Major Lazer | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Created by |
|
Developed by |
|
Creative director | Ben Jones |
Voices of |
|
Theme music composer | Diplo Derek "DJA" Allen |
Composer | Major Lazer |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 11 (+ unaired Pilot) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers |
|
Editors | Al LeVine Nick Gallucci |
Running time | 10–12 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | FXX |
Release | April 16 – June 25, 2015 |
Major Lazer is an American adult animated television series based on the electronic music group of the same name, created by DJ and record producer Diplo with Ferry Gouw and Kevin Kusatsu. It premiered on FXX on April 16, 2015, as part of their Animation Domination High-Def (ADHD) block. After Stone Quackers , Major Lazer is the second ADHD original series to be aired on the channel after FOX had stopped its broadcast of the block itself.
The show was renewed for a second season, [1] but was later canceled. [2] On September 3, 2016, it was announced that John Boyega had left the series to focus on the new Star Wars films prior to its cancellation. The show is available to stream on the Major Lazer YouTube channel. [3]
Set in the future, Major Lazer is a Jamaican superhero with a laser gun for a right hand who fights against the dystopian forces led by Jamaica's leader President Whitewall and his servant General Rubbish. Major Lazer is assisted in his fight by President Whitewall's daughter Penny Whitewall and hacker Blkmrkt. [4]
Major Lazer had been in production for nearly five years before its premiere. [4] It was originally considered for Adult Swim through a pilot episode produced in 2011 by Williams Street and Titmouse, Inc., [5] [6] which was never broadcast. The musical group Major Lazer, on which the show is based, previously starred animated characters, including the character of Major Lazer. Ferry Gouw, along with John Pham, served as art director for this incarnation. [7] Other musicians such as Jay Z, and the Odd Future collective, had signed on for television shows on the network during the year; Odd Future's came out as Loiter Squad the next year. [8] Billboard announced Major Lazer would premiere on Fox in 2014. Cat Power and Riff Raff were said to have collaborated on the soundtrack for the show. [9]
In 2015, Billboard announced the show would premiere on FXX. Diplo called the long wait of the production "worth it to have such a succinct TV show for our music fans and cartoon fans alike". [4] He said that it would appeal to "any fans of hip-hop [and] electronic music or '80s cartoons, and the culture that gave birth to [Major Lazer's] musical landscape". [4] Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who voices the eponymous character, described the feeling of the show as "like being high". [4] J. K. Simmons voices President Whitewall, while Aziz Ansari, Ezra Koenig, Riff Raff, Andy Samberg, and Charli XCX make guest voice performances. [4]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | "Major Lazer" | Casper Kelly, Chris Prynoski, and Dave Willis | Casper Kelly and Dave Willis | December 31, 2011 [10] | TBA |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | International debut | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Bad Seed" | Douglas Einar Olsen | Nick Rutherford | April 16, 2015 | 25 October 2016 [11] (described as episode 2) | 105 | N/A |
Major Lazer goes on vacation. After visiting the Weed Man, Penny smokes some weed she got from the Weed Man and goes on a bad trip. Major Lazer comes to Penny's rescue and fights off Mr. Mary James. | |||||||
2 | "Escape from Rave Island" | Aldin Baroza | Nick Rutherford | April 23, 2015 | 26 October 2016 [12] (described as episode 3) | 102 | N/A |
Penny persuades Major Lazer and Blkmrkt to have the rave at Ibiza where a foam incident in 2015 has rendered the island inhospitable. Once there, Major Lazer, Penny, and Blkmrkt encounter the Rave Rats (who were evolved from those who survived the foam incident) and also battle a robot working for the law. | |||||||
3 | "Treble in Paradise" | Chase Conley | Nick Rutherford | April 30, 2015 | 27 October 2016 [13] (described as episode 4) | 106 | N/A |
Penny's teacher Dr. Nerd steals all the world's bass into a single drop (affectionately named the "Bass Drop"), ruining a gig Major Lazer is doing. After Major Lazer and Penny go after Dr. Nerd to persuade him to give back the "Bass Drop," Dr. Nerd swallows it and becomes transported into music. | |||||||
4 | "Double Cup" | Chase Conley | Nick Rutherford | May 7, 2015 | 31 October 2016 [14] (described as episode 5) | 101 | N/A |
In order to ruin Major Lazer's upcoming Free the Universe party, President Whitewall and General Rubbish send their operative Double Cup to slip some cough syrup into the sodas that will be served. Upon overhearing her father's plan, Penny informs Major Lazer and Blkmrkt where they must work to stop Double Cup from making Major Lazer's party not happen. | |||||||
