Animals (U.S. TV series)

Last updated

Animals.
Animals. title card.jpg
Genre Animated comedy
Created by
  • Phil Matarese
  • Mike Luciano
Written by
  • Phil Matarese
  • Mike Luciano
Directed by
  • Phil Matarese
  • Mike Luciano
Voices of
  • Phil Matarese
  • Mike Luciano
Composer(s) Julian Wass
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • James Fino
  • Kenny Micka
  • Jen Roskind
  • Joe Russo
  • Josh Polon
Running time22–30 minutes
Production company(s)Karen BBQ
Duplass Brothers Television
Starburns Industries [1]
Release
Original network HBO
Original releaseFebruary 5, 2016 (2016-02-05) 
October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05)
External links
Website

Animals. is an American animated comedy television series created by Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano. The first two episodes were independently produced and presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. [2] In May 2015, HBO picked the series up with a two-season order, [3] which premiered on February 5, 2016. [4] The series was renewed for a third season on May 19, 2017. [5] Season 3 premiered on August 3, 2018. In October 2018, it was announced that HBO had canceled the series. [6]

An independent film, independent movie, indie film or indie movie, is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies. Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and the way in which the filmmakers' personal artistic vision is realized. Usually, but not always, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.

Sundance Film Festival annual film festival held in Park City, Utah, USA

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the Sundance Institute, takes place annually in Park City, Utah, the largest independent film festival in the United States with more than 46,660 attending in 2016. It is held in January in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as at the Sundance Resort. It is a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres.

HBO American pay television network

HBO is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the namesake unit Home Box Office, Inc., a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia. The program which featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television shows, along with made-for-cable movies, documentaries and occasional comedy and concert specials.

Contents

Plot

Each episode features a different cast of special guests, along with creators Matarese and Luciano playing various animals. The show features retroscripting and improvised dialogue based on plot outlines. Each season also has a story arc featuring humans in live-action sequences, such as a corrupt mayor and the events leading to his reelection in Season One.

In Season Two, the human story arc of a reporter investigating a virus outbreak by mad scientist Dr. Labcoat who is forced to release a gas that dissolves all human life in New York.

In Season Three which takes place three years after the dubbed "Green Day" incident, the animals of New York have formed their own governments while they are being observed by two soldiers who are losing their grip on reality.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Humans

  • RuPaul Charles as Dr. Labcoat, the antagonist of season two's human storyline. A scientist of the unscrupulous conglomerate Pesci Co., Labcoat arranged for an epidemic in New York to sell the 'Green Pill' to enslave the populace. But after being exposed, Labcoat ends up destroying himself when he wiped out the human populace of New York. Posthumously, he established the Labcoat terrorists of season three.
  • John Early as The Assistant, Dr. Labcoat's aid and accomplice.
  • Demi Moore as The General, the antagonist of season three's human storyline.
  • Mel Rodriguez as The Lieutenant

John Early is an American comedian and actor. He has appeared on 30 Rock as Jenna Maroney's son and in the independent film Fort Tilden. He stars in Search Party, which was written partly by Michael Showalter and also stars Alia Shawkat.

Demi Moore American actress

Demi Gene Guynes, professionally known as Demi Moore, is an American actress, former songwriter, and model. Moore dropped out of high school at age 16 to pursue an acting career and appeared in the men's pornographic magazine Oui in 1981. After making her film debut later that year, she appeared on the soap opera General Hospital and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Brat Pack with roles in Blame It on Rio (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), and About Last Night... (1986).

Mel Rodriguez American actor

Melvin Dimas Rodriguez is an American actor best known for starring as Nurse Patsy de la Serda on the HBO comedy Getting On and as Todd Rodriguez on the Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth. Other notable works include recurring as Marco on AMC's Better Call Saul and co-starring on the short-lived Fox sitcoms Running Wilde and Enlisted.

Animals

Katie Aselton American actress

Kathryn "Katie" Aselton is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in The Freebie, which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. She also starred as Jenny MacArthur in the FX sitcom The League. Since 2017, Aselton stars in FX's Marvel Comics X-Men drama Legion.

