Grom’s Curiosity Ink Media Teams Up with Celebrated Comic Performer Maz Jobrani and Producer Dustin Ellis to Bring Laugh on Lorp to Series

July 16, 2024

Animated Comedy Inspired by Jobrani's Bi-cultural Upbringing and Experience as Immigrant in the U.S. Represents Synergy Opportunity Across Grom Portfolio

BOCA RATON, FL - July 16, 2024 - Grom Social Enterprises, Inc's (NASDAQ: GROM), Curiosity Ink Media - a prolific creator of original multiplatform family entertainment - today announced that presentations are underway to bring Laugh on Lorp, an original animated sci-fi comedy, to series. Featuring iconic comedian, Maz Jobrani (Pandemic Warrior, Superior Donuts, Back to School with Maz Jobrani) and developed by Curiosity with producers, Dustin Ellis (Credits TBD), and Mainstay Entertainment, the series follows a beleaguered high school nerd whose existence is upended when aliens from the planet Lorp kidnap him when they mistake him for a world renowned inspirational guru. The series pitches, expected to begin shortly, were confirmed today by Kyle Logan, Director of Development, Curiosity Ink Media.

Part of Curiosity Ink Media's catalog of wholly owned intellectual property, the series is Curiosity's newest original and follows the company's earlier production announcements regarding Santa.com, a theatrical-length animated holiday feature film, slated for fall, 2025, which Curiosity is co-producing with international global production and distribution powerhouse, Toon2Tango GmbH & Co. KG of (Germany), Studio 56 (India) and M.A.R.K.13™(Germany). Additionally, Curiosity and Toon2Tango are teaming up and co-producing together with Hotel Hungaria (Belgium) and Treehouse Republic (Ireland) 52 (S1) episodes of animated preschool series, Hey Fuzzy Yellow! for delivery in spring, 2025.

Laugh on Lorp represents a milestone synergy opportunity for Curiosity to tap into Grom's other divisions, including Top Draw Animation - it's award-winning 2D animation production studio, based in the Philippines - and Grom Social, the social media app exclusively for kids, which Curiosity aims to utilize for audience feedback, sneak peeks and promotional opportunities for both the series and its partners.

Said Jobrani, "I am really excited to be working with Curiosity Ink Media and Dustin Ellis to create a fictional planet where a teenage comedian becomes a savior and his immigrant family pester him to be back home on Earth in time for dinner. What could go wrong?"

"Grom's brilliant original storytelling division, Curiosity Ink Media, truly lives up to its mission to share unique stories shared by brilliant creative individuals and Maz Jobrani certainly fits the bill," explains Grom CEO, Darren Marks. "Laugh on Lorp is the perfect venue for all of Grom Social Enterprises to shine and our goal is to leverage our amazing portfolio of premium animation production along with the direct dialog we have with kids through the Grom Social app to bring Laugh on Lorp, Curiosity Ink Media and all of Grom Social Enterprises to new and exciting heights."

About Laugh on Lorp

Laugh on Lorp centers on an aspiring teenage stand-up comedian who is selected to introduce an international superstar and inspirational leader set to address the student body at his high school. His set - and his life - is interrupted when aliens kidnap him and deliver him to their planet, Lorp, to meet their princess. After learning that her royal highness is on a mission to bring emotion back to Lorp to save it from disaster, he agrees to channel his inner Oprah to help her. Through the eyes of a teenage Iranian immigrant, he shares his own insight, wit and philosophy of life while learning about comedy - and himself- along the way.

About Maz Jobrani

Maz Jobrani is a comedian, actor and LA Times best-selling author of I'M NOT A TERRORIST, BUT I'VE PLAYED ONE ON TV. His new standup comedy special THE BIRDS & THE BEES was filmed in the Main Room at the Comedy Store, and is now available for streaming on YouTube. As an actor, he has made many appearances on television's most popular shows including GREY'S ANATOMY, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and SHAMELESS. He's also been a regular guest on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT AND THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN. Maz starred as the title character in the award-winning indie comedy, JIMMY VESTVOOD: AMERIKAN HERO, a feature which he co-wrote and co-produced. He has co-starred in many additional films, including Sydney Pollack's THE INTERPRETER, Disney's DESCENDANTS and Ice Cube's FRIDAY AFTER NEXT. Maz's other standup comedy specials include IMMIGRANT, which was filmed at the prestigious Kennedy Center and is a NETFLIX original, as well as 3 additional solo specials on SHOWTIME: BROWN AND FRIENDLY, I COME IN PEACE, and I'M NOT A TERRORIST, BUT I'VE PLAYED ONE ON TV. He also has a special on PeacockTV titled PANDEMIC WARRIOR. In the Spring of 2016 he performed at the White House where he had the privilege of introducing Michelle Obama. As a UC Berkeley alum, Maz gave the keynote speech to the graduating class of 2017. Maz served as the host for the 45th International Emmy's in New York. He was a founding member of THE AXIS OF EVIL comedy tour, which aired on Comedy Central. He is a regular panelist on NPR's WAIT WAIT DON'T TELL ME and has given 2 TED Talks. Maz executive produced EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE, a documentary about his sister's battle with breast cancer which is currently available on iTunes.

About Dustin Ellis

Ellis began his animation career in various production roles at Warner Bros. Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Universal Cartoons. In 2005, he and his wife wrote and produced the direct-to-DVD cartoon, Babak and Friends: A First Norooz, a special about the Persian holiday similar in format to A Charlie Brown Christmas. The ground-breaking show starred several well-known Persian actors, including Shoreh Agdashloo and Catherine Bell, and sold over 20,000 copies in limited distribution. Critically acclaimed and covered extensively by the media, the special was screened at the British Museum in London and Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution. As a result of the positive reception for A First Norooz, Ellis spun-off the characters into the series Mixed Nutz, featuring a multi-cultural cast of children learning about each other. The series was a labor of love for Ellis, who is from a multicultural background, with an Iranian Muslim mother, an American Christian father and an Iranian Jewish wife. Most recently, feature film, "Girl Haunts Boy" - an original story conceived and developed by Ellis, was acquired by Netflix and is set for a October 10th release date, 2024.