What happened to adult animation?
‘Scavengers Reign’ is just the latest animated series for grown-ups to be cancelled
If you haven’t yet, I implore you to visit the planet Vesta, the alien world at the heart of “Scavengers Reign.”
Rich with frightening vegetation and enigmatic creatures that simultaneously inspire awe and terror, Vesta is a truly unique setting for one of the most exciting TV shows of the decade.
Debuting on Max last October (and streaming on StackTV in Canada), this adult animated series follows the surviving crew of an interstellar cargo ship after it crash lands on a beautiful though dangerous alien planet. We follow three separate groups of castaways as they try to survive the hostilities of their new surroundings while attempting to chart a route home.
It’s a riveting watch, striking both in its nuanced depictions of human resilience and its mastery in developing ecosystems that mirror those found on our own planet yet also feel wholly original.
Unfortunately, despite its rave reviews (it appeared on many critics’ best-of-2023 lists), Max announced the cancellation of “Scavengers Reign” at the beginning of May.
There’s some good news, for American viewers at least. Much as its titular scavengers gained a second chance at life on Vesta, the show will move to a new home in the United States: Netflix, which might pick it up for a second season (in Canada, it’s currently available through subscriptions to Global and StackTV, with announcements yet to be made about a move to Netflix).
The series’ existence in a sort of limbo hints at the concerning cancellation rate plaguing adult animated shows. It seems unimaginable in our current climate for new animated series to get the double digit runs of past titles like “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “South Park,” or even to reach the five-season mark.
The co-creators of “BoJack Horseman,” one of the best shows of the 2010s (animated or not), got the word that Season 6 would be their last in 2019, despite stating that they needed more episodes to fully develop their send-off. Still, in retrospect, their six-season run feels like a miracle — Lisa Hanawalt, one half of the creative force behind “BoJack,” went on to create the adult animation “Tuca & Bertie” for Netflix, which was cancelled after a single season.
A passionate online campaign immediately sprang up, which led to Adult Swim picking up the show and giving it two more seasons.
And although “Archer” might appear an anomaly — surviving 14 seasons — its cancellation last year meant the show’s writers did not have enough forewarning to tie up loose ends and had to scramble to write a makeshift series finale, which aired two months after the penultimate episode.
“I think anything that is trying to be original is just inherently risky,” says Charles Huettner, who created “Scavengers Reign” with Joe Bennett.
“Major corporations tend to be very risk averse.”
Huettner and Bennett created the show as an expansion of their 2016 short film “Scavengers.”
Huettner said in an interview that the1990s space anime “Cowboy Bepop” reawakened his interest in animation and became “the gold standard” for exciting television, which led to his own interstellar creation. “When (Joe and I) got the chance to make an original animated TV show, it was a no-brainer for us that it would carry on that tradition of being more mature and grounded.”
But more animated shows are getting cancelled than are surviving. In December, Netflix ordered a second season of “Blue Eye Samurai,” an exciting saga following a female warrior in 17th-century Japan, only one month after announcing the cancellations of three other adult animated series (“Agent Elvis,” “Farzar” and “Captain Fall”).
And while some shows are certainly not made to survive longterm — all-around reception to “Agent Elvis” was lukewarm despite the show touting voice actors like Matthew McConaughey and Don Cheadle — that doesn’t explain the cancellation of programs like “Scavengers Reign” and “Inside Job,” which were loved by critics and supported by fervent online communities.
These abrupt endings often leave frustrating cliffhangers. Take “Inside Job,” an animated science fiction comedy set in a world where famous conspiracy theories — JFK’s assassination and the moon landing, as examples — are manufactured by shadow organizations. Poignant and funny, it was cancelled by Netflix early last year after two seasons, meaning the dramatic cliffhanger in its season finale will go unanswered.
“For me, the issue isn’t so much getting a show that lasts forever, but rather shows not getting proper endings,” said Huettner. “It was important to me that the first season of our show felt like a complete idea in case we never got the chance to make more. We tried to strike a balance with making the story arcs feel resolved while teasing something much larger at the very end.”
So what does the future hold for this sub-genre that was once a staple of comedy TV but is now struggling, especially shows that trade sitcom banter for interplanetary biology? Are we going to see a rise in concise one-off series in which elaborate world-building and character arcs are sacrificed for fear of sudden cancellation?
For now, a step in the right direction would be for “Scavengers Reign” to escape its death sentence.
Huettner — along with a passionate fandom — hopes the show will get more episodes in its new home, but he’s glad that its move at least signals extended accessibility.
“I’m just happy a lot more people will have the chance to watch and hopefully enjoy the show on Netflix. Getting to make anything on this scale is a total privilege. I am hopeful we will get to make more of it: our scavengers are only just getting started!”
‘‘ I think anything that is trying to be original is just inherently risky. Major corporations tend to be very risk averse. CHARLES HUETTNER CO-CREATOR OF ‘SCAVENGERS REIGN’