Photo credit: Zack Schrock
With close to one million subscribers, Reckless Tortuga is one of the most popular sketch comedy channels on YouTube. Now, the Machinima-affiliated group is spinning off its most-watched series. The Clan, the newest entry on the Machinima Prime YouTube Original Channel, is a direct offshoot of Reckless Tortuga’s The Online Gamer, following that show’s foul-mouthed powderkeg, Aaron, as he attempts to bring together a clan that can win a Call of Duty tournament.
“We have been working with Machinima for awhile and we are always trying to figure out ways to do stuff together,” Reckless Tortuga director Jason Schnell told Tubefilter. “For example, we partnered on short film last year called Hell Michigan. So we were really excited when they called us up and said they were looking for comedy pitches to go on Machinima Prime. We’ve always in the back of heads had this crazy idea for a large scale Online Gamer that would follow Aaron and his clan buddies all the way through a gaming tournament. So we sent it over to Jeremy Azevedo, Andy Shapiro & Ian Moffitt and they all loved it.”
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Schnell explained how The Clan will retain a close relationship to The Online Gamer, which is still active on the Reckless Tortuga channel:
“Everything that happens in The Online Gamer directly effects The Clan and vice versa. Typically when you see a spin-off, some portion of the cast headlines the new show and then that character’s storyline is continued on the new show. With The Clan we wanted to try a different approach. So we wrote episodes for Online Gamer that directly tie to The Clan and try to make it more of a crossover (like in comic books) then a spin-off.”
Though Reckless Tortuga has often featured a tight focus on gaming in line with the Machinima network, Schnell noted how The Clan hopes to embrace a wider audience. “I don’t think it’s just for gamers. I think part of the appeal of Aaron is that he speaks they way people leave comments on YouTube, or over Xbox live or Reddit, behind anonymity. I think a lot of people can relate to that,” he said. “With The Clan we have added 3 new characters each with their own set of problems that hopefully there’s someone in there for you to connect with. Fingers crossed.”
