# Glitch Productions

Glitch Productions Pty. Ltd. (also known simply as Glitch; formerly Glitchy Boy or Glitchy Boy Productions) is an Australian independent animation studio based in Sydney, New South Wales. The studio was founded in 2017 by producer Kevin Lerdwichagul and animator Luke Lerdwichagul, who is known for being the creator of the machinima sketch comedy web series SMG4.
Glitch is known for independently producing and funding animated web series such as Meta Runner, Sunset Paradise, Murder Drones, and The Amazing Digital Circus. The company was featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for Media, Marketing, and Advertising in 2023.

## History
### Background

Co-founder Luke Lerdwichagul started making videos in 2009. On 7 May 2011, at the age of 11, Luke created his first web series; a Super Mario 64-based machinima later to be known as SMG4 (an acronym of his YouTube channel name, "SuperMarioGlitchy4"). Produced using footage from an emulated version of Super Mario 64, the series originally focused Mario and other characters from the greater Mario franchise going on adventures that often involve parodies of internet memes and pop culture. Over time, the series would begin using Garry's Mod as a base, and featured a more prominent cast of original characters.
Around 2016, Luke's older brother, Kevin Lerdwichagul, had observed the channel and its wide audience. He saw the potential to form a business around the channel, later joining SMG4 as a full-time writer and producer. Luke took on a directing role, as well as voicing his titular author surrogate character. In interviews, the brothers have acknowledged their use of copyrighted characters from Nintendo and other third-parties in their videos. However, they were always careful to never place such characters in hateful or defamatory context.

### Formation

On 24 May 2017, Luke uploaded a fan mail video to the SMG4 channel, where he briefly mentioned that he founded a company, dubbed Glitchy Boy, to represent the SMG4, Hobo Bros., and "TheAwesomeMario" YouTube channels. On 5 September 2018, a more formal announcement video was uploaded called "SMG4 Direct (HUGE CHANNEL UPDATE)", where Luke and Kevin fully explained the concept of their company, now rebranded as Glitch Productions. During the video, they also unveiled Hitbox, a live-action series starring Kevin and Luke acting as various Nintendo characters.
On 5 December 2018, following multiple teasers on the SMG4 channel, Glitch released the trailer for Meta Runner, and the first series premiered on 25 July 2019. The series was funded by Screen Australia, and became the top-performing online investment from the company, racking up 10 million+ viewers across its first season. Meta Runner was later posted on Glitch Productions. The first season was also financed with support from Crunchyroll and AMD, and financed in association with Epic Games. On 20 April 2020, Screen Australia announced that they would be funding a second season of Meta Runner.

### 2020–present

On 27 August 2020, Glitch officially separated the SMG4 channel from Glitch, and created the GLITCH channel to focus on its Non-SMG4 projects. Its first videos released that day would be an announcement video and the first season of Meta Runner remade in Movie format. They would soon after release the pilot to Ultra Jump Mania (a spin-off of Meta Runner that would later be cancelled) and season 2 of Meta Runner.
On 12 March 2021, Glitch unveiled an SMG4 spin-off centered on the character Meggy Spletzer called Sunset Paradise. The pilot would be released on 26 March 2021. On 12 May 2021, the show received online production funding from Screen Australia.
On 9 October 2021, it was announced that Glitch would be releasing a pilot titled Murder Drones on 29 October, created, written, and directed by Liam Vickers. While earlier Glitch projects were essentially created on a monetary loss, Murder Drones greatly outperformed expectations and received millions of views per episode.
On 1 September 2023, Glitch announced that they would be hosting an livestreaming event called "Glitch X" on 9 November 2023; where they would announce their upcoming show, The Gaslight District, in collaboration with animator Nick Szopko which is currently scheduled to premiere in 2025.
On 13 October 2023, the pilot for The Amazing Digital Circus was released, a series created in collaboration with Gooseworx. The pilot would garner 100 million views in its first month, becoming the most popular indie animation video. The Amazing Digital Circus would also increase Glitch's notoriety, garnering news coverage, as well as their YouTube channel eventually reaching 10 million subscribers and 1 billion total views.
On 7 June 2024, the company would also launch a subscription service to help fund their programming called "Glitch Inn".
On 5 July 2024, Glitch launched 'FinalFinal_Project', a merchandise company that helps funding with other shows, with Iron Circus Animation, the producers of the Lackadaisy animated adaptation, being their first partners.
On 4 October 2024, following prior rumours, Glitch officially announced the debut of The Amazing Digital Circus to Netflix. It is the first Glitch production to be available on the platform. Glitch has stated that Netflix will have no creative control over the series, and new episodes would continue to premiere on YouTube first.
On 17 January 2025, Glitch announced their first 2D animated series Knights of Guinevere in collaboration with The Owl House alumni Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen, and Zach Marcus that is tentatively scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025.
On 10 March 2025, it was announced that the web animation group ZAMination would be partnering with Glitch to creatively direct Glitch's future marketing campaigns.

