Birdgirl (TV series)
Birdgirl | |
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Genre | Animated sitcom Comedy Superhero |
Created by | Michael Ouweleen Erik Richter |
Based on | Characters by Hanna-Barbera |
Developed by | Erik Richter Christina Miller |
Directed by | Rich Ferguson-Hull[1] |
Starring |
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Theme music composer |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers | Susan Shipsky[1] Melissa Warrenburg |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Adult Swim |
Release | April 5, 2021 present | –
Birdgirl is an American adult animated superhero comedy television series. It is a spin-off of the television series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter,[2] which itself was a comedic spin-off of the original 1967 Birdman cartoon and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The series stars the voices of Paget Brewster, Rob Delaney, Sonia Denis, Kether Donohue, John Doman, Negin Farsad, Tony Hale and River L. Ramirez. The series premiered on Adult Swim on April 5, 2021.[3][4][a]
On October 4, 2021, Kether Donohue, the voice of Gillian, posted on Instagram that Birdgirl had been renewed for a second season.[5] This was confirmed on February 9, 2022.[6] The second season will be released on Adult Swim on June 19, 2022 and HBO Max on June 20.[7]
Plot
Judy Ken Sebben, the daughter of Phil Ken Sebben, fights crime as Birdgirl. When Phil Ken Sebben is killed in an accident, he names Birdgirl as the successor of Sebben & Sebben Worldwide. With help from her friend Meredith the Mind Taker, Birdgirl was able to get Judy to be the new CEO of Sebben & Sebben while still fighting crime on the side.
Characters
- Judy Ken Sebben/Birdgirl (voiced by Paget Brewster) – The daughter of Phil Ken Sebben. She lives a double life as the superheroine Birdgirl, and when Phil apparently died, Judy became the new CEO of Sebben & Sebben Worldwide.
- Brian O'Brien (voiced by Rob Delaney) – The head of human waste at Sebben & Sebben Worldwide.
- Evie "The Big Ten" (voiced by Sonia Denis) – The daughter of one of Sebben & Sebben Worldwide's workers who is friends with the building as she can understand it.
- Gillian (voiced by Kether Donohue) – Judy's secretary at Sebben & Sebben Worldwide.
- Dog with Bucket Hat (voiced by John Doman) – An anthropomorphic Basset Hound that wears a bucket hat who is the head of security at Sebben & Sebben Worldwide.
- Meredith the Mind Taker (voiced by Negin Farsad) – The general manager of Sebben & Sebben Worldwide who is the best friend of Judy with mind-taking abilities. She is the daughter of Mentok the Mind Taker.
- Paul "The Feels" (voiced by Tony Hale) – Sebben & Sebben Worldwide's residential masseuse.
- Charlie "Strongarm" (voiced by River L. Ramirez) – Sebben & Sebben Worldwide's head of public relations.
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [8][a] | US viewers (millions) | |
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1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter | April 5, 2021 | 0.429[9] | |
While crimefighting as Birdgirl, Judy Ken Sebben hears the news that her father Phil Ken Sebben has died. Due to a lack of a succession plan, the Dog with Bucket Hat and a Phil Ken Sebben impersonator nominate Birdgirl as the successor of CEO at Sebben & Sebben Worldwide. Meredith the Mind Taker senses that Judy has not gotten over Phil's death and works to help her out. Meanwhile, Brian O'Brien works to improve a special toilet that causes whatever anybody poops out to be converted into fertilizer. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "ShareBear" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Anca Vlasan | April 12, 2021 | 0.351[10] | |
Judy is angry that Meredith does not trust her with important decisions. When Etan Delvay, the brilliant but awkward CEO of a rival tech company, proposes to her to test his new invention, the Share Bear, an AI-powered teddy bear which can perform psychotherapy, on the Sebben & Sebben employees and let her invest in the project, she accepts, risking a large part of her shares in Sebben & Sebben. All employees are given their own Share Bear and confide in it. Meredith does not trust Etan and spies on him. She learns how to obtain all the information stored on a Share Bear, steals Etan's personal Bear and tries to extract the information from it so she can prove her suspicions, discovering that Etan had been the one to buy Judy's shares. But the procedure leads to all Share Bears blurting out the personal information stored on them at once, leading to panic and revolt among the employees. Meredith apologizes to Judy for creating the chaos and for not trusting Judy. The Bird Team destroys all bears, while the employees attack Etan. Meredith and Judy then find a letter from Etan showing she was wrong and that Etan had intended to return Judy's shares to her as a gift for believing in him enough to invest. Elsewhere, now disfigured, with his broken body rebuilt with Share Bear parts, a bitter Etan swears revenge on Judy. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Thirdgirl" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Ele Woods and Jessica Haymond | April 19, 2021 | 0.333[11] | |
