epic Films to create new episodes of the popular cult web series, WASTELANDER PANDA.
The deal will see the creation of all-new WASTELANDER PANDA content in the form of a web series, consisting of six 10-minute episodes that will build on the existing content created by the team at Epic Films in Adelaide – further evolving the unique characters, stories and rich mythology of the Wasteland.
The project also marks an innovative approach to content development for the ABC, as it is the first official collaboration between their TV Multiplatform, Fiction and Arts departments with a view to commissioning content for ABC’s rapidly growing iview Platform.
Madman and Epic Films are aiming to have the project ready for production financing later this year and will be looking to introduce it to potential international partners at this year’s AFM conference.
“Madman Production Company (MPC) is thrilled to be working in partnership with Epic Films. In establishing a production business, a huge part of our remit is to work with the brightest talent on the freshest work, and the team behind WASTELANDER PANDA certainly fits that bill! It is fantastic that the SAFC and the ABC are investing in the development of the series so that we can resource this phase and ensure that the next steps for WASTELANDER PANDA will build on the great work to date and establish it as an ongoing property.” – Nick Batzias, Head of Production, Madman.
“This co-production straight to on-demand is a landmark first for ABC iview. It’s a great fit – building on iview as a creative platform for exciting, innovative Australian storytelling.” – Arul Baskaran, Controller ABC Multiplatform.
“The SAFC has been a big supporter of the team behind WASTELANDER PANDA since the early days of the project, so we are particularly excited to have Madman and ABC come on board as partners to keep it moving ahead,” said SAFC CEO Richard Harris. “We can’t wait to see where the team takes the project in its next development phase.”
“WASTELANDER PANDA has been through a unique journey online over the past two years, and we are incredibly grateful to our fans, crowdfunding supporters, cast and crew, who have enabled us to bring this story to life. We are excited to be partnering with Madman, the ABC and the SAFC to develop the next stage of the project, and look forward to extending our existing narrative and taking the story to a wider audience.” – Victoria Cocks (Writer/Director) & Kirsty Stark (Producer), Epic Films.
WASTELANDER PANDA is a post-apocalyptic adventure series about the last anthropomorphic pandas of the Wasteland – Arcayus and his estranged brother Isaac. Developed from a rich storyworld, the project has been designed to offer compelling narrative threads across multiple platforms. The initial short-form web series in development with Madman, the ABC and the SAFC will tell the story of Isaac’s life after he leaves the family home; centring around his relationship with Rose, a young human girl whom he raises from childhood.
In February 2012, Epic Films released their independently produced WASTELANDER PANDA Prologue online, and within three days, had garnered over 100,000 views. Production then began on three new episodes in late 2012, which were released in late May to a volley of fan excitement, media attention and social media praise from peers such as video game luminaries, Randy Pitchford (BORDERLANDS) and Brian Fargo (FALLOUT, WASTELAND).