WONDERCON 2023 – Friday, March 24, 2023

Your Entertainment Corner contributor, Christiane Elin, interviewed Series Creators, Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey, and Voice Talent, Sean Wing for HBO Max‘s new animated series, Fired on Mars. Fired on Mars begins streaming on April 20th, 2023.

After being in development for nearly a decade and first released as a short, Fired on Mars receives a series order from HBO Max. While at WonderCon, Series Creators, Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey and Voice Talent, Sean Wing shared why this is the perfect time for Fired on Mars.

When Fired on Mars was proposed to be a series, the creators made a working “bible.” They spent time on how the world would be built out which included org charts for the Mars.ly company. There had been many different versions of the series through the years including a live action version. The creators feel that this version is cherry picked of their favorite pieces into the final product.

Fired on Mars had the scripts written first and included an intense visual development process. All of the animation is hand drawn.

Sherman and Vokey declare that there is no particular corporate target in Fired on Mars. Mars.ly is more of an amalgamation of many corporations. Sherman shares that the original short was based a bit on startup and tech companies since it was a new endeavor back years ago but they have consciously pointed to satire that works with any particular corporation. 

Wing, who voiced the main character, Jeff, in the short and has been a part of the project for quite some time, says the world is more expansive and takes all different turns which he was really excited about. Sherman and Vokey tease that there are many new characters, plenty of story branches. Each episode feels different and arks. 

There is a talented list of actors lending their voices to the series, so many that it is embargoed to share. But names like —– ——, —— —— ——, — ——–, —— —–, —— – —-, and —–. The voice acting table reads were done virtually and remote. Most of the recording sessions were done via Zoom. For Wing’s part on the series, this is his first time doing voice acting. He turned his closet into his recording studio. Wing wasn’t aware of all the fellow actors included and would be blown away seeing some of his favorites pop up during the Zoom table reads. As the series gets closer to premiering and the exciting list of actors is revealed this will have you counting down the days until HBO Max Fired on Mars premieres April 20th.

More about HBO Max’s Fired on Mars via HBO Max’s Press Release:

An existential and irreverent animated comedy series, FIRED ON MARS (4/20) explores the precarious relationship between work and self… light years away from Earth. Jeff Cooper (Luke Wilson) has it all: a fulfilling career as the graphic designer for space start-up Mars.ly, a relationship with his soon-to-be Red Planet-bound girlfriend, Hannah, and… well, maybe that’s it. But when his bosses unceremoniously eliminate his role, Jeff finds himself jobless and unable to return to Earth. Adrift aboard the sprawling office colony, Jeff is forced to reinvent himself as he attempts to find meaning in a dangerous, alien, yet all-too-familiar corporate landscape. 

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Photos @2023 Christiane Elin/Your Entertainment Corner. All Rights Reserved.