5 | "Vampire Weekend" | Douglas Einar Olsen | Nick Rutherford | October 27, 2014 (sneak peek) May 14, 2015 (official debut) | 24 October 2016 [15] (described as episode 1) | 103 | N/A |
During a solar eclipse, "Vampire Weekend" begins as a group of Vampires arrive on vacation. Penny Whitewall falls in love with a Vampire named Ryland after President Whitewall leaves Future Kingston to evade getting caught up in the event. In order to deal with the events driving him to his bunker, President Whitewall contacts General Rubbish to put an end to Vampire Weekend by enlisting the Vampire Vampires led by the Head Vampire Vampire (who happens to be Ryland's Dad). | |||||||
6 | "The Legend of Spooky Dookie" | Chase Conley | Nick Weidenfeld | May 21, 2015 | 1 November 2016 [16] | TBA | N/A |
On the nights before the local prom, Spooky Dookie is stealing the hearts of girls in their dreams as a result of his heart breaking long ago when his girlfriend dumped him for a younger Major Lazer. As Major Lazer's weapon is useless in the dreamworld, Penny is the only one to take out Spooky Dookie when she is sent to stop Spooky Dookie's plot. | |||||||
7 | "I'm Gonna Git You Suckoid" | Chase Conley and Paul Harmon | Sean O'Connor | May 28, 2015 | 2 November 2016 [17] | TBA | N/A |
Underground worm-like creatures have been attacking people at dance clubs throughout Jamaica. Upon being dubbed Suckoids, President Whitewall and General Rubbish initiate a ban on all dancing to avoid further attacks. Penny befriends a teen named Goosh who is hunting the Suckoids ever since he lost his parents to them. Major Lazer and Blkmrkt come up with a plan to lure the Suckoids into a trap so that he and Goosh can destroy them. | |||||||
8 | "I, Killscreen" | Chase Conley | Sean O'Connor | June 4, 2015 [lower-alpha 1] | 3 November 2016 [18] | TBA | N/A |
Penny and Blkmrkt try out a new dance video game. When Major Lazer tries the game out at the time when his laser is being repaired, he is downloaded by the evil video game lord Killscreen where he plans to eliminate him at the big video game tournament at Jamaica's largest arcade called Arcadia in order to impress General Rubbish. Now Penny must compete against Blkmrkt's former partner Thor in order to keep Major Lazer from being killed. | |||||||
9 | "Fizzy Fever" | Chase Conley and Mike Davis | Nick Rutherford | June 12, 2015 | 7 November 2016 [19] | TBA | N/A |
Blkmrkt purchases a dog named Fizzy whose bark can perform dance music and shows this off to Major Lazer. Penny later tells Major Lazer about President Whitewall's plan to get rid of the dog. President Whitewall's plan to get rid of Fizzy involves him having General Rubbish send his assassins Goldie (the Trinidadian voodoo prince with the Midas touch), Booty Monster, Snakepit, Triple-Threat, Sub-Human, Blockhead, Kamikaze, Knife Fight, and the Warriors to dispose of Fizzy. As Major Lazer fights his way past every assassin to get to the last space launch spot on Earth to send Fizzy into space, General Rubbish is unaware the Knife Fight is secretly helping Major Lazer. | |||||||
10 | "K-Pop!!" | Chase Conley | Sean O'Connor | June 18, 2015 | 8 November 2016 | TBA | N/A |
Dr. Acid creates the synthetic humanoid K-Pop for General Rubbish where his songs are programmed to brainwash teenagers into killing Major Lazer and even has President Whitewall play a demo for Penny. When K-Pop's programming evolves to the point where he breaks the brainwashing to help Major Lazer, General Rubbish orders Dr. Acid to unleash his android Evil Lazer to attack Major Lazer. | |||||||
11 | "Throwback Thursdays" | Douglas Einar Olsen | Chris Goodwin | June 25, 2015 | 9 November 2016 | TBA | N/A |
On Throwback Thursday, zombies suddenly manifest on Jamaica. Major Lazer is informed by Penny and Blkmrkt that the rip in the space-time continuum is caused by Lady Vanessa Rothschild having taken President Whitewall back in time. After getting President Whitewall back in time, Major Lazer pursues Lady Vanessa Rothschild in order to keep her from rewriting history where she is the mother of humanity and fix the space-time continuum before it gets worse. |
The show premiered on April 16, 2015. [4] The Major Lazer group's third album was expected to be released near the same date, but was moved to June 1. [20] A special preview of the show was broadcast on October 27, 2014, on FXX. [21] Erik Adams of The A.V. Club graded the series with a B, praising its visuals reminiscent of the "chunky outlines, washed-out colors, and fantastical content of '80s Saturday-morning fare" while calling the writing solid yet familiar. [22]
In 2016, Teletoon at Night broadcast the show at 11:15pm EST in Canada.
Totally Spies! is a French anime-influenced animated spy-fi series created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel mainly produced by French company Zodiak Kids & Family France, with seasons three to five being co-produced with Canadian company Image Entertainment Corporation. It focuses on three teenage girls from Beverly Hills, California, who work as undercover agents for the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP).
