‘Invincible’ EP Marge Dean Says Adult Animation Was “Barely” Marketed By Amazon Prime Video But Has Succeeded Through Word Of Mouth – MIA Market
09.10.2023 - 18:09
/ deadline.com
With a budget less than 20 times that of The Boys and “barely” any marketing, Amazon Prime Video‘s Invincible has succeeded through word of mouth and attracting new viewers to the genre, according to its EP Marge Dean.
Dean, who runs Walking Dead maker Skybound Entertainment’s Animation Studio, claimed in a MIA Market keynote today that the streamer spends around 20 times more per episode on The Boys, its smash hit superhero series.
Invincible, however, has at times joined The Boys in Amazon’s top-five most-watched shows, Dean said. The first season of the adult animation from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman launched in 2021 and a second will premiere in November. Based on the Image Comics series of the same name by Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, the show follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson and his transformation into a superhero under the guidance of his father Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. The show stars J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh and Steven Yeun and several spin-offs are in the offing.
“I love Amazon, they’re great, but there was barely any marketing for this show,” added Dean as the first day of the Rome market concluded. “This thing just popped up but I had no idea what it was or what was going to happen.”
Dean added that a “significant number of people who don’t normally watch this stuff found the show and took a chance.” Invincible managed to push on despite the dual U.S. labor strikes but Dean said there will be a gap in the genre soon as adult animation shows that were delayed take longer to get to screen.
In a wide-ranging keynote, the storied animation exec, who has worked on the likes of Scooby Doo, Batman and Godzilla during a varied career, touched on AI in animation and