Wonkybot Studios Premieres YA Horror Podcast ORIGINS UNKNOWN

Wonkybot Studios, creators of next-generation IP intended for TV, film, comics, music and podcasts, announced today that the first episode of original teen horror podcast series Origins Unknown, created, written and directed by Wonkybot co-founder and award-winning writer Stewart St. John, is now available exclusively on Pinna, the only on-demand audio entertainment service developed and curated exclusively for kids 3-12.

Origins Unknown revolves around four teenagers and their families in the small town of Copper Heights whose lives are turned upside down by the mysterious and terrifying supernatural packages being delivered to unsuspecting residents. Targeted for kids ages 9 and up, the first season of ten bone-chilling episodes will be released weekly and centers around a haunted vintage telephone whose creepy Operator offers a lonely widow the chance to connect with her recently deceased loved one in exchange for an evil supernatural entity to have access to the town.

"It's Twilight Zone meets a bit of Stranger Things," said series creator St. John, who wrote and directed the entire first season and also co-composed the original score with music partner Michael Plahuta. "We've cast an incredible group of real teenagers in the lead roles who are just an amazing cast and bring so much realism to their roles. We've ended up with a spooky series that's just the right mix of horror, supernatural, friendship and humor."

The series, a co-production with Pinna who exclusively licensed two seasons of ten episodes each, was produced entirely in-house by IP copyright holders Wonkybot Studios, whose flagship podcast series Tara Tremendous recently won the Parents' Choice 2020 Gold Award.

"Wonkybot Studios is a one-stop production house," said Todd Fisher, Wonkybot Studios co-founder. "For Origins we handled scripting, directing, scoring and all the post production including sound design, editing, mixing and mastering. We're also very proud of the key art we designed and delivered. On the Pinna side we worked with Anne Richards and child development consultant Mariana Diaz-Wionczek, PhD to make sure the content kept within the Pinna specs and guidelines and was age appropriate considering the genre we're working in."

St. John, who had originally created the show as a television series, adapted the project into a podcast series after Pinna asked if Wonkybot had any new material to pitch.

"Stewart's ability to work fluidly between mediums is an enormous plus for Wonkybot," added Fisher. "In the same way he was able to adapt the Tara Tremendous podcast into a musical feature film currently being developed by Wonkybot and Marc Platt Productions, he has an incredible knack for quickly identifying the heart of a story and reassembling it for whatever medium is called for. His passion for audio and music certainly pays off in the audio content we produce."

Origins Unknown is the newest addition to Wonkybot's growing slate of high quality, genre-bending audio productions aimed at tweens, teens and adults, including Tara Tremendous, Spooky Troop, The Dr. Epicopolis & 1102 Show of Shows, The Owlsteins, and the upcoming Hexed, a semi-autobiographical sitcom podcast revolving around two magical gay dads. "We're slowly on our way to becoming our own podcast network," said Fisher.

"With Origins Unknown, young listeners can expect the otherworldly soundscapes, exceptional performances, and breathtaking cliff-hangers that Wonkybot Studios has become known for," said St John. "All of our shows are an immersive experience that awakens the imagination unlike anything else happening in the kids audio space, and Origins Unknown is no exception. In fact, with over 35 voices in the cast, a rich sound design and original music score, it ramps up the drama, intrigue and tension to a whole new level. We can't wait for kids and families to listen to this new series!"

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