Cartoon Network is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers.
Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD, with Labrinth and Sia; a member of electronic duo Jack Ü, with producer and DJ Skrillex; and a member of Silk City, with Mark Ronson. He founded the record company Mad Decent in 2006, as well as the non-profit organization Heaps Decent the following year. His 2013 extended play (EP), Revolution, debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200. The EP's title track was later featured in a commercial for Hyundai and is featured on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack.
Mr. Eko is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas to save his brother when he still lived in Nigeria. He assumed his brother's identity and became a priest after his brother was killed in a botched drug smuggle; Eko killed two guerrillas in defense, was ostracized, and left Nigeria to become a priest in Australia. After investigating the alleged miracle of a girl who came back to life after drowning in Australia in 2004, Eko boarded Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. This plane crashed and left Eko, along with a few other survivors, on a deserted island.
Teletoon at Night was a late night programming block that aired on Teletoon. It primarily carried adult animation and other programming targeting teen and adult audiences.
Major Lazer is a Jamaican-American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They originate from Kingston, Jamaica, founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was then replaced by both Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. In June 2019, Jillionaire left the group and was replaced by Ape Drums. Their music spans numerous genres, mixing reggae with dancehall, reggaeton, soca, house and moombahton.
Archer is an American adult animated sitcom created by Adam Reed for FX that aired from September 17, 2009, to December 17, 2023. The show follows the exploits of bumbling, volatile secret agent Sterling Archer and his dysfunctional colleagues. The show's primary setting is an anachronistic parody of Cold War-era espionage thrillers, with some individual seasons switching to milieus such as the Latin American drug trade, 1940s film noir, the interwar South Pacific, and retro-futuristic space travel.
FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and feature films for a primary demographic of men ages 18–34.
Adult Swim is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily airs animated and live-action comedies targeting a teenage and young adult audience. Its branding is licensed from the Adult Swim programming block broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network; it is the first full-time television channel to use the "Adult Swim" brand.
Horst Christian Simco, known professionally as Riff Raff, is an American rapper from Katy, Texas. He was originally managed by Swishahouse co-founder OG Ron C in 2011. After initially signing with rapper Soulja Boy's record label Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Simco signed with producer Diplo's record label Mad Decent to release his debut studio album, Neon Icon (2014). Despite lukewarm critical and commercial response, it mildly entered the Billboard 200 along with his second album Peach Panther (2016), which was released by Warner Records. Prior to its release, Simco entered a US$4 million joint partnership with Stampede Management and BMG for his Neon Nation label and production company. The joint deal fell apart in the wake of legal disputes with the publication of the 2012 film Spring Breakers.
Animation Domination High-Def was a late-night programming block broadcast by Fox. Originally premiering on July 21, 2013 as a spin-off of Animation Domination, the block originally focused on new, original adult animation series—similarly in style to Adult Swim. The ninety-minute block and its content were primarily produced by Friends Night, a television animation studio headed by Adult Swim alumni Nick Weidenfeld, Hend Baghdady, and creative director Ben Jones —including its programs, along with interstitials and other content featured during its programming.
William Sami Étienne Grigahcine, known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French-Algerian DJ and record producer, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called "Turn Down for What".
Stone Quackers is an American adult animated television series created by Ben Jones. The series premiered October 27, 2014 on FXX as part of their Animation Domination High-Def block.
"All My Love" is a song by American electronic music project Major Lazer featuring vocals from American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on 13 November 2014 as the fifth song from the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014). The song was written by Grande, Lorde, and MØ with production handled by Boaz van de Beatz, Jr Blender and Diplo. It is an electropop and dance-pop song with elements of dancehall. "All My Love" received positive reviews from music critics who complimented the track's production.
"Lean On" is a song by Jamaican-American electronic dance music group Major Lazer and French DJ and record producer DJ Snake featuring Danish singer MØ. It was released on March 3, 2015, as the lead single from Major Lazer's third studio album, Peace Is the Mission (2015). It was written by MØ, Diplo, DJ Snake, Tchami, and Jr Blender, and produced by Major Lazer and DJ Snake. It is an EDM, electronic and moombahton song.
Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music created by DJ Dave Nada. The genre on the label was mostly popularized by Dillon Francis after collaborating with Diplo on Francis' 2012 track "Que Que". The label is also known for its series of concerts in major cities known as the Mad Decent Block Party.
"Cold Water" is a song by American electronic dance music production group Major Lazer, featuring vocals from Canadian singer Justin Bieber and Danish singer MØ. The song was released on July 22, 2016, as the lead single from their debut greatest hits album, Major Lazer Essentials. It became Major Lazer's third collaboration with MØ after "Lean On" and "Lost".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)