Today, HBO Max and Cartoon Network have announced that a new family-oriented animated special called Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth is in production. The upcoming special will see Academy Award-nominated Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Who Is America?) teaming up with Greg Daniels and Mike Judge of King of the Hill fame, all of who are a part of the newly formed Bandera Entertainment, as well as SNL alum and Co-Creator of Nathan for You, Michael Koman, with the special set to bring their brand of wit and comedy to a new, younger audience.
The special is set in the titular city of Chelm, the mythical “Town of Fools” of Jewish folklore. The upcoming Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth special aims to portray the absurdist humor and interpretive questioning that is a nod to Jewish intellectual traditions while presenting a fresh take on the silly antics and exaggerated conflicts of the town and preserving the essence and heart of the classic folktales. The special will be narrated by Sacha Baron Cohen.
This animated special is not the only new animated outing that will be coming to HBO Max in the near future, with the streaming service and Adult Swim also announcing earlier today that they have two new anime series currently in production. One is Rick and Morty: The Anime, a 10 episode series based on the popular Adult Swim series directed by Takashi Sano (Tower of God) with the other being an entirely original series called Ninja Kamui that follows the titular ninja set out to avenge his family from acclaimed anime director Sunghoo Park (God of High School, Jujutsu Kaisen).
Cohen, Daniels, and Judge are developing the story with Koman, who is also attached to write. The four will also serve as executive producers for the special, with Bandera Entertainment President Dustin Davis also set to executive produce. “This pitch was so hilarious; we just knew the HBO Max audience needed to get a dose of this original brand of storytelling. Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth is a perfect pairing of comedy and satire, and no one does that combination better than Sacha, Greg, Mike, and Michael,” said Amy Friedman, head of kids & family programming at Warner Bros. “This unique project will breathe new, hysterical life into the nonsensical Chelmic wisdom that originated from this imaginary city of folks who aren’t quite the sharpest tools in the shed.”
Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth is currently in production and will arrive on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. The animated special does not have an announced release date.
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