Scavengers Reign

Scavengers Reign
Genre	Adventure Drama Science fiction
Created by	Joseph Bennett Charles Huettner
Starring	Sunita Mani Wunmi Mosaku Alia Shawkat Bob Stephenson Ted Travelstead
Composer	Nicolas Snyder
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production
Executive producers	Joseph Bennett Charles Huettner Chris Prynoski Ben Kalina Antonio Canobbio Sean Buckelew James Merrill
Editor	Jason Klein
Running time	23–26 minutes
Production companies	Titmouse, Inc. Green Street Pictures
Original release
Network	Max
Release	October 19, 2023 (2023-10-19) – present

Scavengers Reign is an American adult animated science fiction drama television series created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner for Max, based on their 2016 short film Scavengers. HBO Max announced the series in June 2022, and its 12-episode first season premiered on October 19, 2023.

Synopsis

The series follows the survivors of the damaged interstellar cargo ship Demeter 227 who are stranded on Vesta, an alien planet bustling with flora and fauna but filled with dangers. The survivors start off separated in three groups: Azi and her robot companion Levi, Sam and Ursula, and the isolated Kamen. Over time all their paths converge towards the crashed landed Demeter.

Cast

Main

• Sunita Mani as Ursula, a crewmember in the Demeter's horticulture lab; stranded on Vesta with Sam.
• Wunmi Mosaku as Azi, a cargo specialist on the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Levi.
• Alia Shawkat as Levi, a robot from the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Azi.
• Bob Stephenson as Sam, commander of the Demeter; stranded on Vesta with Ursula.
• Ted Travelstead as Kamen, a crewmember on the Demeter who is struggling in his career and in his marriage with wife Fiona; while stranded on Vesta he forms a bond with Hollow, a telepathic and telekinetic creature. Co-creator Bennett stated that Kamen's presence has "introduced human greed and gluttony into this animal kingdom," which causes Hollow to become more sinister.

