NewFronts 2015: Machinima Announces ‘RoboCop,’ Clive Barker Series

Todd Spangler

Machinima, the Warner Bros.-backed digital media company, announced several sci-fi and game-inspired video series Monday at its Digital Content NewFronts presentation — including a new show based on “RoboCop” and one from horrormeister Clive Barker.

The message: “We’re back,” CEO Chad Gutstein said.

The company announced original series including those with Warner Bros.’ Blue Ribbon Content and DC Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as well as Clive Barker, Roberto Orci and Bunim/Murray Prods., and several of Machinima’s creators.

Machinima is currently the ninth-largest video destination in the U.S. and the second-biggest MCN on YouTube, according to the company.

The company, which focuses on a male 18-34 audience, presented its 2015-16 slate Monday at the Arena venue in midtown Manhattan.

The upcoming Machinima lineup includes the following:

  • “Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles”: From producer and animator Bruce Timm (“Batman: The Animated Series,” “Superman: The Animated Series”), series turns the DC Comics universe upside-down: Superman is not the son of Jor-El but is the the son of General Zod; Wonder Woman is not from peaceful Themyscira, but is from the warring nation of Ares; and Batman is more of a vampire-bat than human.

  • “RoboCop”: Based on the original MGM 1987 action film, RoboCop returns to Delta City, where viewers ride along with the now standard-issue RoboCop officers as they respond to calls from dispatch. Tapping into current themes of the surveillance state, the series is shot from the first-person point of view of the RoboCop officers’ heads-up display, along with security cameras, dash-cams and drones.

  • Clive Barker’s “Creepy Pasta”: In this live-action series, Barker enters the world of Internet horror fan fiction, affectionately known as “creepy pasta,” covering such viral urban legends as Slender Man and Ben Drowned.

  • A currently untitled reality competition from Machinima, WB’s Blue Ribbon Content and DC Entertainment pitting eight contestants in elimination challenges to develop a live-action short video based on their own interpretations of characters from DC Comics’ “Starman” comic book series. Celebrity special guests will join DC Entertainment chief creative officer Geoff Johns and a panel of judges to oversee the entire competition.

  • “#4Hero”: A modern adaptation of DC Comics’ cult-favorite “Dial H for Hero,” the live-action, vfx-heavy action-comedy series, about a young woman named Nellie Tribble who is quietly desperate to make her mark on the world but wholly unprepared to do so.

  • “Happy Wheels”: All-new original animated series based on Jim Bonacci’s online game, produced by BMP Digital, the digital division of Bunim/Murray Prods. (“The Real World,” “Keeping Up with The Kardashians”). The 10-episode shortform series will feature fan favorites such as “Wheelchair Guy,” “Irresponsible Dad” and “Lawnmower Man,” expanding on the game that has more than 8 million players per month.

  • “Jerome ASF’s The Baka Chronicles”: Minecrafter Jerome ASF (3.6 million YouTube subscribers) will be teaming with N00b Adventure creator Jim Schwerfeger on this all-new series.

  • “High School 51″: Created and produced by Roberto Orci (“Transformers,” “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Star Trek,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Lost,” “Fringe”) and Legion of Creatives, and starring Orlando Jones (“Sleepy Hollow,” “Tainted Love,” “Drumline”), series covers Dream Lake High School, which is filled with mind-blowing technology, top-secret government programs and a student body that is cool, quirky, attractive, and…well, alien.

In addition, Machinima is announcing the renewal of shows including “AFK,” “Chasing the Cup,” “Realm,” “Battlefield Friends,” “Sanity Not Included,” “Deck Wars” and “Etc.”

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