When Louis C.K. was fired, dozens of B.C. animators lost jobs too
A few weeks ago, Jeff Saamanen, a professional animator in Kelowna, B.C., was looking forward to starting a new gig on a prime-time American network comedy series.
But days before he was set to join the team of animators at Vancouver-based Bardel Entertainment, news broke that several women had come forward and accused the show’s co-creator and star, comedian Louis C.K., of sexual misconduct.
Saamanen didn’t get a chance to render a single sketch on a drawing tablet before he was told that production had been halted and he was out of a job.
“I was definitely excited to get on board a biggername show. … I was using this as an opportunity to up my skill set, get some network connections,” he said. “But now that’s fallen to the background while I try to find random gigs that can keep me afloat.”
Saamanen was among more than 50 artists, animators and production members hired by the B.C. studio who were suddenly out of a job — just one example of the far-reaching consequences of the still-unravelling Hollywood scandal.
“I may be suffering a little bit but, in the long run, hopefully that small amount of suffering will make a bigger change in the industry,” he said.
Originally set to première in 2018 on the TBS network, the 10-episode animated series, called The Cops, was said to follow two patrolmen — played by C.K. and fellow comedian Albert Brooks — “trying their best to protect and serve, sometimes failing at both.”
Transgender actress Jen Richards was also supposed to have a recurring role, voicing a transgender character.
“The show was really diverse, it was very honest. It gave a good voice to a lot of minorities,” said the show’s art director, Francis Giglio, who had been employed by Starburns Industries, the Burbank, Calif.-based studio in charge of the overall editorial direction of the series.
Starburns, in turn, looked north to Bardel Entertainment, a veteran player in the North American animation industry, to bring the show’s gritty visual style to life.
Animation work on the first episode was well underway when the bombshell allegations against C.K. appeared in The New York Times. Five women described various incidents of inappropriate behaviour that included C.K. masturbating in front of some of them.
The comedian subsequently issued a statement confirming that the women’s accounts were true.
“One of the biggest appeals for a lot of people was just working on something that involved Louis C.K.,” said Kelani Lim, who was the production manager overseeing the B.C. animators. “There are a lot of people who are fans of his comedy and just what he was about. It was very disappointing for them to hear of these allegations.”
After a tense weekend of back-and-forth calls with their counterparts in California, Bardel executives learned that production had been halted — and was unlikely to be resurrected, at least not anytime soon.
Fifty-three Bardel employees were laid off.
Giglio said he was among about 40 production team members in California who also lost their positions.
“The plug was pulled — you’re done. I never experienced anything like this before,” he said.
In a social media post that got a lot of attention, Giglio penned an open letter to C.K. written on the side of one of his office moving boxes.
“We now find ourselves out of a job right before the holidays. So many of us are frantically looking for a new project to jump on,” he wrote.
“However, here is the bigger point,” he continued. “All the stress and frustration that I find myself in now is nothing compared to the pain and distress you have caused these women. I will happily walk away from this project and any other project to fully support anyone that needs to come forward about sexual abuse or harassment.”
The sentiment was shared by the animation team in B.C. “... one thing that made me feel better about the whole situation was the fact that women felt more comfortable that they could finally come forward instead of holding on to those haunting feelings, thoughts and experiences,” said Lim, who, along with others, has since been able to find work on other shows or at other studios.