Uncanny Alley: A New Day Earns Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Emerging Media Program

A groundbreaking live performance invites the audience into a new stage of creator-led entertainment.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- One of the Television Academy’s most future-facing categories has nominated Uncanny Alley: A New Day, a scrappy, artist-led immersive experience created by Ferryman Collective and Virtual Worlds Company inside VRChat. The production exists somewhere between theater, cinema, and a shared virtual world where rather than watching a story unfold, audiences become part of the narrative, interacting directly with live actors whose performances evolve in real time.

Uncanny Alley: A New Day grew out of the virtual universe, created by Rick Treweek (aka MetaRick) of Virtual Worlds Company. The groundbreaking live performance is a collaboration between Ferryman Collective (USA) and Virtual Worlds Company (South Africa) to adapt the underlying IP, and distinctive world-building into an immersive theatrical experience. The writing-directing was helmed by two of Ferryman’s founders, Stephen Butchko and Deirdre V. Lyons. Ferryman Technical Director Christopher Lane Davis (aka Screaming Color) optimized and expanded Uncanny Alley: A New Day’s environment, adding original visual effects, music and performance show controls.

Set in a cinematic cyberpunk world built with the Unity game engine and then performed in VRChat, Uncanny Alley: A New Day begins with audiences in prison after protesting at a rally against the impending New Day update to their world. When hacker Gh0st enlists her megabyte friend, Puck, to trigger an explosive jailbreak, audiences are thrust into a journey through a whimsical, dangerous, and unexpectedly human virtual world.

Two actors portray 15 characters in real time, inviting audiences to speak directly with performers and interact with the world around them, as embodied characters inside the story.

“The magic of this piece is that it is alive,” says Ferryman Director of Development Whitton Frank. “The world may be virtual, but the connection is real. Every audience brings something different into the room, and we build the performance with them in real time.”

Since its world premiere at Venice Immersive, Uncanny Alley: A New Day has been presented at leading international festivals including: SXSW; Raindance Immersive; NewImages Festival in Paris where it had its French language premier; Augmented World Expo; and, most recently, SIGGRAPH, garnering multiple awards in its wake. The VRChat worlds for Ferryman Collective and Virtual Worlds Company boast almost 750,000 visitors, which rivals the average audience of a Broadway play.

The Television Academy’s recognition of Uncanny Alley: A New Day suggests immersive storytelling may be reaching the same inflection point that online video experienced years earlier. The Outstanding Emerging Media Program recognizes work that expands the viewing experience beyond traditional television through immersion, interactivity, and audience engagement. Uncanny Alley: A New Day is the underdog up against studio-backed projects from Amazon, Blumhouse, Meta and Bethesda Games. The team believes no other nominee brings these elements together in a live theatrical experience where audiences enter the story, interact with performers and one another in real time, and become part of the unfolding, evolving world.

Upcoming Celebratory Performances!
To celebrate the Emmy nomination, Ferryman Collective and Virtual Worlds Company are continuing a limited run of Uncanny Alley: A New Day until August 27.

Audiences are invited to step inside the Emmy-nominated production in VRChat from anywhere in the world for a live, interactive performance where they become part of the story, speak directly with live actors, and explore the cyberpunk world of Uncanny Alley: A New Day together if they have a VR headset at home, including a Quest 3, 3s, Pro or PCVR. Additionally, performances will also be livestreamed on YouTube for audiences who want to experience the production from outside VR.

More information and tickets available at:
https://www.ferrymancollective.com/uncanny-alley

Uncanny Alley: A New Day is a live immersive theatre experience presented in VRChat and runs approximately 60–75 minutes. The production is designed for intimate groups of up to six audience members.

Whether this nomination becomes a turning point for social VR or simply another milestone in its evolution remains to be seen, but it is a powerful sign that live, shared virtual experiences are earning recognition as a meaningful new form of storytelling.

Deirdre V Lyons
Ferryman Collective
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Official Trailer: UNCANNY ALLEY: A NEW DAY