Automata is a sci fi noir detective series which is now available online. Based on Penny Arcade’s story, set in Prohibition-era New York. Via Gizmodo:
The first episode of Automata, Van Alan’s free, five-part sci-fi series based on the Penny Arcade comic series of the same name, is now available online.
Grimm’s Basil Harris stars as Sam Regal, a toothpick-chewing private dick who’s basically a male Veronica Mars – catching dames breaking laws and hearts to collect a check from their unwitting husbands. After all, this is Prohibition times we’re talking about – vices are strictly forbidden. Only in this reality, it isn’t booze that’s the societal problem. It’s robots.
This is a world where automatons have become a regular part of everyday life, inspiring a moral panic that eventually led to a ban on all future production of these steel-faced androids. Remaining androids – such as Sam’s partner, Carl Swangee (Jones) – have become a lower servant caste, facing widespread discrimination as well as threats to their safety and well-being.
Automata was previously the focus of a successful 2015 Kickstarter campaign whose first trailer dropped in 2017. It looks true to the original webcomic created by Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik, which is a huge plus. Looking forward to the rest!