S.A.L.E.M.: The Secret Archive of Legends, Enchantments, and Monsters | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Samantha "Sam" Sawyer |
Based on | S.A.L.E.M. by Sam Sawyer |
Directed by | Swampy Marsh |
Voices of | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Q Fortier |
Production company | Surfer Jack Productions |
Original release | |
Network | YouTube |
S.A.L.E.M.: The Secret Archive of Legends, Enchantments, and Monsters, otherwise known as Salem or S.A.L.E.M., is an upcoming animated fantasy and mystery web series created by a queer woman named Samantha "Sam" Sawyer.[1][2] It is based on an unpublished comic of the same name by Sawyer[3] and was funded by a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.[4] The show's exact date has not been announced.
The story, set in the fictional town of Hollow Watch, West Virginia,[5] follows the adventures of a non-binary cryptid named Salem who finds out they have been adopted and begins on a journey to discover their origin, joined by an enchanted book, a photographer named Oliver, and a psychic named Petra who is a medium for ghosts.[6][7] Salem, a creature who doesn't have a core identity or gender, travels through a "world of fairies, goblins and other cryptids."[8][9]
The project itself was envisioned in 2013, but it wasn't until November 2018 that the series started production.[20] Sawyer launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to complete the "first cycle of production" of the series.[21][22] By November 2019, the crowdfunding campaign had fully funded the series.[23] By February 2021, more than $75,000 had been contributed to the project's Kickstarter.[24] Sawyer noted that while the show has an animation studio helping create episodes, she designs the characters and helps with the storyline.[24]
Sawyer often pointed to the uniqueness of the series. In a January 2020 interview, Sawyer said she always knew this story was about "someone who was different" and noted that the show's "main character identifies as nonbinary," adding that creators are getting better at telling stories about people with disabilities, people of color, and that they are opening up the story "for people who don’t identify with a gender."[8] Also, Sawyer said that the show is influenced by The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Invader Zim.[25][26]
For the series, Swampy Marsh will be executive producer and voice director, while Q Fortier will be Senior Producer.[20][16] Spectrolite is the main storyboarder,[27] along with others working on the series. Marsh's company, Surfer Jack Productions, will be producing the series.[20] On August 13, 2019, the animatic trailer for the series was released,[28] and the opening animation was released on October 17, 2019.[29]
In January 2020, it was predicted that the series would be released "around October 2020."[30] On January 23, 2020, in an AMA, Sawyer stated that the series will be on YouTube but if it doesn't work out, it will be posted to a website where everyone can see the first episode, and stated that they "hope for early 2021" in terms of the release of the first episode.[12] In January 2021, Sawyer stated on Twitter, in response to a question from a fan, that the show is "not out officially yet, but we’re getting closer."[31] In July 2021, Sawyer said that they had to "take a brief hiatus" from posting on the official Twitter account, but that they would be "resuming posts and updates soon."[32] As of December 2021, posting has not resumed on the official Twitter account for the series.
On January 24, 2022, Sawyer told a fan that she couldn't "say anything right now" about the series but would share news "as soon" as she could.[33] On May 21, 2022, one of the show's staff said that she would be able to talk about the series soon, but could not do it at the present.[34] On June 26, 2023, Sawyer responded to another inquiry about the show, saying "I can’t talk about it yet unfortunately" and said she hoped to talk about it "soon."[35]