At todays San Diego Comic-Con @ Home, AMCs Ultra City Smithspanel showed off some new footage for potential fansfootage you must see with your own eyes because honestly…WTF. And I mean that in a good way.
Ultra City Smiths has a, shall we say…interesting premise using babydolls and stop-motion animation to create a wacky comedy procedural. The AMC series follows the mysterious disappearance of a rich and beloved resident, Carpenter K. Smith. Detective David Mills, a rookie on the police force, takes on the case to fight against their citys corruption, but as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole, the more consumed he becomes.
Kristen Baldwin, TV critic for Entertainment Weekly, moderated the SDCC 2021 panel with cast and crew that included creator/director Steve Conrad, co-director David Brooks, and star Jimmi Simpson (Westworld). Right out the gate, Baldwinlike many of uswanted to know where the idea for Ultra City Smiths came from. Conrad explained that a friend of his was making art with babydolls and his imagination ran wild from there. Ive been trying for a very long time to find an aesthetic for animation, which is so important if your show can convey the hard work and the manufacturing of a show with stop motion, says Conrad. This particularly felt like a new way to look at grown-up lifelike adult entertainment for former children.
Detective David Mills (Simpson) is new to Ultra City, and has a knack for singing…and losing his shirt. The actor described his character as someone who has a strange way of coping with stress but has a heart of gold. Detective Mills is a rookie, and he has big plans. He gives his heart and soul to the police forceespecially now that theres a big issue that needs solvingand a lot of commitment. Simpson went on to say something about his character that surprised the panel, Its one of the most fleshed out characters Ive played and its a baby doll! A baby doll with a five oclock shadow, which you can see in all its glory in the new trailer below:
Co-director David Brooks went on to explain how Ultra City Smiths was made. Steven and I do so much work ahead of time to get the storyboards right, but it all starts with the voice cast, then the animatics, and the timing to get the storytelling. All that stuff ends up culminating on set with an animator and its already magic. We could just stick the doll in front of a camera and light it, but with the voice records and the way weve edited it, you know, the animatics come together.
The half-hour series was created by Steve Conrad (Patriot), who also serves as showrunner. Seth Greens Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (Robot Chicken) will act as one of the shows many producers. You can check out the whole Ultra City Smiths panel below!
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Ultra City Smiths’ Creators Share New Footage of Stop-Motion Mayhem at SDCC 2021
