Emmy-winning writer Alice Prodanou and cross-media brand Star Stable Entertainment will bring their hit web show “Star Stable: Mistfall” to television. Working with animation studios Ferly and Atmosphere Media, Prodanou will oversee creative duties on the tween-skewing episodic series, set to enrich and expand the world of the YouTube short-form that premiered in 2020.
“We’ve always intended on doing a full-length series,” Prodanou tells Variety. “The 10 x 5-minute YouTube series that we’ve already produced was proof-of-concept and an exciting part of our development process. [The web series] got over 15 million views and amazing engagement from fans who were vocal about wanting to see more.”
“We’ll have a larger budget,” Prodanou says of the development project, which will present at the Cartoon Forum pitch session in Toulouse. “[That affords us the] opportunity to play around with the style of animation. I can’t wait to tell bigger, and more in-depth stories that really delve into our characters’ relationships and adventures in 22-minute episodes.”
The 2020 web series itself built on the world of “Star Stable Online,” a vastly popular equestrian multiplayer online game aimed at a younger female demographic. Today the digital universe boasts 25 million registered users in 180 countries. Also created by Prodanou, the short-form series lifted locales and characters from the online game while introducing viewers to new mysteries, heroes, and narrative paths.
Sharing the web series’ title, the long-form “Star Stable: Mistfall” will follow 14-year-old protagonist Skye Rowan, alongside her mythical fire horse, Blaze, and an extended clan of forest rangers living on the remote and mystical island of Jorvik. Picking up where the prior iteration left off, the scripted series will explore the bonds between Skye and Blaze, while revealing new details about the heroine’s backstory.
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“I’d love for a larger audience to meet our Star Stable heroine,” says Prodanou. “And we have so many more stories to tell. ‘Mistfall’ is a fantasy adventure series that centers on friendship and the love of horses, but it’s also about figuring out who you are. And for Skye, that’s a long journey!”
As she develops her project for broadcast, the series creator wants to ground her story’s fantasy elements within a visual style that feels closer to life. “A lot of characters in animated series have abnormally long, skinny bodies and that definitely isn’t a look we’re going for,” Prodanou explains. “Diversity and inclusivity [is really important to us] and that means featuring diverse body images and supporting body positivity.”
“Aside from being a short-term escape from real life, our aim is for the series to be authentic and relatable for kids and tweens,” Prodanou adds. “[We plan] to challenge assumptions, and to inspire our audience to feel like a hero in their own adventures.”
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