The show was created by Pete Williams, who dropped out ofNew York University at the age of 19 during his sophomore year to work on the show in 1997 after winning anMTV animation contest.[2] Williams performs most of the voices on the show.[3] The series was produced by David McGrath.
After an unsuccessful revival attempt in 2004, Williams in 2018 announced a Kickstarter campaign for funding a feature-lengthseries finale calledUndergrads: The Movie. As of August 2023 the film is currently in development from Brain Power Studio, and is likely set for a 2025 release.[2]
The show depicts a typicalfreshman college experience. Characters in the show represent stereotypical college types; including the stableeveryman (Nitz), the boisterous alcoholic"frat boy" (Rocko), the dimwitted "ladies' man" (Cal), the reclusivenerd (Gimpy), the rebelliouspunk girl (Jessie), the "ditz" (Kimmy) and theresident advisor (the Duggler). Typical situations depicted in the show includestudent loans, abysmalcafeteria food, questioning of identity, fraternity rivalries, odd traditions, unpleasantRAs, money problems, peer pressure, and the "freshman 15". Few episodes depict the characters attending class; the one exception is Rocko'sROTC class in the episode,Financial Aid.
The specific location in the show has never been named and is likely up to the interpretation of the audience. It appears to be a typicalNorth Americancollege town. However, it has been hinted in several episodes that the show takes place inNew England, and Pete Williams, the show's creator, attended a university in this region. Episode 2,Traditions, features the "Xposed Xpo," a naked run, and a classic tradition of theUniversity of Vermont. In episode 12,Risk, there is a freeBen & Jerry's day, as well as a Spring Fling, another UVM tradition. In the episodeDrunks, both Jessie and Nitz hold fake New York statedriver's licenses. The episodeIdentity Crisis takes place at the start of the second semester and reveals bare trees and snow, conditions more likely to be found in northern states in January. However, in the series premiere Gimpy disguises his loyal minion Mump as aCalifornia Highway Patrol Officer to follow Rocko and infiltrate Rocko's fraternity house.
Parker "Nitz" Walsh (voiced by Pete Williams) is the protagonist. He is shy and attends State U, a genericuniversity. He often finds himself torn between hanging out with his old high school friends, the new friends he's made at college, andpining after his high school crush, Kimmy Burton. Nitz is based on series creator, Pete Williams.[4]
Rocko (voiced by Pete Williams) is a boorish, alcoholic, chain-smoking fratboy. He attends the localcommunity collegeCentral State Junior Community College and is a proud member of the Alpha Alphafraternity, although he is not respected by his fellow frat brothers. His only interests are alcohol and women, although most women do not reciprocate his clumsy advances. He is bitterly jealous of Cal's popularity with women and is often shown openly expressing his disdain for the latter whenever interacting with him.
Calvin "Cal" Evans (voiced by Pete Williams) is Nitz's roommate. Although dim-witted, his good looks make him very popular with women. He speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently drools, and often ends his sentences with the word "guy".
Justin "Gimpy" Taylor (voiced by Pete Williams) is a reclusive nerd. He attends thetech institute Tekerson Tech and almost never leaves his room, primarily communicating with his friends viavideo conference. Gimpy uses the online alias "G Prime" and commands a group of fellow geeks to act as his minions. He is fiercely devotedStar Wars fan.
Jessie (voiced by Jene Yeo) a friend and neighbor of Nitz, also goes to State U. Jessie has a very laid back,punk-girl-type personality on campus. She often accompanies Nitz on his misadventures and often provides a level-headed and mature point of view. Although Nitz openly pines for Kimmy Burton throughout the show's run, Jessie develops a crush on Nitz to which he is oblivious. Jessie's frustration with Nitz eventually results in outright spite for Kimmy. The character is voiced by Jene Yeo, upon whom the character is based.[4]
Kimmy Burton (voiced by Susan Quinn) is a clueless redheaded girl Nitz has had a crush on since high school. Kimmy attends State U and tries to be involved with all of the on-campus activities. Spacey and self-centered, she is completely oblivious to Nitz's affections. Kimmy is romantically interested in Mark, another drama student at the college, but does not realize he is gay despite Mark making little to no effort to hide his sexuality.
