EXCLUSIVE: Emmy winner JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) is set to produce a comedic animated series based on the video game High On Life.
The actor, who launched his production outfit Alternate Side Productions last year, hasn’t officially been cast in the development project but we hear there’s a good chance he will.
High On Life is a comedic first-person shooter game with action-adventure and Metroidvania elements. It takes place in a science fiction world which features talking guns and sees humanity’s fate in jeopardy after an alien cartel discovers that humans are the most potent drug in the cosmos. Smoove is one of the key voice cast in the video game, which has also featured the voices of Jack Black, Susan Sarandon and Thomas Middleditch.
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The development is underway between Alternate and Squanch Games and Striker Entertainment. Alternate Side Productions will serve as executive producers with Russell Binder and Mandy Bardisbanian from Striker Entertainment, alongside the games’ developer and owner, Squanch Games.
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Originally launched in 2022, the game has more than eight million players worldwide. Alec Robbins, narrative director of the game, is also working on the series.
Actor, stand-up and writer Smoove is best known for playing Leon Black in Curb Your Enthusiasm but has also written for SNL, lent his voice to Ice Age 4 and The Smurfs 2 and appeared in Everybody Hates Chris and Real Husbands of Hollywood. He launched company Alternate with Rick Dorfman and Miles Grose.
JB Smoove said: “When Squanch Games originally reached out to JB Smoove (I like to talk about myself in the third person) about voicing a character in their incredible video game High On Life, my first question was what does my character look like? They told me that I would be a fish that shoots…which makes perfect sense to me! As a Vegan I feel a fish should have the right to defend itself! I mean right?! And now that I’m partnered with Squanch Games and Striker Entertainment to bring the hilarious High On Life to series it feels like it was inevitable! They invited me to join them in the gaming universe and now I’m helping them move into the TV world! It’s a case of a game recognizing game! High on Life is wild, weird, and wonderful, and the series is going to be that and more! Get ready to laugh your way through space with some unforgettable characters like myself! We are locked and loaded and ready to go!”
Binder expressed: “It’s a video game unicorn that is both laugh out loud funny and carries the perfect balance of action and story to keep players engaged, and demanding more. Celebrating the fact that JB Smoove is a voice in, and a fan of, the game, we felt like we didn’t have to look any further than partnering up with Alternate Side Productions to adapt this title. With DLC, merch, and a publishing program, High On Life is tailor made for multimedia storytelling and fan engagement.”