“Riese” is a surreal mix of dark fantasy adventure combined with high tech. Unlike most fantasy series, in “Riese,” there is no magic. In this tale, it is all about a woman on a quest to free an oppressed kingdom.
Creator/producer Ryan Copple promised that “Riese” is not a cookie-cutter fantasy series. Instead, it is more like “Mad Max” meets “Legend of the Seeker.” Inspired by Syfy’s other successful webseries-turned-television-series “Sanctuary,” Copple believes that “Riese” will appeal to a wide range of fans because it offers an appealing array of characters brought to life by a talented cast. He also believes it is more epic in scopeas he and his co-creator Kaleena Kiff created a whole new world for both Riese and the fans to explore.
A long-time fan of role playing games, Copple has taken the world of a RPG and brought it to life. They worked hard to create specific imagery that would capture the audience’s mind. They did not want to fall back on the crutch that that it was okay to scale-back on the visual look of the show simply because it was a webseries. So every effort was made to make the costuming and production design visually stand-out. They want “Riese” to look like a feature film — to set a new standard of what a webseries looks like. They have aspired to be a movie-quality web series; thus, costumes are hand-made and each scene carefully selected to add a layer of creativity and visual expression.
For fans who may have seen the original “Riese” online last year when it first launched, they may be surprised to discover that the series has not only been re-edited, but that it now has a famous narrator. Fans have been delighted to find out that “Stargate SG-1” and “Sancturay” alum Amanda Tapping is providing the narration for “Riese.” This has been a dream come true for Copple. With the added narration by Tapping, “Riese” is no longer seen as a quiet introspective journey of a lone woman seeking answers to her family’s slaying. Tapping’s narration provides the clues that the viewers need to understand what challenges Riese faces as well as a bit of her backstory. In addition, when Syfy bought “Riese,” it provided the funding needed to re-edit the series to accelerate the storyline and make it more action-packed.
Besides Tapping, “Riese” stars Christine Chatelain along with Sharon Taylor (“Stargate Atlantis”), Emilie Ullerup (“Sanctuary”) and Allison Mack (“Smallville”), all who emulate the strong women the series seeks to showcase and spotlight in this gripping tale of a lone wanderer seeking to destroy an evil regime. Other pivotal actors populating the “Riese” world are Ben Cotton (“Stargate Atlantis”), Patrick Gilmore (“Stargate Universe”), Peter Kelamis (“Stargate Universe”), Ryan Robbins (“Sanctuary”) and Alessandro Juliani (“Battlestar Galactica” and “Smallville”). “Riese” also co-stars Fenrir, one of the last wolves in existence who faithfully accompanies her on her quest.
For Copple and everyone working on “Riese,” this past year has been a roller-coaster ride. “Riese” went from being a cool idea, to a fun project that they could all work on, to a monumentalweb series achievement. Being based in Vancouver, they were incredibly blessed to be admist one of the largest collection of science fiction television talent on the planet. Vancouver is known to be a hot-bed of sci-fi and, through various mutual connections and word of mouth they were able to recruit a collection of amazing talent to bring the “Riese” world to life. It was astounding that, before they knew it, people were approaching them to be in “Riese” because it became known as a fun project, creating a world that they wanted to play in.
With 10 episodes scheduled to air over the next 5 weeks, Syfy is carefully gauging fan and viewer reaction to assess whether they should transition “Riese” from a webseries into a television series. If Syfy greenlights “Riese” to a television series, Copple is confident that there is room in both mediums for “Riese” and said that they would endeavor to supplement the series by having mobisodes to accompany the television series.
Copple also shared that “Riese” is also currently expanding its transmedia opportunities as it is set to launch an RPG (which will be narrated by “The Guild’s” Felicia Day) and a series of prequel books to be authored by a well-known sci-fi author.
What has been a labor of love for Copple and Kiff has turned into this amazing adventure. They are getting the chance to invite viewers on a journey and it is an interactive journey as fan reaction will determine the fate of the series. It is an opportunity to shape a brand new television series. So they invite everyone to tune in and share their opinions.
Look for new episodes of “Riese” each Tuesday and Thursday “Riese” for the next five weeks at Syfy.com and RiesetheSeries.com.
Related article (SLIDESHOW): http://www.examiner.com/museum-of-tv-and-radio-in-los-angeles/riese-picture
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