Metan Development Group will launch Metan Wen Zhi Ku, a joint venture that will tap Hollywood talent that has worked on hit shows like “Head of the Class” and “Murphy Brown” to cook up transmedia projects for Chinese audiences. Its first project is a romantic comedy web series set in China, Europe and South America.
Transmedia is an approach to storytelling that unspools a narrative across multiple media platforms, spanning movies, television shows and social media outlets.
Metan CEO and President Larry Name has tapped a team of writers led by Art Eisenson (“Kojak”) and David Gittins (the executive director of the TV Writers Fund for the Future) that includes Marilyn Anderson (“Murphy Brown” “The Jeffersons”), Michael Elias (“Head of the Class,” “All In The Family”), Eric Estrin (“Miami Vice,” “Murder She Wrote”), Lynn Roth (“Nine To Five” series), Judith Parker (“L.A. Law”), Bob Shayne (“Magnum P.I.,” “Welcome Back Kotter”) and Treva Silverman (“Mary Tyler Moore“). Before launching Metan, which delivers Western entertainment to China and produces content in China to be sold to the international market, Namer co-founded E! Entertainment Television.
Namer said in a statement that China and its burgeoning middle class are hungry for entertainment, but the country lacks Hollywood’s expertise when it comes to crafting compelling content.
“While China’s media business is developing at a rapid pace, core skills of storytelling are lacking,” Namer said in a statement. “We believe that Metan Wen Zhi Ku will fill this void.”
