'Krapopolis' To Premiere In September with NFTs and Fan Voting

Fox Network’s Animation Domination will expand its lineup with an animated series called Krapopolis, set to debut on September 24, that features a Web3 component that gives fans of the show a chance to connect and participate in the story.

For the show’s blockchain component, Fox’s Web3 media company, Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL), launched an NFT collection of 10,420 digital “Krap Chickens.” The still-minting collection officially launched following an announcement at Comic-Con 2022. So far, collectors have minted 3,696 Krap Chickens.

The ongoing NFT bear market has certainly taken its toll on the project. The floor price of the collection sits at 0.09 ETH – half the public sale price. This means new buyers have no incentive to mint since they can save money by purchasing on secondary markets.

“The TV experience has always been this: sit back, relax, watch the show,” Matthew Bilfield, Senior Director of Product Strategy at BCL, told The Defiant. “When the blockchain Web3 elements started emerging, it came up as an opportunity to maybe create a two-way dialogue with fans,” he added.

Co-created by Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon, the show that has everyone saying “Krap” in the promotional run-up to its premiere episode is already greenlit for three seasons on Fox primetime.

Each “Krap Chicken” NFT acts as a fan pass to the Krapopolis extended universe and features traits depicted in the show.

Daily Rewards

In addition to allowing holders to vote on certain outcomes in the show’s plot, each chicken produces a Krap Egg once a day, which is a non-transferrable ERC-20 token. The eggs can be collected to boost a fan’s competitive ranking on global leaderboards or spent on show-related merchandise.

Krap Eggs are the component behind the rewards system integrated into the wider Krapopolis ecosystem, which is built around merit and skill as driving factors, rather than a lottery-style system, according to Bilfield.

Decentralized Primetime

What distinguishes Krapopolis from other primetime animated shows is the fan-driven element of the series, which gives fans the power to collectively alter certain plot elements of the show through voting rights conferred via digital assets. This means after an episode is complete additional changes may need to be budgeted for to accommodate the voting.

Voting takes place on the Krapopolis website and is powered on the backend by Snapshot.org. So far, the show has held 10 votes to decide what happens in various episodes.

“The number of chickens you have in your wallet is the number of votes that you get,” said Bilfield.

As for the show itself, the Krap Chickens aren’t actual main characters in the program, which features the voice acting talents of Hanna Waddingham as Deliria, Richard Ayoade as Tyrannis, Matt Berry as Shlub, Pam Murphy as Stupendous, and Duncan Trussell as Hippocampus.

"When the chickens were created in the show, there's no written word. There's spoken language only and there's no monetary system. Their monetary system is threefold. It's olives, sandals, and chickens. Chickens are like the $100 bill,” said Bilfield.

The Krap Chickens act as fan passes that, in addition to allowing fans to vote, grant access to skill-based games that include prizes of Krap Eggs, or even the chance to be featured on the show as a guest character by obtaining a coveted Key to Krapopolis.

So far two such keys exist. The winner of the first key was decided after a scavenger hunt, while the second was auctioned and sold for 3.1 ETH.

Future Developments

Although no specific release date has been provided, a side-scrolling game, “Krappy Chicken,” is expected to establish this gaming rewards system. The game will utilize a gameplay mechanic reminiscent of Flappy Bird, a well-known mobile title where players must navigate a flapping bird through high and low obstacles to score points.

There are also plans to hold postseason scavenger hunts where fans can earn egg rewards, the details of which are still being ironed out, according to Bilfield.

Holders can also use egg rewards to upgrade Krap Chickens on the Krapopolis website, which integrates with an image generation engine that properly accounts for rendering layer order changes. This enhancement automates metadata updates, eliminating the need for manual intervention.

Catch Krapopolis on its September 24 premiere, scheduled between the hit animated series 'The Simpsons' and 'Bob's Burgers' as part of the Fox Animation Domination programming block.