SYFY'S "TZGZ" ORDERS ANIMATED SERIES, "THE SUMMONER," FROM STOOPID BUDDY STOODIOS AND THE NEW YORKER CARTOONIST CHARLIE HANKIN

NEW YORK, NY -- August 31, 2020 -- With the help of THE SUMMONER himself, SYFY has a new series to add to its growing late-night adult animation block, TZGZ. From Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and writer, actor and The New Yorker cartoonist Charlie Hankin, THE SUMMONER is a 2D animated series based on the short film from Hankin about Rory and his challenging roommate. Rory, in his 20's and living on his own for the first time, has found himself in a small 2-bedroom with the Summoner, a magical alien with the power to summon any object to his present location. This sounds potentially useful, but it isn't - the Summoner has a tenuous grasp of English and only summons the most useless shit. Greenlit for a straight-to-series order of 10 three-minute episodes expected to air in SYFY's TZGZ block next year, THE SUMMONER is executive produced by Seth Green, Hankin, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich, Eric Towner and Chris Waters.

"We've been a fan of Charlie's work for The New Yorker for quite some time," said Stoopid Buddy Stoodios co-founder Matthew Senreich. "We love the offbeat, observational humor of his comics, and can't wait to bring his singular voice and design sensibilities into the world of animation as part of the TZGZ line-up."

"THE SUMMONER is a perfect example of how we're experimenting with content for TZGZ by continuing to add smart stories from unique voices, but also playing with different formats and new animation styles, like Charlie's distinctive hand-drawn look," said Jon Cotton, VP, Short-Form Animation & Alternative Formats for SYFY. "Working with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios on this project was a no-brainer, given their track record for creating some of the buzziest adult animation out there."

ABOUT 'TZGZ':

TZGZ is SYFY's growing late-night adult animation block (TZGZ comes after SYFY, duh). It's on Saturdays at midnight-ish because, just come hang whenever... we're around. It's perfect for when you're feeling chill, funny and maybe even have the munchies. We've got animated comedy with a genre twist and of course, a High Wizard to keep you company.

THE SUMMONER ups TZGZ's total programming slate to five OG series, 11 acquired shows and five OG pilots.

ABOUT STOOPID BUDDY STOODIOS:

Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is an artist-friendly collective that houses some of the finest talent in all of animation and live-action, showcasing a knack for creating unique visuals and telling character driven stories with an uncanny sensibility. Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is home to the longest running stop-motion show on television, the Emmy Award-winning "Robot Chicken," as well as the Emmy Award-nominated "SuperMansion" with Bryan Cranston. Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is currently in production on Season 2 of "Crossing Swords," which premiered as part of the Hulu Originals slate earlier this year. The company's multiple-building campus and state-of-the-art facility located in Burbank, makes it one of the largest studios specializing in live-action, puppetry, stop-motion, 2D and CG animation in California. The company's work covers the entertainment gamut, ranging from charming hand-crafted animation all the way to high-end live-action feature films.

THE SUMMONER adds to Stoopid Buddy Stoodios' growing slate of 2D animated productions. In addition to their current 2D lineup of "Adam Ruins Everything," "Camp WWE" and "Hot Streets," the studio recently announced "Filthy Animals," a 2D animated science fiction comedy series featuring Rashida Jones, written by acclaimed artists and twin brothers, Nikolai and Simon Haas.

ABOUT CHARLIE HANKIN:

Charlie Hankin is an actor, writer, cartoonist and animator whose work can be seen in The New Yorker, the UK's Private Eye and his Instagram feed: @mecharliehankin. As an actor, he's appeared in "I Love Dick," "The Last OG," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and more. Hankin is also half of the sketch duo and filmmaking team Good Cop Great Cop, who have been making short films together for over a decade. Together, they have developed pilots with both TBS and Comedy Central. You can view his library of original animations here.