Adult Swim Upfront 2016: The Robot Chicken special is cool, but ‘Lazor Wulf’ has already won me over
I MEAN COME ON!! A WOLF WITH A LAZER ON ITS BACK!!!
For the most part, the Adult Swim upfronts pretty much re-announced a lot of returning and premiering shows, though strangely enough no air dates for Squidbillies or Brad Neely’s new show. The other odd thing? The Oblongs listed on acquired shows. Like really? In any case, Adult Swim is coming back to the 8 pm time slot, and better yet, there’s new shit on the way from the network.
You kids may even be excited by the Robot Chicken: The Walking Dead special…I’m not because I don’t watch The Walking Dead, rather I watch Seth Green on Family Guy. But you know what I’m REALLY excited about? LAZOR WULF! The pitch for it sounds soooo smooth, and a perfect companion for Mr. Pickles. Here’s the stuff we are most excited about:
Robot Chicken: The Walking Dead Special
In keeping with the tradition of working with major franchises such as Star Wars and the DC Comics universe, the Emmy®-winning team behind Robot Chicken joins forces with the creators of The Walking Dead to bring fans an all new and extra bloody half-hour special. Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, will bring an animated zombie apocalypse to Adult Swim with The Walking Dead‘s creator/executive producer Robert Kirkman and showrunner/executive producer/writer Scott M. Gimple.
Samurai Jack
After 12 years, Jack is back. Original creator and executive producer Genndy Tartakovsky continues the epic story of Samurai Jack with a new season of half-hour episodes.
Dream Corp, LLC
Dream Corp, LLC is an absurd workplace comedy set in a neglected dream therapy facility. Each week, viewers will watch as a rotating cast of desperate patients have their dreams recorded and analyzed by Dream Corp’s absent-minded professor, Dr. Roberts (Jon Gries), and his team of unremarkable scientists. Dream Corp, LLC is created by Daniel Stessen (The Gold Sparrow) and executive-produced by alums of both American and British versions of The Office, John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant, as well as Krasinski’s Sunday Night partner Allyson Seeger.
Brad Neely’s Harg Nallin’ Sclopio Peepio
A new quarter-hour animated sketch show created by Brad Neely (China, IL), Harg Nallin’ Sclopio Peepio features a collection of frenetic one-off bits, shorts and songs, all filtered through Neely’s signature visual style. Beware however, as this show hates you. Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld serve as executive producers, with Dave Newberg as co-executive producer and Titmouse, Inc. producing.
FLCL
Created in 2000, FLCL told the tale of Naota, a 12-year-old boy who met a woman that would forever change his life…whether he liked it or not. Sixteen years later, Adult Swim and legendary animation studio Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell) are creating two new six-episode seasons to continue the tale, which will premiere in Adult Swim’s Toonami block. In the new season ofFLCL, many years have passed since Naota and Haruhara Haruko shared their adventure together. Meanwhile, the war between the two entities known as Medical Mechanica and Fraternity rages across the galaxy. Enter Hidomi, a young teenaged girl who believes there is nothing amazing to expect from her average life, until one day a new teacher named Haruko arrives at her school. Soon enough, Medical Mechanica is attacking her town and Hidomi discovers a secret within her that could save everyone, a secret that only Haruko can unlock. Back for the new season is FLCL series creator Kazuya Tsurumaki, serving as supervisor with director Hideto Iwai (Last Dinner).
Pilots
Lazor Wulf
This quarter-hour animated pilot follows a wolf who carries a laser on his back and believes that love has no limit, that wearing do-rags gives you power and that Gawd is a lie. It was created by Henry Bonsu and written/executive-produced by Bonsu and Daniel Weidenfeld (China, IL).
Chuck Deuce
A half-hour animated masterpiece written by Lars Kenseth about Chuck, Chuck Deuce is about a NorCal slacktivist/surfer who paddles out to carve mavericks, when – GAH-DOOSH! – a giant wave crushes him. Three weeks later, he walks ashore with no idea where he’s been, how he survived, or why his brain is now ravaged by hallucinations – everything from conjoined CIA agents, talking sex dolls, and sock puppet headed freaks. Like his herpes, Chuck ignores it and returns to his daily grind of violating nudity bans, protesting decency laws and skirting home-yak-milking statutes in his native Santa Cruz. But the question persists, what happened to Chuck out there… and is it really over? Chuck Deuce is executive produced by creator Chioke ‘Stretch’ McCoy and Matt Iles, with Jenn Tolman serving as producer.
Returning original series:
Mike Tyson Mysteries
Mr. Pickles
Robot Chicken
Rick and Morty
Squidbillies
The Venture Bros.
New acquisitions:
Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Hunter x Hunter
Dimension W
Returning acquisitions:
American Dad!
Bob’s Burgers
Cleveland Show
Dragonball Z Kai
Family Guy
Inuyasha: The Final Act
King of the Hill
Naruto: Shippuden
Oblongs
One Piece
Parasyte: The Maxim
Samurai Champloo
I hope this turns out to be another Gravity Falls-type show with an overarching storyline.