Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546404
FALL 2026 11 T H E C L I M B opposite page: (from left) Graham at work in his garage where Flying Bark Los Angeles got its start; Graham's office once the studio moved into official space. this page: (from top) Graham (left) with Eric Robles and Dan Evans III, Manager, Adult Animation at Netflix; Setting up the kitchen in the new studio space; The Flying Bark booth at LightBox Expo 2026. need to try something fresh. He saw how studios such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple were working in partnership with smaller studios like Titmouse. "Not like the way it used to be with just the big major studios doing all the heavy lifting," he says. Envisioning this different model of delivering animation to major studios, and having enjoyed his work with Flying Bark on Glitch Techs, he contacted the company's leadership and asked if there was interest in starting an L.A.-based presence. To Graham's thinking, Flying Bark could have an outlet on the ground in Los Angeles overseeing production using local expertise. "We have something the rest of the world covets," he says. "The ability to do a real TV production pipeline because of years of experience." Pitching the idea to Flying Bark CEO of Content Barbara Stephen, Graham offered himself as the creative engine. In addition, he wanted to support The Animation Guild, and he says Flying Bark had his back. "The deal was that we will start an L.A. studio, and it will be a unionized studio," he says. "I know the value of the Union, I've been a Union member for almost 30 years." Graham says Flying Bark was excited to have an L.A. presence, and once they agreed to give the venture a try, he launched it out of his garage. After weathering the industry shutdown due to the pandemic, Graham and Flying Bark Los Angeles began producing pilots for Netflix and Fox Animation. "I've spent my whole life directing Storyboard Artists, involved in writing and storytelling from nuts to bolts in animation," he says, "but it's rare that someone like me steps into a kind of executive role to try to grow things." A high point came when Netflix reached out and asked whether Graham would be interested in working pre-production on the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from '85. He was paired with Executive Producer and Showrunner Eric Robles, who he already knew, and Flying Bark Los Angeles did the fully unionized pre-production, including concept, development, scripts, boards, and more, with Flying Bark Sydney doing the production work. Also in the pipeline with Netflix are two more high- profile animated series: Clash of Clans and Minecraft. Having outgrown Graham's garage, Flying Bark Los Angeles now takes up an entire floor in a building in Burbank. "One of the things I'm most proud of is the fact I've been able to employ and bring in lots of people in the animation industry," he says. Granted, Graham's achievement took talent and plenty of hard work, but it's a path that he insists others could also follow. "I know the animation industry has been struggling, but there's also a lot of opportunity in terms of growth," he says. He advises his animation kin to keep an eye out "because the only thing preventing them from finding these opportunities themselves is just doing it… There are many studios all over the planet that would love to have footprints in L.A. That footprint, if unionized and done properly, could help the growth and stability of our industry." —Evan Henerson