WarnerMedia unveiled a slew of new animated projects on Wednesday morning prior to the company’s virtual upfront event. Chief among the company’s upcoming animated titles include “Batman: Caped Crusader” and “My Adventures With Superman,” which were officially greenlit by HBO Max and Cartoon Network on Wednesday. Jack Quaid (“The Boys”) will voice Superman in the latter show, which will focus on twentysomethings Clark Kent, the bright and driven Lois Lane (Alice Lee), and their best friend Jimmy Olsen as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet. The synopsis for the show reads: “In this serialized coming-of-age story, we follow Clark as he builds his secret Superman identity and embraces his role as the hero of Metropolis — and perhaps the world. Lois, now growing into a star investigative journalist, takes aspiring photographer Jimmy Olsen under her wing. All the while, Clark and Lois are falling in love, sharing adventures, taking down bad guys, stumbling over secrets, and discovering what it means to be Superman and Lois Lane.”
A synopsis and voice talents for the Batman series were not provided but the show will hail from DC veterans; executive producers include DC Animated Universe mastermind Bruce Timm and Matt Reeves (the upcoming “The Batman” film), as well as J.J. Abrams. WarnerMedia also touted several non-superpowered animated titles on Wednesday, including four spinoff shows that will be based on or inspired by characters from “Rick and Morty,” “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell,” “Robot Chicken,” and “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” Each spinoff will consist of 8 to 10 episodes and will highlight minor characters that have previously appeared in the aforementioned shows. Those shows include “The Vindicators,” which is based on “Rick and Morty” and will feature Supernova, Vance Maxiumus, Alan Rails, Crocubot and Noob Noob. “Alabama Jackson” will center on a smooth-talking time traveler who lands in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, every time. “Aquadonk Side Pieces” will feature “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” characters such as The Mooninites, The Plutonians, MC Pee Pants, The Frat Aliens, Happy Time Harry, Handbanana, and The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past, while “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell: The Animated Series” is described as a fifth season of the show, albeit in the form of animated shorts. Adult Swim also ordered two original animated comedies on Wednesday: in “Smiling Friends,” Smiling Friends Inc. is there to lend a helping hand to any city inhabitant who calls their hotline with their troubling situation. No matter how absurd, the folks at Smiling Friends will send representatives cynical Charlie and star employee Pim to save the day. “Smiling Friends” is a quarter-hour animated series created, written and produced by Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel and will premiere on Adult Swim later in 2021.
“Royal Crackers” is a half-hour animated series that follows two brothers: Stebe, a family man with a wife and child; and Theo Jr., a single, bass guitar player trying to relive his glory days. Together they live in their comatose father’s house waiting for him to die (he never does) so they can inherit his cracker company empire. “Royal Crackers” is created by Jason Ruiz who also serves as executive producer along with Seth Cohen. The series is produced by Titmouse and will premiere on Adult Swim in 2022. In addition, it was announced during the WarnerMedia upfront that the second season of Lisa Hanawalt’s “Tuca & Bertie,” starring the voice work of Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish, will debut on Adult Swim this summer — although an exact date was not revealed. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
