This Popular Puppet Web Series For Adults Is Fundraising For A ‘Definitive’ 1st Season

LOGAN SQUARE — Spoon, Scribbles and Grandpa are asking for your help.

The characters from Logan Ludwig’s web series “For Alien Eyes Only,” a comedy puppet show, have seen success in the past year. Now, they want to take their education to the next level.

Ludwig, of Logan Square, has called the series a kids show for adults and for “people that feel like aliens on their own planet.” The show depicts alien life learning about humanity through a package of VHS tapes and a television sent into space.

Ludwig and his production team are now raising money to make an official first season of “For Alien Eyes Only,” with the goal of hitting $30,000 to make six episodes — and fans have shown up big time.

The Kickstarter campaign for the self-funded show, filmed around the neighborhood, has raised over $22,000 in less than a month.

“It’s been very surprising but also not surprising,” Ludwig said. “I’m shocked we’ve raised so much in a short amount of time, but I’m thankful for the fan support.”

The first five episodes, which the team is calling the original web series, “have helped us find a voice, practice our skills and get feedback from people watching,” Ludwig said.

“We want to take everything we learned, make a definitive first season and do things we didn’t try,” he said. “Because we’ve been able to grow, we want to do new things.”‘

Ludwig and his team — Evan James Hansen, Cassie Shugart and Charlie Dean — create the show on their own time in Ludwig’s apartment using extra cash, so getting community support is critical to experiencing the next iteration of “For Alien Eyes Only,” he said.

The show has over 42,000 subscribers on YouTube and has reached fans locally and internationally. Money raised will go toward renting a studio for filming, building sets, getting new puppets, lighting, sound and audio equipment, covering insurance and utilities, and having higher-quality animation, color and sound mixing and media storage. Ludwig also wants money to pay show guests.

Ludwig said $30,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it goes fast when spread across six roughly 20-minute episodes. Even if the goal is reached, the show will still be scrappy. After platform fees and rewards sent to to Kickstarter funders, the creators anticipate they will take home closer to $24,000, which comes out to $4,000 an episode.

Supporters of the project can get gifts like posters, personalized videos from the puppets, names in episode credits and more.

With Kickstarter, funds only come through if a project is fully backed. The show’s campaign ends June 26, meaning there are just days left to raise the remaining $8,000.

“We’re expecting to hit our goal, but if we don’t, the project is never going to stop. … It won’t be the end by any means,” Ludwig said.

The expansion is as much for the fans as it is for Ludwig. Now that the show has momentum, he wants it to be big, challenging and surprising.

“We were not challenging ourselves, and, at the end of the day, the person who has to be the most entertained in art is the artist,” he said. “If you know what to expect, you won’t be entertained.”

Grandpa Earth, Spoon and Scribbles will take fan calls 7 p.m. Monday for a live telethon to help close the fundraiser’s financial gap. Ludwig will share fan art and host a costume contest as part of the telethon.