Mump (voiced byRobert Tinkler) attends Tekerson Tech and is Gimpy's lead minion and sidekick. He is a short and overweight nerd with glasses. Mump is fiercely protective of his friendship with Gimpy and often agrees with him regardless of whether he should or not. Mump is a member of ROTC.
Doug (The Duggler) (voiced by Pete Williams) is the resident assistant at the State U dorms where Nitz and Cal reside. He is depicted as a social relic from the1960s counterculture, sporting an overall stereotypicalhippie-like motif. He always wears a bathrobe, which he tells Cal is an unofficial uniform for State U RAs. He is something of a social inept, with a forced way of speaking, refers to himself in the third person, and often denies himself opportunities to partake in unofficial student events and fun. Other students appear indifferent to him.
Craig (voiced by James Kee) is the leader of Rocko's fraternity. He along most of the other fraternity brothers dislikes Rocko for being so obnoxious but often takes pity on him.
Charity (voiced byKatie Griffin) is Jessie's air-head roommate. She is obsessed with her ex-boyfriend Jonah, who left her prior to the series' beginning. She briefly dates Rocko when he tries to use her to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.
SHE PRIME (voiced bySunday Muse) is a femalehacker at Tekerson Tech. According to the episode guide on the series' official website, her name is Tabitha. After hacking Gimpy, the two of them begin a brief online relationship that ends badly due to Gimpy's self-sabotage. Although they never meet in person, SHE-Prime and Gimpy's dorm rooms are immediately next to one another. If the show were to have continued, she would have had a love/hate relationship with Gimpy.[citation needed]
Spud (voiced byPeter Oldring) is a diehardTrekkie and Gimpy's archnemesis. He was the original leader of Tekerson Tech's students, but was overthrown once Gimpy moved into the Tekerson residence.
Mark, (voiced by Richie Favalaro) the drama guy. He attends State U and is found often by Kimmy's side. Both Kimmy and Nitz are oblivious to the fact Mark is gay (which he makes little attempt to hide).
Lance, Mark's boyfriend who also attends State U. He is more often than not mentioned by Mark than seen on screen, though he is seen briefly carrying a couch inRoommates and singing showtunes at the end of Screw Week.
Rob Brodie (voiced byJosh A. Cagan) is one of Jessie's friends. He is a film student who is frequently caught over-hyping whatever he's involved with. He often introduces himself when entering a room, even to people he knows.
Kruger (voiced byYannick Bisson) is another of Jessie's friends. Kruger is a foul-mouthed smoker and a pessimist who often disagrees with everyone. Prone to exclaiming "Fuck ___!", the space filled with whatever subject those around him were talking about.
Dan (voiced by Pete Williams) is a friend of Jessie's who has no speaking lines in the entire series - all he does is laugh.
Gimpy's Minions are a troupe of nerds and geeks led by Gimpy at Tekerson Tech, much like a private army. Mump is a nominal second-in-command to Gimpy. Aside from Gimpy and Mump themselves, none of this group are identified by their real names.
Rita (voiced by Jenny Kim) is the tyrannical Resident Assistant of Gimpy's dorm at Tekerson Tech. She wears glasses, has her hair in a bun and wears an 'RA' armband. Her slippers are shaped like sharks. She dislikes Gimpy and frequently tries to foil his plans. She has a brief fling with Cal when Gimpy uses him to distract her.
Stoner Dave (voiced by Yannick Bisson) is a stereotypical "stoner", recognizable by his black shirt, slouch and abnormally large nose.
Studious Dave (voiced by Garnet Harding) is a bespectacled ambitious African-American student at State U who is obsessed with finding things that will look good on his application toWharton.
After arriving at college Nitz realises after a week he hasn't done anything so tries to cram a weeks college experiences into a day in order to have something to talk to Kimmy about.
2
"Traditions"
Jerry Popowich
Scott Sonneborn
April 29, 2001 (2001-04-29)
July 1, 2001
102
Tradition Week at the colleges. State U'seXposed eXpo means that during the firstsnow fall of the winter all of the freshman have tostreak through the college quad.
