Riese: The Series Returns as Riese: Kingdom Falling

There was some exciting, and much anticipated, news this week of the return of Riese: The Series - to be renamed Riese: Kingdom Falling - which launches towards the end of this month on Syfy.com.

Having been off-line since February of this year the steampunk fantasy adventure series returns with twice-weekly episodes which will initially be geo-blocked with international release following shortly after.

SYFY.COM WILL PREMIERE RIESE: KINGDOM FALLING, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, AWARD-WINNING STEAMPUNK DIGITAL SERIES, BEGINNING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26

NARRATED BY SANCTUARY’S AMANDA TAPPING

Stars Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary), Ryan Robbins (Caprica), Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe), Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island), Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Allison Mack (Smallville)

NEW YORK – October 13, 2010 – Marking a major expansion of its original content, Syfy.com will premiere the award-winning, steampunk digital series Riese: Kingdom Falling beginning October 26, on syfy.com/riese every Tuesday and Thursday, it was announced today by Craig Engler, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Syfy Digital.

The critically acclaimed Riese: Kingdom Falling is distributed by Fireworks International, the television and digital distribution arm of ContentFilm plc. Each episode runs approximately seven to eight minutes.

Narrated by Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), the 10-part series stars a cavalcade of talent from the world of popular speculative drama including Christine Chatelain (The Bone Collector); Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe); Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).

The series will also be available via Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox and Amazon.

Said Engler: “We saw Riese and thought they had done just an amazing job, and then we were able to give them some resources and bring Amanda on board to really help them take the series to the next level. I think new and existing fans will love the relaunch of the series onSyfy.com and enjoy all the new additions.”

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and fantasy that features anachronistic technology and design elements, often from Victorian-era Britain.

Riese:Kingdom Falling won the Streamy Award for Best Cinematography in a Web Series with a further three nominations for Best Sound Design, Best Foreign Series and Art Direction. The series was shot in Vancouver, BC, created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff, and produced by Galen Fletcher and Nicholas Humphries.

[click here to read the press release in full]

Links and sources:
Riese The Series
Syfy.com
The Furnace
NewTeeVee

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/

Riese licensed by Syfy

Regular readers may remember that a couple of months ago I posted about how the creators of steampunk/fantasy adventure webseries Riese had partnered with Fireworks, a digital distribution branch of ContentFilm, based out of the UK, with a view to securing the ongoing future of the series and opening up other distribution platforms such as episode downloads, DVDs, and television.

Well, there's exciting news today, from series co-creator Ryan Copple via the Riese blog, that Syfy has licensed Riese:

SYFY DIGITAL ACQUIRES RIESE – ACCLAIMED, STREAMY AWARD-WINNING 10-PART FANTASY-ADVENTURE WEB SERIES FOR FALL 2010

Season One and The Never-Before-Seen Season Two To Be Streamed on Syfy Digital With Eye Towards Development for Broadcast

New York, New York – April 8, 2010 – Syfy remains on the forefront of cutting edge fantasy based digital entertainment with the acquisition of the highly acclaimed web series, Riese, it was announced today by Craig Engler, SVP and GM of Syfy Digital. Syfy Digital has acquired the rights to the entire 10-part series – which is distributed by Fireworks International, the television and digital distribution arm of ContentFilm plc – with an eye towards development for a broadcast air. Riese consists of two five-part episode seasons, with season two premiering fully for the first time exclusively on Syfy.com. Season one and two are both slated for a digital launch in the fall 2010.

“Riese is a fantastic web series with a lot of room to grow, and we’re excited to work with the very talented cast and crew to help them take the show to the next level, backed by the full promotional efforts that Syfy can bring to the table,” said Engler. “At the same time we’ll be working hand-in-hand with our TV development team to see if Riese has the potential to make the jump to TV, just like our hit show Sanctuary did.”

Riese recently scooped the Streamy Award for ‘Best Cinematography in a Web Series’ with a further three nominations for Best Sound Design, Best Foreign Series and Art Direction. The digital series starring Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Fringe), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Eureka), Ben Cotton (Stargate Atlantis, Haper’s Island), and Patrick Gilmore (Fringe, Stargate Universe), was shot in Vancouver, BC, and is created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff and produced by Galen Fletcher and Nicholas Humphries.

