‘Space Junk’: Dominic Russo, Jon Heder & Tony Cavalero Team on Toonstar Adult Animated Comedy With AI-Voiced Character

Denise Petski
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Workaholics co-creator Dominic Russo, Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) and Tony Cavalero (The Righteous Gemstones) have partnered on Space Junk, an adult animated workplace comedy about garbage collectors in space, from Web3 story studio Toonstar. The series, created by written by Russo and starring Heder and Cavalero, Space Junk will world premiere Thursday at Consensus 2023, with episodes available to stream beginning May 19. You can watch the series here.

In what is believed to be an industry first, the series, powered by the Theta blockchain, also features a character voiced entirely by AI voice generated software, a robot character named “Wellbecca.” The Space Junk community will have opportunities to interact directly with Wellbecca, giving the audience another way to connect to the show.

More from Deadline

Space Junk is the third original Web3 series released by Toonstar following The Gimmicks and House of Chico. Founded by John Attanasio and Luisa Huang, veterans of Dreamworks, Disney and Warner Bros., Toonstar’s storytelling model gives NFT holders the ability to participate in narrative development, to create their own characters and storylines, and to engage in a variety of unique fan experiences.

“With each series released this year, we’ve pushed the technology forward to broaden opportunities for creators and fans to engage with the story world and take part in building new hit IP,” said Attanasio. “With ‘Space Junk’ we’re taking it even further, merging great content with game play that will launch a new Web3-enabled model of interactive entertainment.”

The issue of garbage in space came to the media forefront last month when an international team of researchers estimated there are more than 100 trillion pieces of trash floating around in space. Sustainability is a core theme of Space Junk and to ensure this looming space junk problem was depicted accurately on screen, Toonstar collaborated with an aerospace engineer.

“We are thrilled to partner with Toonstar on Space Junk, a series that will demonstrate to the entertainment industry what’s possible when you use blockchain technology to empower creators and fans to engage and create in powerful new ways,” said Andrea Berry, Head of Business Development, Theta Labs. “As a content company, Toonstar has a strong understanding of the power of Web3 technology and has executed its vision impressively. We see them as a valuable technology developer and are excited to deliver a dynamic, interactive experience beyond traditional NFT projects.”

Added Jon Heder, co-founder, Verified Labs and Space Junk executive producer: “The participatory storytelling aspect of Space Junk presents an opportunity to bring more creators into the fold to uncover fresh stories and ideas which feels especially important in today’s environment. Toonstar is absolutely showing the broader entertainment industry how Web3 can open doors for new creators and create crazy, engaged fan communities, and uncover great new IP for Hollywood.”

Russo, who brought the idea of Space Junk to Toonstar, co-created and executive produced Comedy Central’s hit series Workaholics, and he is currently in development at 20th and Grammnet with his comedy pitch Disruptors. Russo co-authored the book, The Party Bible, The Good Book for Great Times. He also was the co-EP on the Defy Media/Smosh series Part Timers. He’s repped by Echo Lake Entertainment and Kaplan Stahler Agency.

Here’s a teaser:

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.