It is the title of a largely forgotten 1989 film starring Danny DeVito and the name of a widely used radio morning show competition pitting man versus woman in a knowledge test for prizes. For a generation of listeners, the “War of the Roses” has been a part of waking up. Now, it is getting an animated take, thanks to iHeartMedia and a radio host who first rose to fame in New York more than 40 years ago.
Come July 24, Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton will be releasing what the nation’s biggest audio content creation and distribution company heralds as a “bold new animated series” — War of the Roses, based on the “wildly popular” (and widely copied) radio challenge.
Produced in partnership with Woody Productions and Ontario-based ABoot Studios, the series marks the first-ever animated adaptation of the franchise and “pushes the boundaries of storytelling in every direction.”
A trailer and offer to subscribe can be found at http://iHeart.com/WaroftheRoses
Hosted by Hamilton and his co-host, Marie, War of the Roses brings “real radio episodes to life through edgy, stylized animation.”
As iHeartMedia explains, “The series transforms true stories of cheating, betrayal and emotional fallout into short-form, raw and often darkly funny visual episodes. It’s relationship drama like you’ve never seen — blending comedy, suspense and emotional depth in a way only animation can.”
Hamilton shares that he’s been developing a cartoon version of the radio segment “for a long time, and it’s finally here. This show lets you feel the drama all around you — inspired by true stories, brought to life in a whole new way.”
Hamilton and iHeartMedia also share that War of the Roses is the first animated series to feature a spatial audio mix powered by Eclipsa Audio — Google’s open-source spatial platform designed for immersive streaming. Developed in collaboration with Vaudeville, the experience delivers 360-degree soundscapes optimized for headphones and spatially aware smart devices.
Hamilton, who first gained a following as the nighttime host on WHTZ “Z100” in New York in the early 1980s, currently hosts the morning show on WKTU-FM 103.5, today an iHeartMedia sibling to Z100. Hamilton also spent several years at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles.
