Fanfiction Factory
 |
| Debut: July 2, 2022 |
| Episodes: 10 |
| Opening Theme: "Metropolis Zone (Classic)" by NicoCW |
| Cast: Draco (host, editor) Nintendolt (announcer) FluxUmbreon (archivist) Busterkeatonrules (archivist) NicoCW (composer) |
Fanfiction Factory: The Podcast (formerly known as Bad Fanfiction Theater and Fanfiction Factory) is a miniseries produced by Gator Company where hosts read, react to, and commentate on poorly written fanfiction. It is notable for its sporadic production schedule and complications adapting to a live show format resulting in the series becoming a podcast in 2022. The podcast version of Fanfiction Factory is the series' fourth attempt at a launch and is broadcast on Spotify and YouTube.
It is important to note that the podcast version of Fanfiction Factory is not directly a Gatorbox show; it is produced by Gator Company, the same house that produces Gatorbox, but the show is intentionally kept separate with its own dedicated YouTube channel. This was done to let the series stand and grow on its own rather than being propped up by Gatorbox which had failed to achieve this in the past.
Bad Fanfiction Theater Era (2014-2017)
The series originally had no definite "host" and featured Draco, Attractivision, and Davidmurry among others. Hosts normally focus on the "cringe" aspect of the stories they read and include things such as spelling and grammatical errors in their narration. The first live fanfic reading happened in September 2014, however the series did not have a proper production schedule so new additions and episodes were very sporadic. The series also formerly did not have a defined format and alternated with various presentation methods over the years. Upon its debut the show was referred to as "Bad Fanfiction Theater", however in order to avoid confusion with other projects with the same or similar name it became "Fanfiction Factory" in 2017.
Though the show was never in regular production it still managed to spawn the Chocolate Wagon meme with a particularly bizarre fanfic of Dragon Tales in 2017.
Fanfiction Factory Era (2018-2019)
To kick off the formal 2018 production season of the show another fanfic from the same author as the "chocolate wagons" story was featured, however the rest of the stories showcased in that episode all lined up with that month's "theme" (Goosebumps).
Fanfiction Factory was retooled into a series where each month has its own "theme" and everything read on the air fits into that category in some way either by franchise source, characters, or other content. As Fanfiction Factory became its own proper show, Draco provided four "rules" that he said he would adhere to when producing the series. They are:
- No monetization of the videos.
- No explicit sexual content.
- No author names provided.
- At some indeterminate point one of the stories read on the air will have been written by Draco.
The series carried on for approximately half a year before lack of interest from the community caused it to be put on hiatus. Draco determined that the series did not fare well as a live show and it was replaced with Gatorbox (of Crayons) starting in 2020.
| Month | Show Theme |
|---|---|
| July 2018 | Goosebumps |
| August 2018 | Dinosaurs |
| September 2018 | September 11th |
| October 2018 | Halloween |
| December 2018 | Christmas |
| February 2019 | Love |
Fanfiction Factory: The Podcast Era (2022)
In early 2022 Draco expressed interest in reviving Fanfiction Factory as an offline show separate from Gatorbox, noting that it initially struggled to gain traction as a part of the live Friday night broadcasts. The new project was named Fanfiction Factory: The Podcast and the series consists of narrating strange and fringe fanfics. Draco is adhering to the same four rules as the original Fanfiction Factory with the exception of featuring his own work in episode one instead of keeping his story anonymous like the others.
The podcast version of Fanfiction Factory debuted on Spotify on July 2, 2022. Episodes are also available from the official Fanfiction Factory channel on YouTube. At the same time to coincide with the release of the series Draco reissued his Sonic fanfic from episode one back onto Fanfiction.net both to celebrate the launch of the show as well as the story's own 20th anniversary. The final episode of the podcast's first season showcased Acme Acres Robot Rumble, a story written by Richard "cartoonfan93" Riley, a friend of Draco's who passed away in 2021. A running gag established from the very first episode is how Draco is introduced with a different joke every time. The intros were recorded by Nintendolt, an amateur voice actor whom Draco hired to help build out his portfolio. Nintendolt recorded approximately 20 introductions however only ten of these were used as only that many episodes of the podcast were produced.
Fanfiction Factory: The Podcast lasted ten episodes from its first season and due to low viewership and interest the series was not prioritized to receive a second season. Draco has claimed he's outlined and sourced stories to make enough episodes to reach four seasons (10 from season one plus 30 more) and just needs to record them, though this has not happened yet.
| Episode | Release Date | Title | Story(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | July 2, 2022 | "Introduction" | None |
| 1 | July 2, 2022 | "Draco's Folly" | Resident: Knothole |
| 2 | July 16, 2022 | "Jurassic Dark" | When the World Ends There Will Be No Survivors Beginning of the End |
| 3 | July 30, 2022 | "Whatever Happened to Predictability?" | Gloomy and Suicidal |
| 4 | August 13, 2022 | "Crikey!" | A Hero Lost: A Tribute to Steve Irwin |
| 5 | August 27, 2022 | "Cliffhangers, Vol. 1" | Terminator Secret Wars Broken Trust Castlevania: The Fields of Dread The Taylors Go to Disney World The End of All Things |
| 6 | September 10, 2022 | "The 9/11 Episode" | Tiny Toon Aftermath The Arthur Gang Pays Tribute |
| 7 | September 25, 2022 | "At the Mountains of Madness" | Stop, Cassie! Sandy is 4 Years Old Forever A Spooky Halloween That New Little Girl on the Block Max Always Escapes Fright Friday |
| 8 | October 15, 2022 | "I'm Okay, Dad" | Bobby's Confession |
| 9 | October 29, 2022 | "Carnivorous Vulgaris" | The Lost Episode of Wile E. Coyote |
| 10 | November 12, 2022 | "For Richard" | Acme Acres Robot Rumble |