## Controversy

In March 2024, Glitch was accused of firing Celeste Notley-Smith, the voice actress for Tari from Meta Runner and SMG4, in a callous manner, and recasting her with Lottie Bourne, which led to allegations against the studio and confusion among fans. Notley-Smith wrote on Twitter that she was not notified of her role being recast. Several days later, she released a statement in which she explained that after discovering she had been recast, she reached out to the Lerdwichaguls, asking why she was removed from her role without contact from the team. It was later stated by general manager Jasmine Yang that it was down to a communication error on her (Yang's) part. Despite this, Robyn Barry-Cotter, the voice actress for Theo from Meta Runner, left Glitch Productions due to the controversy, which also left one of the SMG4 characters without a voice.
The studio was additionally alleged of longer work hours, blacklisting of ex-employees, and harassment, largely from Kevin Lerdwichagul. On 4 March 2024, Kevin released a statement via Glitch's social media outlets addressing the controversies, doubling as an apology to workers who had negative experience with the company. Kevin additionally claimed the studio had faced prior issues due to being short-staffed, but had largely resolved worker conditions by 2023. The response was accepted by the majority of Glitch's employees and fans, though some were still concerned that Notley-Smith's firing was never addressed.

## Filmography
### Current

| Title | Creator(s) | Premiere date | Note(s) | Ref(s) |
| SMG4 | Luke Lerdwichagul | 8 May 2011 | Produced by Glitch from 2017 onward. | |
| The Amazing Digital Circus | Gooseworx | 13 October 2023 | Premiered on Netflix on 4 October 2024. | |

### Upcoming

| Title | Creator(s) | Premiere date | Note(s) | Ref(s) |
| The Gaslight District | Nick Szopko | 2025 | First Glitch show to be created by a Canadian showrunner. | |
| Knights of Guinevere | Dana Terrace John Bailey Owen Zach Marcus | 2025 | First Glitch show to be 2D animated, and is animated in partnership with Studio Meala. | |

### Former

| Title | Creator(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) |
| TheAwesomeMario | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | 14 July 2013 | 31 December 2017 | YouTube channel featuring SMG4-related shorts and other content. |
| Hobo Bros. | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | 3 December 2016 | 1 January 2021 | YouTube channel involving Let's Play and reactions. The channel is on an indefinite hiatus. |
| Hitbox | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | 21 September 2018 | 20 December 2019 | Live action series. |
| Meta Runner | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | 25 July 2019 | 10 September 2022 | The first season was uploaded on the SMG4 channel, with two subsequent seasons uploaded on the Glitch channel. |
| Sunset Paradise | Kevin Lerdwichagul Luke Lerdwichagul | 26 March 2021 | 31 July 2021 | Spin-off of SMG4. |
| Murder Drones | Liam Vickers | 29 October 2021 | 23 August 2024 | First Glitch show not created by Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul. |