Final Space
Final Space | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Olan Rogers |
Developed by | Olan Rogers David Sacks |
Written by |
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Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Shelby Merry |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Running time | 21 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | TBS |
Release | February 26, 2018 present | –
Final Space is an American animated space opera comedy-drama television series developed for cable network TBS. The show was created by independent internet filmmaker Olan Rogers with David Sacks serving as showrunner. The series involves an astronaut named Gary and his alien friend, Mooncake, and focuses on their intergalactic adventures as they try to solve the mystery of the titular "Final Space."
The series premiere of Final Space was shown off early via Reddit on February 15, 2018.[1] Later that day, the first two episodes became available on TBS's website and app. The series premiere later aired as a sneak peek on TBS's sister network TNT on February 17, 2018.[2] The series premiered on TBS on February 26, 2018[3] and was renewed for a second season on May 7, 2018 with this season having 13 episodes instead of 10.[4][5] It is scheduled to air sometime in 2019.[6]
The show is distributed internationally via Netflix, and in select territories as a Netflix Original.[7]
Plot
Gary Goodspeed is a boisterous yet inept astronaut who, in the midst of working off the last few days of his five-year sentence aboard the prison spacecraft Galaxy One, encounters a mysterious planet-destroying alien. Soon, he befriends the alien, whom he names Mooncake, and discovers that Mooncake is wanted by the forces of a powerful telekinetic creature known as the Lord Commander. Together, with the ship's computer H.U.E, an army of similar but unfalteringly loyal robots, and a growing crew of new shipmates, Gary and Mooncake embark on a quest to save the universe, all while trying to uncover the mystery of what "Final Space" really is.
Cast
- Olan Rogers – Gary Goodspeed, Mooncake, Tribore Menendez, additional voices[8]
- Fred Armisen – KVN[9]
- Tom Kenny – H.U.E.[10]
- David Tennant – The Lord Commander/Jack[11]
- Tika Sumpter – Quinn Ergon, Nightfall
- Steven Yeun[9] – Little Cato
- Coty Galloway – Avocato, Bhero[12]
- Caleb McLaughlin – Young Gary[9]
- Ron Perlman[13] – John Goodspeed
- John DiMaggio[9] – Turk, Superior Stone, additional voices
- Gina Torres – Additional voices
- Shannon Purser[9] – Additional voices
- Keith David[9] – Bolo
- Andy Richter[9] – Gatekeeper, additional voices
- Conan O'Brien – Clarence, Chuck, additional voices[9]
- Tobias Conan Trost – Order of the Twelve Announcers, additional voices
Production
Development
The idea for the show originated in mid-2010. Olan Rogers uploaded the first episode of a planned ten-part animated web-series titled Gary Space to his personal YouTube channel.[14] The project went on hiatus three episodes in, and Rogers eventually explained on Facebook that both he and the series' artist, Dan Brown, were tending to separate projects at the time, but were in talks of continuing.[15] On April 30, 2013, Rogers confirmed that he was rebooting and producing a season of Gary Space episodes to release at once.[16] Over two years later, Rogers revealed that a new short for the reboot for Gary Space was planned to be pitched to Cartoon Network, in addition to premiering the episode at Buffer Festival if nothing came from the pitch.[17]
In early 2016, Rogers announced that his project had been retitled Final Space, and revealed screenshots of the short via a vlog on his YouTube channel.[18] The pilot for Final Space was posted on Rogers' YouTube channel.[19] The video caught the attention of Conan O'Brien, who invited him to Los Angeles to pitch Final Space to TBS as a full series and also joined production as an executive producer alongside Rogers and 3rd Rock from the Sun writer and producer David Sacks. Other members of O'Brien's company, Conaco (David Kissinger, Larry Sullivan and Jeff Ross), and members of New Form who executive produced the pilot short (Kathleen Grace, Melissa Schneider and Matt Hoklotubbe) joined as executive producers as well. To balance out Rogers' inexperience in the industry, Conaco brought in Sacks to also serve as the showrunner for the series.[20][21] After two weeks of working with Sacks and Jake Sidwell (co-composer of the series alongside Shelby Merry)[22] on the pitch, Rogers and Sacks pitched the show to TBS; as well as Comedy Central, Fox, FX, YouTube, and Fullscreen; all six companies wanted the series and resulted in a bidding war between the studios over the series, with TBS acquiring the series.[23][24]
Casting
Olan Rogers announced in December 2016 that he voices the main characters, Gary and Mooncake. In July 2017, an additional cast list of Fred Armisen, Conan O'Brien, Keith David, Coty Galloway, Tom Kenny, Caleb McLaughlin, John DiMaggio, Ron Perlman, Shannon Purser, Andy Richter, David Tennant, and Steven Yeun was revealed.
