Nomad of Nowhere

Last updated
Nomad of Nowhere
Nomad of Nowhere.png
Genre
Created byGeorden Whitman
Written by
  • Eddy Rivas
  • Miles Luna
  • Jordan Cwierz
Screenplay byJeb Kendrick
Story byGeorden Whitman
Directed by
  • Jordan Cwierz
  • Yssa Badiola
  • Paula Decanini
Creative directorMaggie Tominey
Voices of
Theme music composer
  • Benjamin Zecker
Composer
  • Benjamin Zecker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
Production locationUnited States
EditorCole Gallian
Running time10–14 minutes
Production company Rooster Teeth Animation
Original release
Network RoosterTeeth
ReleaseMarch 23 (2018-03-23) 
September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)

Nomad of Nowhere is an American 2D animated web series released on the website of Rooster Teeth on March 16, 2018. The show, which was created by Georden Whitman, is a western-fantasy hybrid focused on a mute wanderer hunted for being capable of using magic to give life to inanimate objects. [1] [2]

Contents

Premise

The series follows "the Nomad", a non-speaking scarecrow brought to life by magic, who can bring inanimate objects to life and wanders a Western fantasy realm ruled by the evil king El Rey while being pursued by bounty hunters and other enemies. [3]

Characters

Main characters

Supporting characters

People of Bliss Hill

Twindleweed Brothers Traveling Circus

Other characters

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Season 1 12March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)

Season 1

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Dreaded Nomad"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasMarch 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)
The search for The Nomad of Nowhere, said to be a user of "dark magic" continues. Captain Toth, her Dandy Lions, and Skout, her companion, are on the trail of this man. When she faces the Nomad, she is confronted with a situation that tests her unlike any before...
2"Bliss Hill"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasMarch 30, 2018 (2018-03-30)
When Skout and Toth come back to the Oasis and tell Don Paragon that the Nomad hasn't been apprehended, Red Manuel tries to impress the Don with his plan, posing another way to get the nomad. At the same time, the Nomad attempts to help a town, although it doesn't go as he planned...
3"Trouble on Purpose"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasApril 6, 2018 (2018-04-06)
The Nomad is faced with a bounty hunter who will stop at nothing to capture him. Toth grows annoyed with her mission while the Nomad is faced with the tough choice of whether to help those who chased him out of the small town.
4"The Twindleweed Brothers Traveling Circus"Jordan CwierzMiles LunaApril 13, 2018 (2018-04-13)
The Nomad comes upon a circus while Toth and Skout are also attending, as Skout wants to relax Toth, with the situation getting tense when the performers are actually armed ex-bounty hunters.
5"The Kindness of Strangers"Jordan CwierzMiles LunaApril 20, 2018 (2018-04-20)
In an attempt to hide from Skout and Toth, the Nomad accepts an offer from an undertaker for passage across the desert. Unfortunately, this man has his own disturbed idea of how the Nomad should "serve" him...
6"El Rey"Jordan CwierzJordan Cwierz and Eddy RivasApril 27, 2018 (2018-04-27)
As Skout and Toth continue to track the Nomad, even through a sandstorm, the Nomad comes upon a fort which has been long abandoned, having visions of something which happened far in the past. At the same time, Toth fights a creature which takes its power from sandstorms.
7"Eagle Canyon"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
When a local governor visits Don Paragon, he is left with a hard decision. While the Nomad attempts to assist an injured creature, Skout tries to assist Toth, leading to an outcome neither wants...
8"End of the Line"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasAugust 31, 2018 (2018-08-31)
Coming upon a train station, The Nomad sneaks aboard a train, and Skout does at all, trying to get away from her problems. At the same time, Toth encounters the Champion of Toro who is also attempting to track the Nomad.
9"Compass"Miles LunaEddy RivasSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
As the chase continues, Skout and the Nomad try to lose the Champion of Toro, but he seems to keep catching up to them. In order to get information, Toth engages in some unethical behavior and the Nomad has a choice of whether he should keep running from those trying to catch him.
10"The Witch and the Knight"Yssa BadiolaEddy RivasSeptember 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)
The Nomad remembers back to a friend he loves from the past, with the memories of the experience flooding back to him.
11"The Red Carpet"Paula DecaniniJordan Cwierz, Miles Luna, and Eddy RivasSeptember 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)
While Don Paragon boasts about the capture of the Nomad, Toth comes back to the Oasis, as does Skout, leading to an inevitable confrontation...
12"Fiesta"Paula Decanini and Yssa BadiolaJordan Cwierz, Miles Luna, and Eddy RivasSeptember 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)
As the Nomad prepares to fight for those living in the Oasis, Don Paragon desperately tries to capture the Nomad, engaging in measures which are seen as extreme.

