Imagine you're a young, 20-something New York transplant living on your own for the first time and it turns out that your first roommate is a magical alien that has the ability to summon anything he wishes to his immediate vicinity. The only problem is that the alien has a terrible grasp of the English language.
That's the premise of the new SYFY TZGZ animated series, The Summoner, which is based on a concept created by New Yorker cartoonist Charlie Hankin. Hankin originally created a 40-second short for the series over three years ago, which you can watch below.
In a statement to Deadline, Jon Cotton, VP Short-Form Animation & Alternative Formats for Syfy had this to say about the upcoming series. "The Summoner is a perfect example of how we’re experimenting with content for TZGZ by continuing to add smart stories from unique voices, but also playing with different formats and new animation styles, like Charlie’s distinctive hand-drawn look. Working with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios on this project was a no-brainer, given their track record for creating some of the buzziest adult animation out there."
TZGZ is a 90-minute animated programming block on SYFY that airs Saturday nights at the same time that Adult Swim's Toonami programming block airs. It started in November 2019 and has shown steady growth in the 18-49 demographic.