Dreamworks Animation Television will produce a Fast & Furious animated series for Netflix, the two companies announced today. The still that was released suggests that computer animation will be used for at least the cars (and possible the whole show).
There’s a couple things that are interesting here. First, we’re seeing a synergy between Dreamworks and its new parent, Comcast-NBCUniversal, which acquired the company in 2016. In the announcement, Netflix mentioned that they have a first-look deal for Dreamworks animated series based on Universal film properties, like Fast & Furious. This marks an expansion from the earlier set-up, where Dreamworks was producing some original content, like Trollhunters, but mostly providing Netflix with spinoffs based on the properties it owned, like Spirit Riding Free, Trolls: The Beat Goes On, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Second, as we pointed out recently, the original Dreamworks-Netflix deal
that called for over 300 hours of programming is wrapping up. The deal resulted in 14 original Netflix series, plus five additional ones to come (She-Ra, Harvey Street Kids, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, 3 Below, and Wizards). There’s been a lingering question of whether Netflix would continue the deal in some form or another, especially now that the streamer is in the process of setting up its own in-house animation studio.
