EXCLUSIVE: When T-Pain rhymed “mansion” with “Wisconsin” in one of his lyrics, he probably did not foresee an animated Wiscansin series. That, however, is now in the works after the Grammy-winning music artist and producer, through his Nappy Boy Entertainment banner, teamed with Viral Nation and Wind Sun Sky Entertainment.
The playful lyric in question is from T-Pain’s 2008 hit single ‘Can’t Believe It’. It struck a chord with fans, creating a viral moment that has now become a full-fledged Wiscansin brand, with a fictional university and merch bearing the name, as well as a music festival in Milwaukee.
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“I’ve never been more excited to enter the animation arena with my new original series featuring all there is to love about Wiscansin,” T-Pain said. “Collaborating with Viral Nation and Wind Sun Sky for the project was an easy decision as they are truly at the forefront of creators, digital entertainment, animation and interactive IP development.”
Social media content and talent agency Viral Nation is already partnered with Wind Sun Sky Entertainment, the Vancouver-based studio run by former Lucasfilm exec Catherine Winder, whose long list of credits include Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They have teamed for animated and interactive content and worked together on animated content for the McCarty’s, the star social media family.
Wiscansin is the next step. “It snowballed from the lyric, and T-Pain has started to create this universe, with hilarious, relatable characters that are ripe for storytelling,” Winder told Deadline. “He’s got this tongue-in-cheek, irreverent take on university life, which is exaggerated and self-aware at the same time. We’ve got all these fun characters in this universe, and we’re going to build from there.”
The first shortform content should be out in nine-to-twelve months, Winder said, adding that T-Pain is deeply involved in the creative. “This is T-Pain’s idea, it’s his authentic voice, and we want that woven into everything that we do. We’re working with him to figure out exactly where to go with the storytelling. He’s got strong opinions and he should have because he knows his fans and he knows his characters.”
Paul Telner, Head of Programming at Viral Nation said: “We’ve worked on things with T-Pain in the past, and we always talked about Wiscansin, and how great it would be as this animated universe. He’s been teasing out this world, whether it’s at live shows or whether it’s on his website.”
The strategy for Wiscansin has various touchpoints, he added: “There are so many layers to this project that we want to create, like animated shorts and an animated series. The animation that Wind Sun Sky and Viral Nation put together can be shown in his live at tour shows, on Roblox, and elsewhere, it’s a brand and a title that can unleash multiple content and revenue streams.”
Telner will be speaking at MIPCOM next week as the TV market dives deep into the intersection of TV and the creator economy, per our interview with the event’s boss, Lucy Smith. With YouTube heavily involved, and the likes of Viral Nation in town, MIPCOM has a different flavor this time, as the digital and traditional worlds converge.
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