It’s a genre-bending dramedy series from co-producers Happy Accidents, Screen Invaders and Total Fiction, with original broadcasting partners Stan and ZDFneo.
LA-based film and TV studio Happy Accidents announces that Gnomes (6×30’), a co-production with Australian production outfits Total Fiction and Screen Invaders, has been acquired by Disney+ for the UK and Ireland, and AMC Global Media for Spain and Portugal.
The series follows Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Unchosen) as Arnold Kipps, and his ex-partner Ellie McKay played by Megan Smart (Class of ‘07).
Set in Nompton – the once-thriving “Home of the Gnome,” now just a forgotten town with a bizarre claim to fame – small-town Senior Sergeant Arnold Kipps’ biggest headache was his ex-girlfriend-slash-ex-partner Ellie McKay returning to shut down his station – until he accidentally awakens an ancient Gnome Queen, unleashing a full-scale ceramic apocalypse. Now, Kipps and Ellie must put their differences aside and lead an unlikely army of misfits and a pair of undercover demon hunters against a horde of bloodthirsty garden gnomes.
Holly A. Hines (Ginny & Georgia, Fortitude) and Eric Jarboe (Falling for Christmas, The Princess Switch) serve as Executive Producers for Happy Accidents. The series was created by award-winning filmmaker Joel Kohn, founder of Screen Invaders, and is produced alongside John Molloy (Barons, The Gloaming) and Richard Kelly (The Tailings, Jones Family Christmas), who serve as Executive Producers for Total Fiction. The series was commissioned by Stan in Australia and picked up by ZDFneo in Germany through ZDF Studios’ subsidiary production company Network Movie. Happy Accidents is handling international distribution.
Award-winning creator Joel Kohn makes his network series directorial debut, as the director of Episode 5 and second unit director throughout the rest of the series. Series writer Tegan Higginbotham also stars in the series as Josie, Arnold Kipps’ police partner, with a serious case of anger issues.
Gnomes was recently showcased at the Series Mania Forum as one of the ten international series identified as global hits-in-the-making. It was also selected at the Content London Drama Pitch Competition as a top 12 finalist out of over 200 project entries from around the world and was awarded second place.
Holly A. Hines and Eric Jarboe, Executive Producers and Co-CEO’s at Happy Accidents say: “From start to finish, it has been a joy to bring Gnomes to life. Wildly imaginative, hilariously offbeat, and unlike anything else in comedy horror, it is truly a thrill ride that is equal parts ridiculous and terrifying. Finding the perfect homes for the series with Disney+ in the UK & Ireland and AMC Global Media for Spain and Portugal, following strong competitive interest, feels incredibly rewarding. We can’t wait for audiences to discover the show and experience its madness for themselves.”