Guest

• Alia Shawkat as Fiona, the Demeter's robotics engineer; and Kamen's estranged wife.
• Sepideh Moafi as Mia, a passenger on the Demeter who forms a romantic connection with Azi.
• Skyler Gisondo as Charlie, a passenger in cryofreeze on the Demeter.
• Pollyanna McIntosh as Kris, the leader of a scavenger group from another planet; intends to loot the Demeter.
• Freddy Rodriguez as Terrence, a member of Kris's scavenger group.
• Dash Williams as Barry, the youngest and least experienced member of Kris's scavenger group.
• Masha King as Mascha, a healer that Ursula and Sam meet in their travels on Vesta; part of a group that was stranded on Vesta many years prior.
• James Kyson as John, a member of Mascha's group.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The Signal"	Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner	Joseph Bennett, Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew, James Merrill	October 19, 2023 (2023-10-19)
Two cargo employees discuss a missing spaceship, the Demeter 227. The spaceship is shown heavily damaged and pods ejecting from the ship onto a planet full of strange and hostile flora and fauna. A pair of survivors, Sam and Ursula, have built a machine to signal the ship to land but despite having learnt to improvise technology from local wildlife they realize they will need to obtain a battery from another escape pod. The search takes them to a cavern where Ursula nearly dies after being exposed to toxins, but they manage to escape with the battery. Somewhere else, Azi and robot Levi have been growing crops however lose most of their harvest to wildlife encroaching on their homestead, Levi being heavily damaged during one such incident. Levi has also begun to show strange behaviors that perplex Azi. Another survivor, Kamen, has been trapped for some time in his escape pod which failed to reach the ground after becoming entangled in tree branches. He is freed by a creature with telekinetic and telepathic abilities. The Demeter 227 exits orbit and lands on the surface of the planet after Sam and Ursula remotely execute its emergency landing protocol, the other survivors witnessing it enter atmosphere.
2	"The Storm"	Jonathan Djob Nkondo	Joseph Bennett, Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew	October 19, 2023 (2023-10-19)
Sam and Ursula set out to find the ship, hoping that the crew members in cryostasis have survived and that the ship's shuttle is still operational. A flashback shows that while on the ship, Azi chose to focus on work rather than socialize or entertain the romantic interests of Mia, a woman aboard the Demeter 227. In the present, Azi and Levi also depart to find the landed ship. Azi learns that Levi has been exploring the surrounding area while Azi sleeps and has been experiencing inexplicable compulsions to do things like cultivate trees and feed local fauna. Alien life appears to be integrating with the mechanical components of their body. Kamen is under the mental influence of the alien creature who uses visions of his wife, Fiona, in order to instruct him. At some point during these events, massive storm clouds approach and winds of 200 MPH force all the survivors to find shelter. Ursula and Sam sneak into the protective egg sac of a large aquatic creature for safety, but must fight a predator in order to survive. The three separate parties manage to survive through the storm, each through different means of shelter.
3	"The Wall"	Vincent Tsui	Joseph Bennett, Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew	October 19, 2023 (2023-10-19)
Ursula and Sam's journey takes them through an underground forest. While Ursula's fascination and observation of local wildlife assists her in navigating the strange environment, it causes friction with Sam after it causes them to be separated, the latter insisting that they must work together and be able to rely on each other. During the argument Sam is snatched and carried away by a local predator. Levi continues to exhibit increasingly autonomous and spirited behavior and Azi grows further concerned. However, Levi's seemingly intuitive understanding of nature comes in handy when the two become stuck in a stampede of alien animals. Kamen continues to follow the telepathic creature and is manipulated into providing it food, the procurement of food however begins taking a more dangerous turn as Kamen begins slaughtering local wildlife and the telepathic creature becomes accustomed to consuming meat.
4	"The Dream"	Rachel Reid	Sean Buckelew	October 26, 2023 (2023-10-26)
Azi attempts a cleaning up of Levi's hardware, and is startled to learn Levi seems to be experiencing sensations such as pain. The cleaning is interrupted when Azi is attacked by wildlife and must re-activate Levi for assistance, and Levi requests not to be shut down again. Ursula tries to find and rescue Sam and observes local wildlife in order to mimic their methods of traveling the strange terrain. She finds him near a crashed escape pod looking despondent at the dead crew, and after laying them to rest he acknowledges the value of Ursula's intuition. Kamen uses traps to continue sourcing food for the telepathic creature which has grown larger and more demanding. He fails in a hunt and the creature expresses its displeasure, after which Kamen begins crafting weapons to hunt even larger land animals. It is revealed in a flashback that Kamen caused the crash of the Demeter 227 by rerouting to a faster but riskier flightpath to ensure the delivery of their cargo, despite Sam saying no.
5	"The Demeter"	Christine Jie-Eun Shin	Jenny Deiker Restivo	October 26, 2023 (2023-10-26)
The damaged Demeter 227 is exposed to local wildlife, some of which attempt to prey on the humans still alive in cryostasis. One of them, a man named Charlie, wakes up and narrowly escapes. Once out of the ship, the local hostile wildlife nearly kills him and while on the run from danger he runs into Kamen whom he recognizes from the ship. Charlie lets Kamen know that there are survivors on the Demeter 227, however the telepathic creature kills Charlie for temporarily breaking Kamen out of his mind controlled state. With new clarity Kamen tries to leave to find the ship where he believes Fiona might still be alive, but the creature gives him a vision that makes him remember that Fiona was not able to escape the destructing ship. In despair and guilt, Kamen begs the creature to help him with his emotional pain, and the creature absorbs him into its own body where he enters an unconscious, dreamlike state. Azi's wounds from being attacked have festered, causing a painful rash. She finds a solution in aquatic creatures that feed on the infection, and also begins to respect Levi's new-found autonomy and personhood. While traversing a forest Sam is bitten by a strange organism, and Ursula notes that the area is littered with the buried bodies of many different dead animals.