Jonathan Ford, Executive Vice-President, Digital Acquisitions and Distribution at Fireworks International added, “Syfy is highly regarded in the digital community with a fantastic background in identifying and securing the best in new multiplatform content. We are delighted to announce this significant deal for the important US market and look forward to working with the Syfy team on the web series as well as developing Riese for television.”

The press release continues on the official Riese blog

Great news for those involved in producing the series and, of course, for those of us that have enjoyed watching the series so far.

Riese - official website

Riese the Series Premiere

Tomorrow (Monday 2 November) sees the much-anticipated premiere of the steampunk/fantasy adventure Riese the Series from creators Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff.

Riese the Series will be released online bi-weekly through the website - www.riesetheseries.com - with episodes running for between eight to 12 minutes each.

A couple of weeks ago I posted the Riese trailer and some promotional material and received some really great email feedback from readers. In the meantime, I've been enjoying the 'behind the scenes' material at the Riese YouTube channel.

Riese co-creator Ryan Copple has been interviewed about the production by a number of sites - I particularly enjoyed the features published at The League of Extraordinary Genres and at ÜberSciFiGeek - and I'm looking forward to speaking with Ryan over the next few weeks for Escape from Tomorrow.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, I really like the look and feel of Riese and I'm looking forward to the first episode - more Riese the Series talk later this week ...

Riese the Series
Episode 1 Premieres Monday 2 November 2009
www.riesetheseries.com

Photographs, by Adam Blasburg, are used with permission(click on photographs to enlarge)

Riese the Series - Chapter 1 Concludes Today

Today sees the final episode in the first chapter of the steampunk fantasy webseries Riese the Series.

Through the four episodes so far released we've followed our heroine Riese as she tries to evade capture from the mysterious group known as The Sect, whilst at the same time she tries to learn more about their activities.

In episode 1, entitled 'Hunt', Riese is on the run, frightened, injured and under attack from a menacing and mysterious group. With memories of her past haunting her, Riese eventually reaches the township of Helmkin where she is overcome by her injuries.

Episode 2, 'Fragments', opens twenty-four hours later as Riese wakes in the township hospital. Sensing all is not well she gathers her few belongings, and some medical supplies, and looks for a way out of the facility. Wandering the corridors she observes the medical staff caring for a room full of new-born babies. Interrupted by the doctor who had earlier treated her, she witnesses a distraught young woman confront the man, claiming her baby was taken from her.

Episode 3, entitled 'Bind', sees Riese, still haunted by nightmares of her own past, set out to investigate Helmkin's dark secret. Meanwhile the doctor receives an unwelcome visitor demanding answers about the 'foreigner'. Breaking back into the hospital Riese discovers more evidence of involvement from The Sect.

Onto episode 4, 'Spares', and away from the medical facility Riese breaks into a warehouse where she witnesses some disturbing scenes. Desperate to stay one step ahead of her pursuers she creates a diversion and flees with some valuable information.

Throughout the series I've been impressed with the quality of the acting, writing and production and my only regret is that, at around nine minutes, the episodes aren't longer - I've been intrigued and entertained while at the same time wanting more: surely a sign of great sequential story-telling!

The final episode of this first chapter is entitled 'Dawn' and will premiere at the Riese the Series website today where you can also catch up on the previous four episodes.

Riese: Kingdom Falling Arrives on Syfy.co.uk

It was back in October 2009 that, thanks to my friend Lord Shaper over at The Furnace, I first came across the steampunk/fantasy adventure webseries Riese. The teaser trailer and promotional images really whetted my appetite and when the series launched the following month I thought it was fantastic.

As the creators of Riese concluded chapter 1 of their story and launched chapter 2 they announced the exciting news of a development/distribution deal for the series that, despite some anticipated - and inevitable - short-term delays would be great news for the longer-term future of the series.

Then last October news arrived that the series - now named Riese: Kingdom Falling - would be broadcast twice-weekly via Syfy.com with an international release following soon after.

For viewers in the UK that moment will soon arrive as Syfy.co.uk have recently announced that they will be premiering Riese: Kingdom Falling on Tuesday 29 March. In anticipation of next weeks premiere Syfy.co.uk have loads of background information, character bios and images from the series along with a new teaser trailer.