Animation
The animation is produced in Los Angeles at ShadowMachine and outsourced in Canada at Ottawa's Jam Filled studio using the Toon Boom Harmony software. The show uses NASA space imagery for the space backgrounds.[25]
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
Pilot | April 6, 2016 | |||
1 | 10 | February 15, 2018 | May 7, 2018 | |
2 | 13 | 2019 | TBA |
Pilot (2016)
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Final Space" | Olan Rogers | Olan Rogers & Jake Sidwell | April 6, 2016 | 1.4 |
Season 1 (2018)
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Online airdate | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Chapter One" | Mike Roberts | Olan Rogers, David Sacks | February 17, 2018(TNT) February 26, 2018 (TBS) | February 15, 2018 | 1.27 (TNT)[26] 0.48 (TBS)[27] | |
Gary, after five lonely years in a space prison, meets an alien he calls Mooncake, and vows to keep it safe. What Gary doesn't realize, however, is that Mooncake is also a planet destroyer. | |||||||
2 | "Chapter Two" | Mike Roberts & Dan O'Connor | Olan Rogers and David Sacks and Jane Becker | February 17, 2018(TNT) March 5, 2018 (TBS) | February 15, 2018 | 1.27 (TNT)[26] 0.58 (TBS)[28] | |
Gary and Avocato must stop a bounty hunter named Terk from telling the Lord Commander that Mooncake is on the Galaxy One; meanwhile the former prisoner has a disastrous first encounter with the Lord Commander. | |||||||
3 | "Chapter Three" | Ben Bjelajac | Olan Rogers and David Sacks and Alyssa Lane & Alex Sherman | March 12, 2018 | February 26, 2018 | 0.43 (TBS)[29] | |
Gary and Avocato try to hide Mooncake safely away on the planet Yarno, but end up trapped in a terrifying mind-puzzle; Mooncake is forced to fight in a combat arena called the Deathcropolis; Quinn investigates the gravitational disturbance. | |||||||
4 | "Chapter Four" | Mike Roberts | Olan Rogers and David Sacks | March 19, 2018 | March 13, 2018 | 0.44 (TBS)[30] | |
After the Galaxy One is hacked, Gary has to harvest energy from a nearby star to reignite the engines and escape; the radiation poisoning from the star sends Gary into a trance of painful memories; Gary and Quinn are finally reunited. | |||||||
5 | "Chapter Five" | Chris Paluszek | Adam Stein and Christopher Amick & Ben Mekler and Jane Becker | March 26, 2018 | March 20, 2018 | 0.54 (TBS)[31] | |
Gary, Quinn, and Avocato trace the cause of the gravitational disturbance to an eerie bioluminescent planet, and must put a stop to whatever is causing it. | |||||||
6 | "Chapter Six" | Ben Bjelajac | Alyssa Lane and Alex Sherman & Cameron Squires | April 9, 2018 | March 26, 2018 | 0.51 (TBS)[32] | |
Gary and Avocato go on a mission to save Avocato's son, Little Cato, from the Lord Commander's prison planet. | |||||||
7 | "Chapter Seven" | Chris Paluszek | Christopher Amick & Ben Mekler | April 16, 2018 | April 9, 2018 | 0.39 (TBS)[33] | |
Gary grapples with his future when he learns that his prison sentence is up. | |||||||
8 | "Chapter Eight" | Mike Roberts | Olan Rogers and David Sacks | April 23, 2018 | April 16, 2018 | 0.43 (TBS)[34] | |
Gary and his crew encounter a Titan named Bolo, who tells them how to close the breach in the fabric of space. | |||||||
9 | "Chapter Nine" | Ben Bjelajac | Adam Stein | April 30, 2018 | April 23, 2018 | 0.39 (TBS)[35] | |
The crew of the Galaxy One returns to Earth to find an anti-matter bomb that they hope can save the universe. | |||||||
10 | "Chapter Ten" | Mike Roberts | Olan Rogers and David Sacks | May 7, 2018 | April 30, 2018 | 0.40 (TBS)[36] | |
Gary, Quinn and the team engage in a final confrontation with the Lord Commander to decide the fate of Earth and the universe. |
Season 2
The second season was announced in May 2018 and will consist of 13 episodes.
