| Exploding Kittens | |
|---|---|
 Initial promotional poster with the release window | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Matthew Inman & Shane Kosakowski |
| Based on | Exploding Kittens by Matthew Inman andElan Lee |
| Voices of | |
| Music by | Shirley Song & Jina Hyojin An |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Janet Dimon |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 24–27 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) |
Exploding Kittens is an Americanadult animated fantasy comedy television series loosely based onthe tabletop card game of the same name designed by Matthew Inman, ofThe Oatmeal webcomic, andElan Lee. It features the voices ofTom Ellis,Sasheer Zamata,Suzy Nakamura,Mark Proksch,Ally Maki, and Kenny Yates.
Produced by Chomp City,Bandera Entertainment,Jam Filled Entertainment, andChernin Entertainment, the series premiered onNetflix on July 12, 2024, to a generally unfavorable reception from critics and went on to receive mixed reviews. In November 2025, Netflix reportedly canceled the series after one season.[citation needed]
In this animated comedy series, God and the Devil are sent to Earth in the form of talking cats. God, voiced byTom Ellis, must reconnect with humanity while navigating life as a house cat. Living with a dysfunctional family, he attempts to solve their problems and faces humorous challenges, all while engaging in slapstick antics. The show is based on thepopular card game of the same name.
Carlos Alazraqui,Jill Talley, Matthew Inman,Gary Anthony Williams,Eric Bauza,Nika Futterman,Cree Summer, andLucky Yates provide addiitional voices.
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| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Eddie Rosas | Matthew Inman & Shane Kosakowski | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
After a series of incidents leave his apartment and a section of Heaven in ruin, God is sent to Earth to answer a family's prayer in an effort to repair his image. However, he is sent in the body of a cat so he can grow closer to the humans, the Higgins family, which also limits his magical powers. After a series of failed attempts to get the family to bond, God, now going by Godcat, shrinks the family so they can play a board game created by Marv, the nerdy patriarch of the Higgins family. The plan works and the Higgins grow closer, but Godcat is informed that he must stay on Earth longer to further repair his reputation. After being notified of this, Godcat spots a black cat in the family's yard that creates a pentagram made of fire. | |||||
| 2 | "Tartar Recall" | Scott Bern | Matthew Inman & Shane Kosakowski | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
Feeling she is not evil enough, Hell's board of directors send Beelzebub to Earth in a cat's body, stealing the idea from Heaven, to create "hell on earth". During a fight with Godcat, Devilcat accidentally sends Aidan, a friend of Marv's son Travis, to Heck, a version of Hell for teenagers. Travis and his mother, Abbie, infiltrate Heck in order to save Aidan. Meanwhile, Marv is approached at work to create a presentation for the world's largest tarter sauce company and enlists the help of his daughter Greta in order to bond with her. Marv's plan backfires when Greta convinces the other workers to go on strike. | |||||
| 3 | "Shane & Chugger's" | Eddie Rosas | Caitie Delaney | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
Due to his birthday falling on Christmas, Travis tries to convince his parents to throw him a half-birthday party. Godcat takes Travis out while Marv and Abbie prep for the party and brings along his two Cherub assistants, Aslandeus and Craig, in order to show them the wonders of Earth and they eventually end up at the entertainment restaurant Shane & Chugger's. Karen, the Higgins' neighbor and Devilcat's owner, notices the party and tries to shut it down. | |||||
| 4 | "Emotions Are Hard" | Traci Honda | Noah Prestwich | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
Greta enters into a rocket-building contest at school sponsored by a billionaire but has trouble finding people at school to help her. Travis runs away from home after discovering that Abbie has been posing as his therapist in a video game, thinking she is using it to eavesdrop on him and control his life. Abbie then seeks help from Karen in order to become a better mom. Godcat and Devilcat enter into a wager over good vs. evil with Marv's soul at stake. | |||||
| 5 | "No Regrets" | Scott Bern | Sierra Katow | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
| 6 | "The Town with No Internet" | Traci Honda | Shawn Kenji Pearlman | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
| 7 | "SeaWorld Is Hell" | Eddie Rosas | Maggie Gottlieb | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
| 8 | "Let the Games Begin" | Traci Honda | Shane Kosakowski | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
| 9 | "The Westminster Human Show" | Eddie Rosas | Matthew Inman & Shane Kosakowski | July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12) | |
In April 2022, it was announced that an animatedstreaming television series was first officially ordered byNetflix, withKing of the Hill creatorsMike Judge andGreg Daniels as executive producers, alongsidePeter Chernin.[1] Additional game mechanics and cards tied to the show will be added to the mobile game at a later date.[1]
Alongside the series' announcement,Tom Ellis,Sasheer Zamata,Abraham Lim,Lucy Liu,Ally Maki,Betsy Sodaro,Tom Kenny, David Gborie andMark Proksch, were cast as the ensemble cast. In May 2024,Suzy Nakamura and Kenny Yates joined the cast;[2] but within the two year span of the show's development, Liu and Lim dropped out from the project.[3]
Exploding Kittens had its first look preview at theAnnecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2023.[4] Originally planned for a release in late 2023,[1] the series was delayed for a 2024 premiere.[5] The series was released on July 12, 2024.[6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 54/100[7] |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 72%[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The A.V. Club | C−[9] |
| The Guardian |   [10] |
| IGN | 4/10[11] |
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 72% approval rating with an average rating of 5.0/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A battle between heaven and hell translated into daffy slapstick,Exploding Kittens won't blow viewers' minds but serves up some fun animated mayhem."[8] OnMetacritic, the series has a score of 54 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews" based on 9 critic reviews.[7]
Lucy Mangan, reviewing forThe Guardian, gave the series one star, saying it was "carelessly made, infuriating and unfunny" and criticising the poor storyline.[10]The A.V. Club's Isobel Lewis gives the series a C−, saying that the jokes are "the kind that lead to a small smile but rarely makes anyone laugh out loud" though there are "nuggets of comedy gold"; she criticises the writing as "tame" and "lack[ing] the bravery of other animated series".[9] Chase Hutchinson, writing forIGN rated the series 4/10, saying that throughout the show "premises are stretched well beyond their breaking point, jokes land with tiresome thuds, and every cliffhanger feels like a forced attempt to get Netflix subscribers to keep the app open."[11]
In theLos Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd notes that while the series is a "lesson ... that anything can amount to exploitable intellectual property", it is also "corny as... hell, but it's genuine corn".[12] Angie Han inThe Hollywood Reporter said the show's plot was "admirably zany" but that the comedy "[tended] to be obvious"; she concludes that "if you're looking for light humor, you could do worse".[13]
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