Cake Original Series
What We Did
We made a show.
Animation. Live Action. Music. Comedy. Diverse Voices. Cake is where they all collide and explode into a 30-minute roller coaster viewing experience. A half-hour showcasing original and curated works from the best short-form storytellers around the world. FX asked us to crack the nut on how to bring all this premium ooey-gooey-goodness together . . . a never-before-seen recipe for how a show combining different voices and mediums could look, feel, and taste.
Process
- 1 Assemble a dream team of Creatives. Lock them in a room for 12 months.
- 2 Develop a framework that could make sense of our ingredient list.
- 3 Scrap that framework. Start over. Tell yourself you’re a good human being.
- 4 Listen to all of Bjork’s discography. Question your existence. Get back to work.
- 5 Eat a piece of CAKE.
How We Did It
We started with the belief that short-form and prestige could be synonymous. FX had collected a library of hundreds of shorts, and from those we curated the best of the best, plus added some of our own finds to the mix. We had the what. We just needed to figure out the how—how do all of these juxtapositions from piece to piece flow together? The possibilities for what this show could be were endless. It didn’t even have a title until a few months into production!
Blended, beaten, whipped, dipped . . . You name it, we tried it.
INTERSTITIALS: MAGICAL COLLABORATIONS
The initial ask was to come up with a cohesive framework that could showcase the best of short-form storytelling in animation and live action. We took a step back and saw this as an opportunity to cultivate a space for the intersection of other mediums as well. What better way to present these shorts than to add yet another layer of artistry to serve as the cohesive glue—which led us to MUSIC.
Music is an essential ingredient in everything we make at SLAQR, so curating emerging musicians and pairing them with independent animators felt as easy as making toast. Together, these pairings create what we call “interstitials”—music visualizers that thread together the pieces of one episode. These magical collaborations not only serve to tie an episode together thematically, but exist as independent meditative works that soothe the soul, adding a dimensionality to the show that would amplify the artistry across the board, and work towards championing emerging artists. Voilà! Our secret sauce.
Cake is a place to discover and be discovered.
There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing a fan of the show ask “Who was the artist that was featured in this episode?” or “Who wrote that end credits song?”
Since January of 2019, we’ve created 30 episodes of the series, and counting. We've curated, we've crafted, and we’ve developed original concepts for pieces within the show. Sample a taste. ;)
“In Bloom,” a SLAQR-produced original segment, paired Nick Hakim’s soulful performance with Brian Smee’s ethereal animation.
Take a bite.
“An antidote to peak TV’s algorithm.” “Hypnotic.” “Funny and weirdly sincere.” CAKE’s been on a roll, collecting accolades for being equal parts satisfying and wild. The icing on top? Mamaoudou Athie (he plays Jerome in the first anchor series Oh Jerome, No) was nominated for a 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series. OH, HELLS YES!
