Welsh Cartoon Golden Cobra Exclusively Launches On BBC

In 2021, three passionate film enthusiasts created a pilot for their drama sitcom, The Golden Cobra. Over the past three years, the pilot developed a cult following attracting showrunners of BBC Wales. Show creator Adam Llewellyn discusses Golden Cobra’s production after being offered an eight-episode miniseries.

A Passion To Create

The Welsh animated drama-sitcom series "The Golden Cobra" is now streaming exclusively on BBC iPlayer.Photo byKirk SchwarzonUnsplash

Adam and his two best friends, Tom Rees and James Prygodzicz, bonded through TV and film discussions. Adam and Tom first met at a university in 2009. During this time, Adam was studying for his bachelor’s degree in documentary film and TV. With Tom’s assistance, they submitted scripts for different production studios only to be met with rejection.

James later came into their lives as a second housemate. In 2019, he joined Adam and Tom for the production of an experimental webtoon series, The Vale. The show became Adam’s gateway to learning animation while working full-time as a school teacher. James offered his writing expertise to create a cartoon parodying their favorite pieces of media. Both he and Adam would voice the show’s duo, Beaton and Jockey.

The Vale ran up to 3 seasons, gaining social media support mainly from Wales. During its run, Adam had another series idea he drew in his work notebook.

The Golden Cobra Development

It Started With One Family

In BBC’s interview with Adam, Tom, and James, they share their inspirations behind the show. In Golden Cobra, the story revolves around the life of curry shop owner Basil Abassi. During Adam’s childhood, he made friends with an Indian child. Their family was the only Asians living in his hometown, Ebbw Vale at a corner store.

James suggested that the Abassis live in a curry shop inspired by his hometown, Aberdare. The town is known to have many Indian stores including sharing their culture through food.

Basil’s delivery driver, Nick will also have a storyline through bonding with his son, Rhys. Rhys is inspired by Adam’s early days in Ebbw Vale to represent youth. He attends the same school as Basil’s daughter, Mona being the only Indian student in school.

Sharing Wales’ Humor

According to the South Wales Argus, Adam was contacted by a showrunner of BBC who was a fan of The Vale in 2021. What made his show work was the presence of Welsh humor. Unlike England, Welsh comedic language relies on the people’s dialect. The showrunner wanted Adam to produce a cartoon with the same authenticity.

While keeping the setting in Ebbw Vale, James took charge as lead writer while Tom handled supervising the storyboard and scripts. Tom describes Golden Cobra’s story as “authentic like King of the Hill is to Texas.” When the pilot made its debut in November, Adam couldn’t believe that some of the inappropriate jokes bypassed the censors.

To make the show feel Welsh, Golden Cobra’s voice cast is entirely Welsh except for the Abassi family. Basil’s voice actor is voiced by British comedian and Marvel’s Eternals star, Jeff Mirza. He lends a very aggressive nature to the curry shop owner.

Wales’ Reception And Solo Production

Adam admitted that he felt very nervous about producing a cartoon involving high stakes. He often joked to James and Tom that they could be play therapists. In reality, Adam tried to keep his excitement low in case something went wrong during the production. Thankfully, The Golden Cobra pilot became a success for the Welsh and Welsh communities around Britain.

To this day, The Vale has been put on hold to continue Golden Cobra. Adam currently works with Beastly Media after quitting his teaching job. Tom works the dayshift as a disability caretaker, and James works for British Gas. They had shared disagreements during the show’s production, but the three friends we happy they were honest with each other. Adam cherishes the times they spent together while continuing to animate their voices. The Golden Cobra is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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Article originally written by Sema Chin.