Promotion, production, and release

On January 17, 2018, Collider published an article about the show, describing it as a "western adventure that takes cues from Samurai Jack," quoting show director Jordan Cwiecz as describing it as a "western/fantasy mash-up about a mysterious nomad traversing a western wasteland that hasn’t seen magic in 100 years," saying that people should think of it "as two-parts Samurai Jack and True Grit with just a dash of The Lord of the Rings" with humor, fun, and much more. [9] The series had been announced as part of the Rooster Teeth animation slate, along with gen:Lock , RWBY volume 6, Red vs. Blue , Camp Camp, RWBY Chibi, and others, the same day. [10]

In February, RoosterTeeth released a promotional video for the series. [11] [12] Another teaser was posted in early March. [13]

Season 1 of Nomad of Nowhere began airing on March 16 for FIRST members, and March 23 for everyone else. [14]

In April 2017, Jordan wrote a post announcing the mid-season break of the show and noted that the first season would have a total of 12 episodes. [15] The first season aired its last episode on September 28, 2018. [16]

In late March 2018, show director Jordan was interviewed by Collider , calling the series a slapdash of "a bunch of spaghetti westerns got mashed up with all your favorite fantasy series to create one epic adventure," saying the idea of the show came from Georden Whitman, a production artist for a show named Camp Camp , and was inspired by his college animation, Sir Knight of Nothing. [17] He also said that his main source of inspiration came from live-action drama like spaghetti westerns and Deadwood , which have nostalgia and themes of despair in harsh lands with hard lives. Jordan also described the show as ambitious, challenging, and unique, allowing for an exploration of animation styles, inspired by Disney art books, Studio Ghibli, and more, calling it a show that "has the ingredients of things like Samurai Jack and Trigun while still having the legs to stand on its own pretty much sums up what we strive to do."

In May 2022, it was announced that FilmRise has acquired streaming rights for Nomad of Nowhere, Camp Camp, and Red vs. Blue , grouping episodes from each series into "traditional half-hour formats and seasons for streaming." [18]

Apart from airing on Rooster Teeth and the Rooster Teeth animation YouTube channel, the series is on iTunes, [19] as a movie, while the first six episodes are available on Tubi, [20] , Prime Video, [21] and Peacock. [22]

Reception

Reviews of this series were relatively positive. In his first review of the series, Dave Trumbore of Collider called the show excellent, saying that whilst it has a Western plot, it has "more of a fun, playful feel," especially when it comes to the Nomad. [17] In a later review, he called the series a story which brings together the Wild West, cartoonish magic, and classic 20th century cartoons, serving as a magical and adventure tale which features a "very silly collection of characters" who encounter the nomad, stating that it is "just a bit different from the rest" of the cartoons out there. [23] Padraig Cotter of Screen Rant described the show as a "mixture of fantasy and western" with a "quirky sense of humor and blend of genres," saying it has earned a loyal fanbase, and even said that some compared it to Trigun and Samurai Jack . [2] Tommy Williams of Geek Tyrant described the series as "very family friendly" and "lighthearted fun". [24] Other reviewers pointed to Western genre themes, [14] and praised Rooster Teeth for branching "into new avenues," citing the show as one example of this. [25]

Future

Although the Season 1 finale [16] teased that the show would continue into a second season, series creator Georden Whitman, who left RT before Season 1 ended, publicly criticized RoosterTeeth, citing "creative differences" as a reason [26] and saying he gave the show's writers "the outline of the whole story, including the ending." [27] Responding to claims that RoosterTeeth engages in "heavy crunch periods," resists providing benefits, has work weeks which are eighty hours, and other issues, he agreed that these claims were correct. [28]

On July 11, 2020, on an episode of the podcast Talk CRWBY to Me, Miles Luna revealed writer Kiersi Burkhart originally joined Rooster Teeth to work on Season 2 of Nomad of Nowhere and the process went "pretty far along," but production was halted when it was decided continuing the series at the time was not advisable. [29] In a September 2020 Tumblr post, RT Animation director Jordan Cwierz explained Rooster Teeth does not cancel shows it owns, but under the company's restructuring, shows like Camp Camp now fall under the RT Studios label, meaning they are no longer produced on their own and are being shopped to partners. [30] Cwierz added that the same applies to shows like Nomad of Nowhere, although his only comment was that they were "trying to make" more episodes.

See also

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References

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