Sony Pictures Television has signed a multiyear first-look deal with Irish content creator Thea Von Engelbrechten, the creator behind the popular social media brand ‘Moletown Drama’.

The deal gives the studio the first opportunity to develop and produce original series from the creator, whose platforms have attracted 2.5 million followers on TikTok and one million on Instagram, Variety reported.

The partnership marks another step in Sony’s efforts to bring digital creators into traditional television and animation. Its first project with Von Engelbrechten is ‘Hazelwood’, a darkly comic animated microseries featuring short episodes set in a seemingly peaceful woodland town where the animals’ lives unfold amid scandals, personal conflicts and violence.

New episodes of ‘Hazelwood’ will be released on YouTube every Friday, beginning November 13, followed by releases on TikTok and Instagram on Sundays. Von Engelbrechten serves as the series’ creator and producer, with the project introducing an original cast of characters developed specifically for the series.

Despite its picturesque setting, ‘Hazelwood’ takes the form of an animated soap opera in which the residents’ seemingly orderly lives are disrupted by secrets and increasingly chaotic situations. The story follows Meadow, a recovering alcoholic who lives with her husband, Richard, while their neighbour Arabella is willing to go to considerable lengths to gain popularity. Other characters, including Pizza Mole and Scar, add to the drama unfolding in the town.