6	"The Fall"	Diego Porral	James Merrill	October 26, 2023 (2023-10-26)
The bite that Sam received is shown to belong to a creature that uses the genetics of whatever animal it sucks blood from to create a biological weapon that looks similar to the original animal. Sam notices an infection from the bite is spreading through his arm and initially hides it from Ursula, but begins teaching her skills she will need in case she ever needs to continue without him. When the copy of Sam attacks Ursula, is able to kill it with fire, but it destroys their remaining supplies in the process. Sam, whose health is rapidly declining, gives Ursula his credentials so she can use any system on the spaceship, and tells her she is capable of completing their mission on her own, before an unknown woman arrives and finds them. Around the same time elsewhere, Azi and Levi lose their ride and must cross a large canyon in order to reach the spaceship. During this, Levi and Azi are attacked by the telepathic creature which rips apart Levi's body. In a rage, Azi attacks the creature and discovers Kamen inside of it, but is unable to get him out before the creature throws Azi into the canyon. Heartbroken at the loss of Levi, Azi sends out a desperate distress call, which is picked up on a nearby moon.
7	"The Cure"	Jonathan Djob Nkondo	Charles Huettner	November 2, 2023 (2023-11-02)
The distress call sent out by Azi is picked up by a group of three working on a nearby moon, who are motivated to respond only after realizing there is a Demeter freight ship involved. The stranger who found Sam and Ursula takes them to her crash landed ship, in the ship the woman demonstrates significant knowledge of local diseases and provides Sam with treatment. The three people, Barry, Kris and Terrance, have arrived on the planet and designate Kris as their leader. The telepathic creature arrives shortly after and destroys their spaceship, trapping them as well on the planet. After Sam is successfully treated, he tries to find the woman who treated him, however when he walks into the room he comes across a massive creature that appears to have restrained the woman, he tries to save her but when Sam frees her she attacks him instead.
8	"The Nest"	Vincent Tsui	Jillian Goldfluss	November 2, 2023 (2023-11-02)
Azi and the scavenger group find their destroyed spaceship. They decide to use the escape shuttle that is likely on the Demeter. Sam demonstrates superhuman physical capabilities after his recovery. While Ursula is asleep, he becomes hyper focused on building a nest for himself. Ursula confronts him, and they both discover that Sam is infected by a mind-altering parasite. Terrance is fatally mauled by a creature, and Kris kills him to end his pain. Barry throws away Terrance's birthday gift.
9	"The Mountain"	Rachel Reid	James Merrill	November 2, 2023 (2023-11-02)
During a flashback, it is revealed that another group crash-landed on the planet decades prior, including the woman who helped Sam and Ursula. The woman's spouse becomes infected with the same parasite that afflicted Sam - she kills him in self-defense, but she is infected anyway. Ursula catches Sam trying to infect her with his parasite and confronts him. Azi, Barry and Kris climb a mountain on their way to the Demeter. Kris deliberately exposes Azi to danger, as a form of hazing. Azi thinks Kris will leave without waking up the Demeter's crew, and they argue.
10	"The Decision"	Christine Jie-Eun Shin	Jenny Deiker Restivo	November 9, 2023 (2023-11-09)
Various lifeforms gather Levi's parts and reassemble its body. In a flashback, Azi is shown drinking with Mia, and they end up kissing. Azi, Barry and Kris cross a stream using an adhesive fashioned by Azi, but Azi sabotages Kris. Azi and Kris fight about waking up the crew. Azi is knocked out, tied up and left behind. Sam and Ursula travel on the back of a large creature. Sam coughs out another infectious seed, but he throws it away and gives Ursula a weapon for self-defense. They make it within sight of the Demeter, but Sam gives up and tears out the parasite, fatally wounding himself. The telepathic creature reaches the spaceship first.
11	"The Return"	Diego Porral	James Merrill	November 9, 2023 (2023-11-09)
A flashback shows how yellow biological matter infiltrated Levi's body. Ursula frees Azi from her bindings and finds Levi, who demonstrates self-awareness. Kris and Barry explore the Demeter, and decide to take the shuttle without waking up the passengers. They use explosives to fend off the hostile telepathic creature. Kamen realizes he is trapped in a fake reality and demands to be released.
12	"The Reunion"	Vincent Tsui	Sean Buckelew	November 9, 2023 (2023-11-09)
Ursula and Levi begin the cryo wake-up process. Azi subdues Kris, but lets her go to defend Ursula against the telepathic creature. Barry wants to help the Demeter's crew, so Kris betrays him and launches the shuttle alone. Levi unleashes its mysterious powers against the telepathic creature, saving Azi and freeing Kamen. Some time passes, and the survivors have built a colony. Levi appears to have found a way to reproduce. Ursula looks back on Sam and tries to honor his memory. Somewhere in space, the shuttle is overrun with vegetation, and Kris is stranded. A giant ship docks, and masked robed figures come aboard.

Production

Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner created the original 2016 Scavengers short film for Adult Swim, where it aired as part of the Toonami block. The eight-minute animated short contains no dialog and depicts a pair of humans engaging in an intricate series of interactions with alien creatures. From 2018 to 2019, Bennett and Huettner expanded the concept into a series pilot that did not go forward at Adult Swim, though the show was later picked up by HBO Max. The twelve-episode series was produced over two years by Titmouse, Inc. and Green Street Pictures with a crew including international animators working remotely from locations including Mexico, Spain, Portugal and France.

Reception

The series has received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an 100% approval score with an average rating of 8.7/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Disturbing and wondrous, Scavengers Reign presents a vividly realized world that beckons exploration by its marooned characters and television viewers alike." James Poniewozik of The New York Times called it "a lush, magnificent, hypnotic story of human survival in a place that feels, in a way that sci-fi planets only occasionally manage, truly otherworldly." Andrew Webster of The Verge deemed it to be "equal parts beautiful and brutal, and it might be the most original piece of science fiction of the year."

External links

• Scavengers Reign at IMDb
• Scavengers Reign at Rotten Tomatoes