Neil Casey is an American actor, comedian, television writer, theatre director and playwright best known for his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live and Inside Amy Schumer. He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series both in 2013 for writing on SNL and in 2014 for Inside Amy Schumer. In 2016 he played the villain, Rowan North in the film Ghostbusters. He also co-starred in the Fox sitcom Making History.

Jay Duplass American actor and director

Lawrence Jay Duplass is an American film director, author, and actor widely known for his films The Puffy Chair (2005), Cyrus (2010), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, Mark Duplass.

Guest stars

Jhené Aiko American singer-songwriter

Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American recording artist who embarked on her music career contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. At the time, she was known as B2K member Lil' Fizz's "cousin", though she is not actually related to him. It was used as a marketing tool, suggested by Sony and Epic Records, to promote Aiko through B2K and attract an audience. In 2003, Aiko was set to release her debut album, My Name Is Jhené, through her labels Sony, The Ultimate Group and Epic, however the album was never released, with Aiko eventually asking to be released from the label in order to continue her education.

Jason Alexander American stand-up comedian

Jay Scott Greenspan, known by his stage name Jason Alexander, is an American actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, and director.

Stephanie Allynne is an American actress, writer, and comedian best known for her roles in In a World... (2013), Dream Corp, LLC (2016), and One Mississippi (2016–2017).

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 10February 5, 2016 (2016-02-05)April 8, 2016 (2016-04-08)
2 10March 17, 2017 (2017-03-17)May 19, 2017 (2017-05-19)
3 10August 3, 2018 (2018-08-03)October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05)

Critical reception

The first season has received positive reviews from critics. As of April 2016, it holds a 60% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews, with an average of 6.3/10. [10] On Metacritic, the series holds a rating of 54 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or above average reviews". [11] Maureen Ryan of Variety gave the first season a negative review, writing, "The animated HBO show has a lot in common with programs like Girls, Louie and Baskets, and like Togetherness, it boasts Mark and Jay Duplass as executive producers. But the extraordinarily tedious Animals., unlike those shows, fails to hit any of its chosen targets. It is unfunny, its animation is unexceptional and the studied banality of its dialogue is excruciating." [12] Conversely, David Wiegand in the San Francisco Chronicle gave the season a positive review, writing, "The deadpan approach only enhances the delicious off the wall comedy of Animals. The series is batty and brilliant as it turns the whole notion of anthropomorphic cartoon animals on its fuzzy ear." [13]

Rotten Tomatoes American review aggregator for film and television, owned by Fandango

Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. The name "Rotten Tomatoes" derives from the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a poor stage performance.

Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of media products: films, TV shows, music albums, video games, and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged. Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source. A color of green, yellow or red summarizes the critics' recommendations. It has been described as the video game industry's "premier" review aggregator.

<i>Variety</i> (magazine) American weekly entertainment trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation

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References

  1. "How Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano Turned Their Ad Agency Side Project Into HBO's New Animated Series, 'Animals'". February 12, 2016.
  2. Andreeva, Nellie (January 20, 2015). "Animated Series 'Animals' Adds Indie TV Flavor To Sundance Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (May 29, 2015). "HBO Gives 2-Season Order To 'Animals' Animated Comedy From Duplass Brothers". Deadline. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  4. "HBO Confirms Debut Date for Animated Adult Comedy Series "Animals"". The Futon Critic. November 25, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  5. Petski, Denise (May 19, 2017). "'Animals' Renewed For Third Season By HBO". Deadline. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  6. Andreeva, Nellie (October 17, 2018). "'Animals' Animated Series Canceled By HBO After 3 Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "Animals". HBO . Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Radish, Christina (February 3, 2016). "Animals': 14 Things to Know About HBO's Bewildering Animated Series". Collider.com. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  9. Nguyen, Hanh (March 1, 2017). "'Animals' Trailer: Season 2 Throws Down With Emilia Clarke, Judy Greer, Rupaul and Dan Harmon". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  10. "Animals : Season 1 (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  11. "Animals: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  12. Ryan, Maureen (February 3, 2016). "TV Review: 'Animals'". Variety. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  13. Wiegand, David (February 1, 2016). "'Animals' cuts the cute, but remains wildly kooky". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 10, 2016.