Promotion and release
When responding to a question on Twitter, Olan Rogers revealed that Final Space would be showcased by TBS at San Diego Comic-Con and VidCon in 2017.[37]
Final Space premiered on Reddit on February 15, 2018, followed by an AMA with Rogers. This would mark a first for a TV network to premiere a series on the site.[1] TBS's sister network TNT aired a sneak peek premiere of the show on February 17, 2018, after the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend. After airing on TBS, the pilot aired two hours later on TBS' sister channel Cartoon Network under its adult-oriented programming block Adult Swim; the rest of the season also aired on the channel in a similar fashion. On February 20, 2018, the first two episodes were released on iTunes; "Chapter One" was released for free while "Chapter Two" reached #1 in the Animation category.[38] Over a month later, the entire season reached #3.[39] Netflix handles the international distribution to the show and released it on its platform on July 20.[40]
On February 24, 2018, a premiere event of the first two episodes was held in Nashville, Tennessee, selling out four of the five showings.[41]
Final Space is also available on TBS's app.
On April 7, 2019, Rogers revealed that the show would move first-run airings to Adult Swim, while being simulcast on TBS, a reversal of the airing pattern from the first season.[42]
Reception
Final Space has received a generally positive response, with critics and audiences praising the show's cast (especially David Tennant's voice performance as Lord Commander, the show's main villain), animation, originality, drama, serialized continuity and humor.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season currently holds a critics' score of 70% and an audiences' score of 95%,[43] a score of 60 of 100 based on 5 critics, and a 7.7 based on 112 ratings from Metacritic, and an 8.4 on IMDB, entering the best #242 TV shows ever.
Impressions about the first episodes were mixed, but predominantly positive, with criticism focused on Gary's humor. Collider's Dave Trumbore gave the series four out of five stars, praising the cast, the series' uniqueness and its originality.[44] The Hollywood Reporter said "the new animated series from TBS misses the mark, and will likely will float off into space".[45] The A.V. Club gave the series a C+ grade.[46] Reviewing the first two episodes, Den of Geek gave them a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars.[47] IndieWire gave a B+ grade.[48] The Daily Beast received the series favorably, comparing its potential with Adventure Time and BoJack Horseman.[49] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised the show for the space backgrounds and Gary's relationship with Mooncake, but criticized for being "not as clever as Futurama or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Galaxy Quest, series with which it shares certain features" and for the comedy which "leans toward things adolescent boys find funny."[50] Screen Rant was favorable for the series, praising TBS' decision to release the first two episodes 11 days before the series premiere, and describing it as a "very silly comedy," comparing Gary to Homer Simpson and Philip J. Fry.[51]
Future
When asked on Twitter about the series' longevity, Olan Rogers had stated that he had at least six seasons worth of material thought up for the show including an ending for Final Space in case the series gets cancelled in the future.[52]
On May 7, 2018, Final Space was renewed for a second season, which was later confirmed by Rogers to consist of 13 episodes.
References
- ^ a b Roettgers, Janko (February 15, 2018). "TBS Premieres 'Final Space' on the Front Page of Reddit (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ Coleman, Jill (February 15, 2018). "USA: Season Premiere Sneak Peek Of Final Space On TNT Tonight". Blogger. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (January 11, 2018). "TBS Renews 'American Dad' For Two More Seasons, Sets Monday Night Animation Block". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ Petski, Denise (May 7, 2018). "'Final Space' Animated Comedy Renewed For Season 2 By TBS". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ Roger, Olan. "Episode Count Confirmation". Twitter. Olan Rogers. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- ^ Rogers, Olan. "Season 2 Release Date Confirmation". Twitter. Olan Rogers. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ^ https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/netflix-picks-up-final-space-as-netflix-original-in-some-regions/
- ^ Rogers, Olan (December 20, 2016). "[Olan Roger voicing Gary Space & Mooncake]". Twitter. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rogers, Olan (July 21, 2017). "Fred Armisen announced as KVN in new TV series Final Space". Twitter.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (July 22, 2017). "Tom Kenny announced as HUE in new TV series Final Space". Twitter.
