Last year, Lighthouse Studios revealed its intentions to begin development of its own IP, following up with the announcement earlier this year that the first Lighthouse-owned production slated for development was to be the short film, Póg Mo Pigeon. Now comes the exciting news of what is to be the studio’s first adult-targeted series, and next on its slate of original content.
Set in Ireland at the turn of the 21st century, Savage Town focuses in one small town gangster’s attempts to capitalise on Ireland’s recent economic boom. Unfortunately for him, rival gangs have plans of their own. The series is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Declan Shalvey and Philip Barrett, with colouring by Jordan Bellaire.
Lighthouse recently welcomed veteran screenwriter, Marcus Fleming, onboard as head writer for this series.
Watch this space!
Lighthouse Studios welcomes VIP guests to Kilkenny for this year’s Kilkenny Animated
Returning to its full glory after a brief hiatus, this year’s Kilkenny Animated festival was a joyous celebration of some of the very best in Irish animation. Hosted by Cartoon Saloon, with participation from Lighthouse Studios, the programme for the three-day event was based on the theme of adaptation and featured an all-star line-up of both special guest speakers and home-grown talent.
Among the VIP guests were The Cuphead Show’s Dave Wasson, Executive Producer, and Andrea Fernández, Art Director, who spoke in front of an enthralled audience of fans and crew about the process of adapting the original Cuphead video game for Netflix. Animated by Lighthouse Studios, The Cuphead Show has become a global hit since its release in February this year, with seasons 1 + 2 currently streaming on Netflix.
Joining the line-up of special guests was El Deafo creator, Cece Bell, who led audiences through the perils and pitfalls, the joys of collaboration and the unexpected magic that she experienced when she embarked on a three-year journey working closely with Apple TV+ and Lighthouse Studios, to turn her very personal story of growing up with hearing loss into a three-part animated special.
Meanwhile, Declan Shalvey, co-author of the graphic novel Savage Town to which Lighthouse Studios recently optioned the rights, was in town to discuss how his co-creation of Mr. Knight and his bold new take on moon god Khonshu were used as references in Marvel’s on-screen adaptation of Moon Knight for Disney+.
Already looking forward to Kilkenny Animated 2023!
El Deafo wins Humanitas Prize
El Deafo, Apple TV+’s adaptation of Cece Bell’s graphic memoir, produced by Lighthouse Studios, has scooped its second award of the year.
The Humanitas Prize for Children’s Teleplay was awarded to Cece Bell and co-writer of the series, Will McRobb, at a ceremony in Beverley Hills back in September. This follows on from El Deafo’s win of this year’s theme prize at Prix Jeunesse, the Power of Sound award.
Go El Deafo!