Coming Soon: Riese the Series

Once again I'm indebted to Damian over at The Furnace for spotting a gem that I'd possibly have otherwise missed - I'm referring to his recent feature on the forthcoming live-action webseries Riese the Series. The promotional images immediately fired my imagination while the teaser trailer has really whetted my appetite.

Riese the Series, which has a steampunk/fantasy adventure theme, will be released online bi-weekly with the series premier scheduled for Monday 2 November. Episodes will run for between eight to 12 minutes each with five episodes forming a chapter.

So, what's Riese all about?

A reluctant heroine travels with her wolf through a collapsing world, outrunning a dangerous religious cult and piecing together her past.

In a hauntingly familiar dystopian world, Riese, a seemingly random wanderer, flees across the dying lands. Hunted by a terrifying religious group, The Sect, Riese must evade their assassins to discover their true objective.

Her past is shrouded in mystery as even Riese can’t recall the events of the tragic night when her entire family was slaughtered and she was forced to flee. On her journey she will piece together her past and her destiny. The once peaceful kingdom Eleysia will be the battlefield of a struggle that will hold the fate of the world in balance. Riese will emerge as the sole beacon of hope.

Photographs, by Adam Blasburg, are used with permission(click on the images to enlarge)
Sounds great doesn't it? Adding to my anticipation are plans to tell the heroine's story across multiple media platforms: an iPhone application is in development and is currently scheduled for release early next year; an alternate reality game has also begun which focuses on The Sect - existing in our world, and a yet unidentified hacker attempting to reveal their secrets to the public.

The series has been created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff and features an impressive cast including Christine Chatelain (SyFy’s Sanctuary, Supernatural, The Collector, The L-Word). Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island, Stargate: Atlantis, Stan Helsing), Sharon Taylor (Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville), Patrick Gilmore (Stargate: Universe, Battlestar Galactica, Intelligence) and Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary, Battlestar Gallactica, The Guard).

With a great website containing loads of background material, galleries and an active forum along with a hugely popular youtube channel there's plenty to keep our interest over the next few weeks before the first episode airs.

Expect to hear a lot more about Riese The Series on Escape From Tomorrow over the coming weeks and months.

Riese the Series
Premiers Monday 2 November 2009
http://riesetheseries.com/