Sebben & Sebben is generating losses and Judy tries to find ways to decrease costs. This leads to rumors of layoffs among the employees. Judy's overly devoted assistant Gillian supports her day and night. Because of her ridiculous amount of overtime hours she costs the company too much money. Meredith suggests hiring a second assistant but Gillian does not trust anyone and creates a secret second identity so she can take over the nighttime assistant job herself. Later she even creates a third identity. Totally exhausted by her work, Gillian uses energy oils to stay awake. When some colleagues uncover her scheme, stage an intervention, and try to get her to take a vacation, Gillian loses her mind and mutates into a three-headed monster which rampages through the company headquarters. Judy as Birdgirl manages to calm the monster down, leading to the mutation reversing itself. Furthermore, the rampage has lead many employees to quit Sebben & Sebben, fixing the financial problems of the company. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "We Have the Internet" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Jonterri Gadson | April 26, 2021 | 0.306[12] | |
5 | 5 | "Topple the Popple" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Lorraine DeGraffenreidt | May 3, 2021 | 0.340[13] | |
6 | 6 | "Baltimo" | Richard Ferguson-Hull | Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter | May 10, 2021 | 0.333[14] |
Reception
Reviewing the first 2 episodes, Den of Geek praises the "chaotic" pacing and characters, "sweet" backstory, and expresses hope in its potential; their review describes the show as an "exciting new Adult Swim venture that’s able to successfully carry on the unhinged atmosphere of the original Harvey Birdman while it takes the material to entirely different places."[15]
The AV Club expressed joy towards Brewster's titular character and lamented that the supporting characters were not as interesting as those in Harvey Birdman, presumably because Birdman was contingent on the inclusion of Hanna-Barbera cartoon incidentals, whereas Birdgirl takes place in a human-centric world.[16]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "'Harvey Birdman' Spinoff 'Birdgirl' With Paget Brewster Set at Adult Swim". Variety.com. 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
- ^ "'Birdgirl' Season 1 Summary & Review - Messy And Not Funny". Digital Mafia Talkies. 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "'Birdgirl': Paget Brewster Leads 'Harvey Birdman' Spinoff At Adult Swim". Deadline. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "First Look: 'Birdgirl' Takes Flight on Adult Swim April 4". Animation Magazine. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ @thismyshow (5 October 2021). "According to Kether Donohues IG Story, BIRDGIRL has (thankfully) been picked up for a second season!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (February 9, 2022). "'Birdgirl' & 'Smiling Friends' Renewed For Season 2 By Adult Swim". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/june-stream-westworld-fantastic-beasts-secrets-dumbledore-father-bride-janes-and-more
- ^ "Birdgirl – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 6, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.4.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 13, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.11.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 20, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.18.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 27, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.25.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 4, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.2.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 11, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.9.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ "Birdgirl Flips The Script On Harvey Birdman And Superhero Culture". Den of Geek. 2021-04-05. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
- ^ "What's On Tonight: Birdgirl swoops in, The Walking Dead shuffles out". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
External links
- Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
- 2021 American television series debuts
- 2020s American adult animated television series
- 2020s American animated comedy television series
- 2020s American sitcoms
- 2020s American superhero comedy television series
- 2020s American workplace comedy television series
- Adult Swim original programming
- American adult animated comedy television series
- American adult animated superhero television series
- American adult animated television spin-offs
- American flash adult animated television series
- American animated sitcoms
- Animated superheroine television shows
- English-language television shows
- Feminist television
- Television series by Williams Street