“The Boondocks” and the late Anthony Bourdain are coming back to TV.
Sony Pictures Animation announced a “re-imagining” of the animated satire series “The Boondocks” in collaboration with creator Aaron McGruder as part of their presentation at the Annecy Festival 2019 on Wednesday, and the company is also developing an animated series called “Hungry Ghosts” based on the Dark Horse graphic novel comic series written by Bourdain and Joel Rose.
“The Boondocks” reboot, which is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, aims to update the cult, subversive satire for the modern era. It chronicles the adventures of the Freeman family against the evil local government tyrant Uncle Ruckus, who rules the fictional Woodcrest County, Maryland with an iron fist.
“Hungry Ghosts” will be an anthology of twisted and culinary-inspired ghost stories with both horror and comedic elements. Each episode will range in tone and will look completely different from the last, taking advantage of various forms of animation to best fit each story.
Among the other titles announced as part of Sony Pictures Animation’s slate are two projects from “Samurai Jack” creator and “Hotel Transylvania” director Genndy Tartakovsky. One is the studio’s first R-rated animated feature, a comedy titled “Fixed” about a dog living his last night up as a bachelor upon learning he’s getting neutered the next day. Tartakovsky will direct.
The other that Tartakovsky is developing, “Black Knight,” is an original, action-adventure epic that tells the story of a highly skilled and faithful knight who, after failing to protect his king, must transform himself into the Black Knight to save the kingdom.
Finally, on SPA Alternative’s slate is the series “Superbago,” a collaboration with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios that was previously developed as a feature film at Sony Animation. The series will be a half-hour comedy that blends Claymation and live-action and follows the adventures of two dimwitted animated heroes traveling in a very real Winnebago around the actual United States of America.
Sony also shared first looks at its other animated features currently in the works, including “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” the Phil Lord and Chris Miller produced “The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” and the musical “Vivo” featuring original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Zootopia” director Rich Moore has also joined “Vivo” as a producer.