Nitz's friends forget about his birthday so he decides to start hanging out with Jessie and her friends. At the same time at Tekerson Tech, Gimpy has lost command of his band of minions and must fight Number One for control.
5
"Drunks"
Jerry Popowich
Josh A. Cagan
June 8, 2001 (2001-06-08)
September 16, 2001
109
Nitz who isunderage tries to get into a bar so he can talk to Kimmy. Rocko vows never to drink again afterhallucinating a giant anthropomorphicwhiskey bottle.
6
"Roommates"
Jerry Popowich
Julie Rottenberg, Elisa Zuritsky, Josh A. Cagan & Andy Rheingold
June 15, 2001 (2001-06-15)
September 23, 2001
110
After Cal begins to make Nitz go crazy he starts sleeping in Jessie's room, whose roommate has gone for the week. Nitz suddenly realises that he's attracted to Jessie but then tries too hard to get her. Gimpy falls in love with a girlhacker.
7
"Jerks"
Jerry Popowich
Josh A. Cagan
June 22, 2001 (2001-06-22)
September 30, 2001
107
Gimpy, unable to further tolerate Rita's tyranny, enlists Cal to woo her into submission. But the plan works a littletoo well. Kimmy tells Nitz that she is moving to England so he offers her his travel clock even though he doesn't have one. Rocko drags Nitz around town all night and then destroys the travel clock that Gimpy found for Nitz.
8
"Rivalries"
Jerry Popowich
Brad Sonneborn & Scott Sonneborn
June 29, 2001 (2001-06-29)
October 7, 2001
112
Nitz and Gimpy enter a trivia competition but end up competing against each other in an inter-college competition.
9
"Financial Aid"
Jerry Popowich
Nahnatchka Khan
July 6, 2001 (2001-07-06)
October 14, 2001
113
Nitz does not receive his financial aid check and so joins the local student action group. Rocko joins the local collegeROTC.
10
"Identity Crisis"
Jerry Popowich
Josh A. Cagan, Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams
July 22, 2001 (2001-07-22)
October 21, 2001
105
After returning from winter break, nobody seems to remember Nitz so he locks himself in his room to create an identity. Rocko converts Cal into a version of Rocko.
11
"Work Study"
Jerry Popowich
Scott Sonneborn
July 29, 2001 (2001-07-29)
October 28, 2001
111
Nitz receives a credit card from his parents but goes over his limit so must get a job. He ends up working at the library while Rocko, Cal and Gimpy manage to get large amounts of money without trying.
12
"Risk"
Jerry Popowich
Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams
August 5, 2001 (2001-08-05)
November 4, 2001
106
Gimpy finds hisRisk board and invites the rest of the clique around for a game. But Nitz has promised Kimmy that he would help at the Spring Fling carnival. Gimpy schemes so that Nitz cannot leave and Nitz's absence causes a fire.
13
"Screw Week"
Jerry Popowich
Josh A. Cagan, Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams
August 12, 2001 (2001-08-12)
November 11, 2001
108
During the final week of college, Nitz tries desperately to attract Kimmy. Jessie becomes more annoyed with Nitz for ignoring her obvious attraction to him.
In June 2018, Pete Williams acquired the rights fromMTV to produce a film based onUndergrads, to serve as feature-lengthseries finale.[7] The film,Undergrads: The Movie, is in development from Brain Power Studio, with a budget of $150,000 (acquired following a successfulKickstarter campaign)[8][9]
Thetheme song, "The Click", is written and performed by the bandGood Charlotte, who appear in the episodeRisk. Much of the music featured inUndergrads include songs from various indie rock bands and Canadian artists, such as Vibrolux,Alkaline Trio,Knacker,Sam Roberts,Reggie and the Full Effect,Sloan,The Planet Smashers, The Brodys, and The Rosenbergs, among others. The score of the show was composed and produced by Jono Grant. A list of bands and songs used in each episode can be found at the show's official website.
This style of music was also heavily featured in another Decode Entertainment series,Radio Free Roscoe, which had the same music directors asUndergrads.
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