Image Credit: Netflix
Netflix’s slate for the 2026 Annecy International Film Festival is rounded out living the dreamwhich was co-presented keeping up with the jonesis From Warner Bros. Animation. We got an in-depth look at the series and what we can expect beyond the initial announcement, which came with the announcement of its cast late last year.
Presenting the new Netflix series were Sarah Fell, senior vice president and studio head of Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, and George Gandy, creator, executive producer and one of the show’s main voices. Throughout the presentation, Gendry presented clips and concept art and explained the background of the series, which he described as a spiritual successor to his show. Apple and Onion.
From destroyed post-apocalyptic settings to straight-up roasting real-life studio executives and a modern corporate hellscape, here’s how living the dream Originating directly from the creator himself.
First, a little about the background of the show.
Living the Dream centers on Ray and Des, two ambitious but conflicted best friends working as low-level social media “Impact Champions” at the UK branch of EcoFood. They are overseen by frantic, overstressed manager Anne, who wants to climb the corporate ladder by impressing her bumbling and dismissive American boss Scott. The chaotic office environment is populated by a colorful gang of eccentric coworkers, including an adversarial sales duo composed of Harold and Big C – a posh guy with an inferiority complex who pretends to be tough. The office floor is filled with Bronya and Priya, along with Ashley, a bubbly American HR representative who epitomizes the overly cheerful corporate culture.
How living the dream is the spiritual successor of Apple and Onion
Image Credit: Adult Swim
Gendry’s journey into Netflix’s adult animation roster actually began with his beloved children’s series on Cartoon Network, Apple and Onion. As the show matured, so did its humor. According to Gendry, executives eventually realized that the show was “two jokes away from an adult show”, leading them to experiment with the Adult Swim time slot.
But when it came time for the third season, Warner Bros. Animation boss Sam Register (who makes a surprise appearance in the show -) had a different plan.
“Finally I got a call from Sam, and he said, ‘We’re not going to do a Season 3 of Apple & Onion. You’re free from this forever,'” Gendry recalled telling the Annecy crowd. “Instead, I’m going to give you a development deal, and I want you to create an adult show for us from the ground up this time and make it completely British this time.”
Initially, Gendry designed the new protagonists, Ray and Des, as human iterations of his previous characters, whom he voiced alongside Richard Ayoade. However, the studio quickly backed down, telling him, “I’ve given you a deal to make a new show. Don’t give me the same show.” To get around this, side character Des was replaced with British comedian Javon Prince.
Abandoning the apocalypse for corporate despair
With his heroes locked in, Gendry needed a world for them to live in. His first instinct was to go sci-fi to differentiate it from his previous work. “I put him in this post-apocalyptic world,” Gendry said. But, as we were struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, executives quickly vetoed the idea due to genre fatigue.
Instead, Gendry looked back at his real-world experiences in the animation industry to create the fictional, painfully hypocritical company “EcoFood”.
Gendry explained, “During my time at Cartoon Network Studios I got a great experience of the corporate culture, what it’s like to live in a corporation.” “All the emails you get are, like, ‘There are some mental health resources, and we care about you,’ and it’s like, OK, what about my deadline, sir? Oh, no, no, no, just read this booklet. It’s like, ‘You’re part of our story, let’s build this together.’ The next day, someone is fired.”
Modeling the boss after a real-life studio executive
living the dream Ray and Des follow two low-level “Impact Champions” from London-based EcoFood’s social media team, who are desperately trying to escape their frantic UK boss, Anne (voiced by Julia Davis). Anne, in turn, is obsessed with impressing her boss: a brash, brash, dismissive American executive named Scott, based in LA.
Previously, we mentioned that Sam Register would be playing an additional role in the series. Gendry directly modeled the character after the president of Warner Bros. Animation, who was in the audience and was a good sport about it and apparently signed a likeness contract.
