Screen Australia Just Funded A Fantasy D&D Comedy Series

Another 9 projects have just received national funding from Screen Australia, including the second season of 1 For All, a straight-to-YouTube D&D comedy series about a group of friends and their tabletop escapades.

The first season of 1 For All was created by Deerstalker Pictures. and gained over 9 million views on YouTube over 8 episodes. Each episode is around four to six minutes long, and covering the in-character shenanigans of a roleplaying group and the group’s deliberations over the D&D table.

Episodes revolve around the beats many D&D players will be familiar with: Meeting in a tavern, someone going on a murder spree, that person in the party who inevitably tries to hook up with someone wanting to kill the whole party, and the frustrations when a party goes item shopping.

Three other online projects were backed by Screen Australia in the latest funding round, including a 15-part series for Instagram TV and a five-part series from former Home & Away star Tai Hara about a “white but woke” casting specialist. According to the release, the latest round of funding will cover the production of 6 episodes for 1 For All‘s next season.

• 1 For All: A six-part third season of the fantasy sketch comedy show created for YouTube, from Deerstalker Pictures. Following on from the first season which has gained over 9 million views online, a group of friends gather each week to undertake an epic quest in their fantasy tabletop roleplaying game, but their adventures never quite go as intended due to the luck of the dice. The series will be written and directed by Elliot Ryan and produced by Goldie Soetianto (Reaching Distance), Grace Rein and Vincent Power.

• Flats: A six-part series from Princess Pictures for YouTube, set in an inner city housing commission block. This comedy follows Joey who returns from a stint in prison determined to be a great dad to his newborn son, but getting a job and being present proves harder than he expects, especially when his old habits die hard. Made with and starring the residents of a housing block in Melbourne, Flats is written and directed by Darren Downs and Will Weatheritt who previously collaborated on short film The Tormentors. Also on board are producers Kelly West (Wrong Kind of Black) and Mike Cowap (Parked), and executive producers Emma Fitzsimons (Superwog), Laura Waters (It’s A Date) and Ryan Chamley (Rostered On).

• Love Bug: An IGTV series filmed in self-isolation that tells the story of a break up over the internet. Following on from the first season, this 15-part series about love, connection, and loneliness sees Boy and Girl try to navigate dating new people in a hyper-connected online world. Love Bug is written and directed by Imogen McCluskey (Suburban Wildlife), who will also produce alongside Yingna Lu (Tangles and Knots).
  
• Colour Blind: Former Home and Away actor Tai Hara writes and directs this five-part series about ‘white but woke’ casting specialist Gavin Walters. A self-proclaimed visionary in the world of ethnic casting, Gavin’s life mission is to bring all the shades of the human palette to our screens. However despite his best intentions, Gavin’s whiteness is glaring as he blunders through situations of cultural sensitivity with little to no understanding of the people he seeks to promote. Hara will also produce alongside Anna Lawrence (Inside). The series has received completion funding and will release on YouTube.

A full list of series that received online production funding from Screen Australia in 2019-20 can be found here. Screen Australia has a track record of funding online projects adjacent to, or about, the gaming space, including a romcom series about gamers and Meta Runner, a locally-made anime from YouTube channel SMG4.