Syfy.co.uk is proud to present the award winning digital series Riese: Kingdom Falling. The story follows Riese, a wanted princess of the Kingdom of Eleysia that has been overthrown by a powerful society called The Sect. The evil empress Amara has proclaimed Riese a traitor, who must evade her pursuers with nothing but her wits and the help of her wolf companion, Fenrir.

Narrated by Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), the series also features a well known array of talent including Christine Chatelain (The Bone Collector); Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe); Ben Cotton (Harper's Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).

Read my previous posts about Riese: Kingdom Falling by clicking here and head over to Syfy.co.uk for loads more about Riese: Kingdom Falling.

Riese the Series: Chapter 2

The second chapter of steampunk/fantasy adventure Riese the Series premieres today with the first of five brand-new fortnightly episodes.

Riese the Series stars Christine Chatelain, Sharon Taylor, Ben Cotton, Patrick Gilmore, Ryan Robbins, Alessandro Juliani, Emilie Ullerup and Allison Mack.

Ahead of this second chapter - entitled Vidar - the creators have released a great 'sneak peak' trailer.



All five episodes that formed the first chapter, each running to around 9 minutes, can still be viewed on the series official website, alongside the ongoing new episodes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first chapter of this series and I'm very pleased it's back so soon with a second chapter.

Click to visit the Riese the Series official website.

Important - Exciting - News Regarding Riese

The creators of Riese - Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff - have announced some exciting news over at the series' official blog:

As the new year rolls around, we’ve had a lot of developments with the show that we’ve been itching to tell you about. First of all, as you’ve already seen, Chapter 2’s episodes are new and improved, with higher production values, exciting story and some really amazing cast additions. Also, we’re nearly finished with the development of our iPhone game tie-in. Without giving too many details away, I think you’ll all be really excited.

We also recently partnered with Fireworks, a digital distribution branch of ContentFilm, based out of the UK. They’re largely responsible for the transition of the webseries Valemont from internet to television, and they handle a number of many other well-known webseries as well.

What does this mean for Riese? It opens up a number of opportunities. For one, it increases the chances that we can keep making this show and letting you become further involved in the world of Riese. Additionally, it boosts the possibility of us being able to distribute the series on other platforms (episode downloads, DVDs, and television).

Now, for the bad news. While Fireworks is negotiating deals on our behalf, we’ve had to remove our episodes from online streaming. We’re not happy about it by any means – we want all of our fans to enjoy Riese whenever they want – but we also understand that it’s a necessary move in order to keep a project like Riese afloat. The few of us that are responsible for producing Riese on a day-to-day basis are realistic that we cannot sustain it without the support of Fireworks and our viewers.

[The announcement continues on the official blog]

Having really enjoyed the series throughout the first chapter and into the second I'm very pleased with these developments - if it means the creative team can continue to tell their tale through great writing, acting and production then that's good news for them and good news for us, the viewers and fans of the series.

Yes, it means a 'slight' delay to the series but, as we all know, good things are worth waiting for.

Follow developments at the official website and blog.

Riese the Series: Episode 4

A quick reminder that the next episode of Riese the Series airs today.

The episode - number four from the first chapter - is entitled Spares and can be viewed over at the Riese the Series website.

If you haven't been following the series so far then check it out - I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Riese the Series
Episode 4: Spares
Chapter 1
14 December 2009

http://www.riesetheseries.com/

Riese the Series Episode 1: Hunt

As previously posted, Monday this week saw the premiere of Riese the Series with an episode entitled Hunt.

I thought it was a really enjoyable first episode - a great mixture of action, mystery and suspense - with the promise of good things to come through future episodes.

The next episode - entitled Fragments - is scheduled for release on Monday 16 November 2009.

You can find out more about the series, the cast and its creators at http://www.riesetheseries.com/

Riese the Series Episode 1: Hunt

Riese the Series: Episode 2

A quick reminder that the second episode of steampunk/fantasy adventure webseries Riese the Series airs today over at www.riesetheseries.com.

I thought the first episode - Hunt - asked lots of questions and gave a great taste of things to come, and I'm looking forward to seeing the story develop in todays episode - Fragments.