Gendry joked to the audience, “I can’t think of anyone. Sam. He’s there… he really fits the role.” “I couldn’t call him Sam. I tried calling him Sam, but he said, call him Scott.” Register also signed a likeness contract to allow the design – which features a prominent nose based on how Jendy’s colleagues looked at Register from below on a Zoom call – to be used on the show.
The London office of this fictional company is seen as an inferior office and is often sidelined and dismissed, which reminds me of some companies that shall remain nameless.
Living the dream. (Left to right) George Gendry, creator and voice of Ray, Javon Prince, voice of Des in Living the Dream. Ten million. Courtesy of Tom Harrison/Netflix © 2025
The Netflix Pitch and the “Radio Play” Method
Just two weeks before its official pitch to Netflix, Gendry met with Netflix animation executive Julio Bonet, director of animated series at Netflix (UK/EMEA), who explained exactly what the streamer was looking for.
“He told me exactly what they were looking for. And I was like, Oh, I found exactly that thing,” Gendry said, laughing. “He was looking for exactly what we were after, which was a loosely serialized adult buddy comedy set in the UK.”
Netflix liked the pitch and picked up an 8-episode series, although they asked Gendry to shift the focus a bit from the boys’ initially planned side hustle to a more grounded “office sitcom” structure, creating a rival sales team and an eccentric human resources department.
To maintain the show’s highly distinctive, improvisational comedic tone, Gendry developed a unique production pipeline. Instead of just handing a script to the storyboard artists, he first records the entire episode himself.
Gendry revealed, “I’ll give the storyboarders a radio play, and they’ll put it on the timeline, and they’ll be on board with that.” “Once a script is ready, I’ll take that script, I’ll start recording it, for all the characters, in my own voice… If it sounds good when there’s nothing there, you can only get better, hopefully.”
This method allows the humor to flow naturally, driven by the characters’ quiet, existential dread rather than traditional punchlines. And working with a streamer gave him breathing room. “Time wasn’t a big issue, because for Netflix… it doesn’t have to be 22 [minutes]“He noted.
finding humor in despair
At the end, living the dream Aiming for a distinctly British, observational style of comedy that combines the mundane with the surreal. London is the show’s quintessential home, and its backdrop is equally part of the show’s character, with all clips and images featuring famous London landmarks and the culture of the UK capital.
Gendry concluded, “The thing I want to quickly talk about is the humor that I try to bring to the show… just human beings living their lives, going through life frustrated.” “It can be funny. The underlying emotions are visible in the outward acting… you just have to imagine it and execute it.”
This was perhaps best demonstrated by James Blunt’s disappointing portrayal of the lead characters, which you’ll have to watch the show if you want to see, but audiences were entertained with a recording of Gendry’s roles in the script and then viewing of the final result.
The panel audience was given several show-related goodies, including this excellent (not) press note from the Impact Champions themselves, Deus and Ray. We were also provided with a tennis-style visor and a lanyard, which now allows me to walk around Annecy as an Impact Champion.
Image Credit: Casey Moore/What’s on Netflix
First impression of living the dream
Adult animation comedy is difficult on Netflix and in the UK, where this series is produced Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe didn’t have too many changes in this area, and now they’ve got two: this and street cats. Both are fundamentally British in nature, but both have recognizable universal tropes associated with them. I have to admit that when the first picture of this came out, I wasn’t expecting much, as this style has become a bit stale lately. But as soon as Gendy started explaining the concept and sharing clips, I immediately got it, became a supporter and hope it succeeds. Not everything worked but it did work out that it is now at the top of my watch list.
Furthermore, on a personal note, I found Genny to be one of the most honest and insightful speakers during my entire week in Annecy. Thank you for that. It’s nice to have someone talk about their show naturally without being overly scripted.
This is from everyone living your dream Panel. Don’t forget the accompanying series keeping up with the jonesisWhich we won’t be covering because sadly, it’s not coming to Netflix, so it’s a little beyond our scope!
We’ll keep you posted on more living your dream Whenever we get more.