- ^ Fullerton, Huw (July 21, 2017). "Doctor Who's David Tennant has been cast in an animated space sitcom". Radio Times.
- ^ "Fanal Space • Coty Galloway • New York Comic Con 2017 • interview".
- ^ Rogers, Olan (July 22, 2017). "Ron Perlman Voicing Garry's Dad". Twitter.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (May 4, 2010). "[First Gary Space episode]". Facebook. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (October 13, 2012). "[Olan in talks with artist Dan Brown]". Facebook. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (April 30, 2013). "Update on rebooting Gary Godspeed". Facebook. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (May 19, 2015). "[New Gary Space planned to be pitched a Cartoon Network]". Facebook. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- ^ Olan Rogers (February 29, 2016). "SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME & THIS IS A LONG TITLE". YouTube. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ Olan Rogers (April 5, 2016). "FINAL SPACE [ Cartoon Pilot ]". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ Peters, Megan (December 2, 2016). "TBS Orders Animated Series From Youtube Star Olan Rogers, Conan O'Brien". Comicbook. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ Olan Rogers (December 2, 2016). "FINAL SPACE IS A TV SHOW!!!!!!!! [David Sacks]". YouTube. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ Sidwell, Jake (December 22, 2016). "[Jake Sidwell co-composing with Shelby Merry]". Twitter. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ Olan Rogers (December 2, 2016). "FINAL SPACE IS A TV SHOW!!!!!!!! [Pitch and Bidding War]". YouTube. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 2, 2016). "TBS Orders 'Final Space' Animated Series From Olan Rogers & Conan O'Brien". Deadline. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ "Animated People: Olan Rogers Blasts Off into 'Final Space'". Animation Magazine. March 23, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (February 21, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Saturday's Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 2.17.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (February 27, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 2.26.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 6, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 3.5.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 12, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 3.12.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 19, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 3.19.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 26, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 3.26.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 10, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 4.9.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 17, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 4.16.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 23, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 4.23.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 30, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 4.30.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 7, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Networks Finals: 5.7.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (December 20, 2016). "[Final Space at SDCC & VidCon 2017]". Twitter. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (February 20, 2018). "[Final Space Chapter Two on iTunes]". Twitter. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (March 21, 2018). "[Final Space Season on iTunes]". Twitter. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ Moore, Kasey (July 20, 2018). "Netflix Picks Up 'Final Space' as Netflix Original Internationally". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Final Space Premiere Event". Eventbrite. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (2019-04-07). "It's still going to air on TBS. They are just flipping what that did for S1. S1 premiered on TBS then Adult Swim. S2 will be Adult Swim then TBS. I think they like the show as well and it does well over there. I'm down with it https://twitter.com/cnconfessions/status/1115094818139430912 …". @OlanRogers. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
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at position 289 (help) - ^ "Final Space: Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Final Space' Review: A Dark and Tragic Space Odyssey Disguised as a Comedy Series". Collider. February 26, 2018.
- ^ "Final Space': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. February 15, 2018.
- ^ "Final Space is animated sci-fi comedy with trouble entering warp speed". The A.V. Club. February 26, 2018.
- ^ "Final Space Episode 1 and 2 Review". Den of Geek. February 27, 2018.
- ^ "'Final Space' Review: An Impossibly Cute Green Squishy Alien is TV's New Best Friend in Delightful TBS Animated Series". Indiewire. February 26, 2018.
- ^ "Is Final Space the Next Great Animated Series?". The Daily Beast. February 26, 2018.
- ^ "'Final Space' mixes insults, melancholy and a weapons-grade-cute alien named Mooncake". The Los Angeles Times. February 25, 2018.
- ^ "Final Space Premiere Review: An Enjoyably Silly Space-Faring Comedy". Screen Rant. February 26, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Olan (May 31, 2018). "[Possible Six Seasons of Final Space]". Twitter. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
External links
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- 2010s American animated television series
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