Comedy Central is getting animated with Triptank.
The Viacom-owned cable channel has picked up eight episodes of the series, which is slated to premiere next fall. The weekly series is designed to showcase a range of recurring animated shorts, from both new voices and established talent, built into a half-hour block much like the 1990s hit Liquid Television.
The plots, which will come from such names as Will Ferrell's partner Adam McKay, Tom Gammill (The Simpsons, Monk) and Jon Glaser (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Human Giant), range from a magical alcoholic wheelchair helping sick children to a group of aliens studying the world’s most average guy. Bob Odenkirk, Larry David, Zach Galafianakis, Kumail Nanjiani, Brett Gelman and Kyle Kinane are all involved in the pilot.
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ShadowMachine’s Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico (Robot Chicken) are executive producing the effort, which will include 2D, stop-motion and CG. Included are both stand-alone shorts as well as ongoing narratives.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter late last year, Bulkley suggested TripTank could serve as an animation "farm league for MTV Networks," which will have the first shot at turning the shorts into full-fledged series, a trajectory followed by The Simpsons, South Park and Beavis & Butthead (the latter got its start as a short on Liquid Television).
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose
