Web3 Studio Toonstar Launches ‘The Gimmicks’ Season 2 on Avalanche Blockchain

by Arthur · October 26, 2022

Today, Web3 animation studio Toonstar announced the Season 2 launch of its adult animated series, The gimmicks, powered on the Avalanche blockchain. The show premieres Oct. 27 at Avalanche Creates, a Bay Area event hosted by Ava Labs, a software company that supports the Avalanche ecosystem.

Season 2, “House of Chico,” welcomes Mark Consuelos (Riverdale), who joins the series as executive producer and voice talent. Veteran writers and executive producers “The Daves”, Dave Ihlenfeld and David Wright (Family man, Star Trek: Lower Decks, is back for the new season, which follows Rocky Romero (aka Chico el Luchador), who returns to his Lucha origins in Mexico. Additionally, Mike Tenango joins the writing team, with Alberto Portillo as producer.

The new season will also feature top Latino influencers and talent, including Jairo Orozco + Bryan Rojo (Mexican Gueys); Eric Ochoa (Supereeego); Jesus Sepulveda (HBO Comedy Special, Mr. Tough Life); Laura DiLorenzo (Netflix, Selena: The Series); and Fabian Alomar (FX, Mayans MC).

“There is a well-documented lack of diverse voices, particularly Latino, in Hollywood,” Romero said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this team, showcasing new Latino talent and embracing new technology that will enable even more voices to be heard.”

The gimmicks embraced Web3 early, allowing NFT holders to influence storylines and character arcs. The model engaged the public and produced high retention levels throughout the season. Additionally, Toonstar’s proprietary technologies enabled NFT holders to interact on-chain, logging more than 70 thousand recurring weekly on-chain actions and more than 1 million DIC punches (voting and messaging) in just three months. In season 2, The gimmicks the community can look forward to expanded opportunities to interact on-chain with Upvoting, a Reddit-like forum, and “Hot or Not,” a Rotten Tomatoes-like rating board in the new season.

Avalanche launched in September 2020, with near-instant final transactions. It now supports 500+ dApps and claims to secure billions of dollars in value. As the series adds more NFTs and interactive features, Avalanche’s speed and reliability aim to provide the Web3 support needed to balance The gimmicks storytelling with engaging community participation.

“Audience engagement and retention is suffering across all platforms with traditional Hollywood content, but our model is bucking the trend,” said John Attanasio, CEO and co-founder of Toonstar. “As soon as we started talking to the team at Avalanche, we knew they really understood Hollywood 3.0 and could offer the best technology and support to help us lead the market.”

“Toonstar is transforming entertainment and deploying Web3 elements in ways that are central to both the story and the fan experience,” said John Nahas, VP of Business Development at Ava Labs. “They’re blurring old lines in creative new ways and paving the way for Hollywood to enter Web3. We’re excited for Avalanche to power their journey.”

Avalanche will host the Season 2 premiere event at their Ciel Creatives Studios, followed by a Q&A with Toonstar and Avalanche executives. Additional NFTs will be released throughout the season, providing audiences with new opportunities for engagement.

Source: Toonstar