David Farnor | On 27, Feb 2019

Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick will star in Human Discoveries, a new animated series for Facebook.

The social network has been pushing hard to grow its fledgling streaming platform, Facebook Watch. The plan has been to leverage its existing community of users and using Groups and Watch Parties to encourage fans to watch things together and interact, driving engagement. Last year, it expanded Facebook Watch internationally, claiming that 75 million users watched at least a minute of video a day.

Now, it’s turning to star power to help drive up the profile of its original content. After Queen America, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Sorry for Your Loss, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Facebook has ordered Human Discoveries, a cartoon set in prehistoric times.

The show stars Kendrick and Efron and follows a group of friends at the dawn of human civilisation, as they discover things such as fire and the wheel, not to mention art, fashion, alcohol and racism. The comedy co-stars Lamorne Morris, Jillian Bell, Paul Scheer and Lisa Kudrow and is created by Chris Bruno and David Howard Lee. It is produced by ShadowMachine, the studio behind BoJack Horseman and Robot Chicken, and Ninjas Runnin’ Wild, Efron’s production shingle.

Human Discoveries will premiere on Facebook Watch later this year.

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