Newzoids Coming Soon To ITV
Following in the tradition of satirical animation and puppetry shows ITV has today announced a new six part sketch show series based on our favourite celebrities and famous faces. The new series Newzoids airs 11 years after the final episode of 2DTV and 19 years after the end of the original satirical stab at celebs that was Spitting Image. Animated satirical TV shows of this nature have been lacking from television in recent years with Headcases being the last (rather forgettable) attempt at this kind of thing so if done right, this could be a very welcome thing.
The series is produced by 2DTV and Spitting Image producer Giles Pilbrow with voiceover talent provided by familiar voices Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson. The show promises state of the art animation to sit alongside traditional puppetry and whilst we still have to wait to see this in action we do have the first glimpse of the puppets below.
Newzoids is expected to air in the spring.
Welcome to the world of Newzoids, a topical puppet animation sketch show poking fun at pop stars, politicians, sports faces and TV favourites, and depicting our most talked about famous faces in a way they have never been seen before.
Imagine a world where David Cameron and Nick Clegg battle it out on Jeremy Kyle, where Ed Miliband joins Ant and Dec on I’m A Catastrophe…Get Me Out Of Here, and where Professor Brian Cox finds an extraordinary new planet in the solar system – Kim Kardashian’s backside.
The six part series features a combination of high-energy puppetering, snappy writing and pinpoint accurate impressions, sending up the week’s news events using a cast of outrageous and off the wall characters based on some of the world’s most prolific celebrities.
Featuring the voices of impressionists including Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, Newzoids’ groundbreaking mixture of low-tech traditional puppetry and state of the art animation puts a satirical and surreal spin on the stories and celebrities we read about every day.
In the world of Newzoids, anything can happen and no one in the public eye is safe from the Newzoids treatment. Amongst the roster of famous (and infamous) faces on the Newzoids roll call are Ant and Dec, Wayne Rooney, Beyonce, Harry Styles, Prince Harry, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Barack Obama, Russell Brand and Simon Cowell.
The writing team consists of a blend of established and up-and-coming talent including Pete Sinclair, Sarah Morgan, Madeleine Brettingham, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Colin Swash, Annabel Port, Dan Gaster, Carey Marx, Tom Neenan, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.
Elaine Bedell, Director of Entertainment and Comedy for ITV, said “ITV has a rich history of playing popular satirical comedy in peaktime on its main channel, and it seemed a good time to revive it this year. We are pleased to be adding to our growing comedy portfolio with this funny and biting look at the world of politics and celebrity.”
Newzoids is a co-production for ITV between Citrus Television and Factory. The Series was commissioned by Director of Entertainment and Comedy for ITV, Elaine Bedell, and Claire Zolkwer, Commissioning Editor, Comedy Entertainment, ITV.
About Citrus
Citrus Television is run by Giles Pilbrow (Have I Got News for You, 2DTV, Spitting Image), Caroline Norris (Dead Ringers, Armstrong and Miller, Raised by Wolves) and Dominic Brigstocke (Alan Partridge, Smack the Pony, Green Wing).
Citrus Television co-produced five series of the multi award-winning Horrible Histories, and three series of the Bafta-nominated Gory Games. Recently Citrus made a Bafta-nominated sketch show about sport and health called Fit for CBBC and two series of Don’t Sit in the Front Row, an improvised comedy show for SKY 1 with Jack Dee.
Horrible Histories is the first children’s programme to win a British Comedy Award and the first programme to win four successive BAFTAs.
About Factory
Factory, led by MD Phil Chalk, is a multi-genre animation studio that creates and produces innovative and award-winning content for film and television.
Factory is a full service production company with unique expertise across all animation disciplines including stop-frame, 3D CGI and 2D. The prolific studio co-produced the highly acclaimed Strange Hill High with CBBC, and developed the show’s innovative puppet animation techniques in house. The BAFTA and International Emmy nominated series features the voice talents of Caroline Aherne and Richard Ayoade and in 2014 it won the Kidscreen Award for Best Animated Series, and the RTS North West Award for Best Children’s Programme.
Factory is currently co-producing Scream Street with Coolabi, due to air on CBBC in 2016, and making the highly anticipated Clangers, a co-production from Cbeebies, Coolabi and Sprout, which will air on CBeebies in summer 2015. Factory also recently completed Christmas special We Wish You A Merry Walrus for Disney and Club Penguin, which aired across EMEA in six languages in December 2014.