| Captain Fall | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Developed by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Adam Parton |
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 (+ 1 unaired) |
| No. of episodes | 10 (+ 10 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Animator | Boulder Media |
| Running time | 27 minutes |
| Production companies | Writers & Models Netflix Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | July 28, 2023 (2023-7-28) |
Captain Fall is an Americanadult animated absurdist dark comedycrime drama television series created byJon Iver Helgaker andJonas Torgersen that premiered onNetflix on July 28, 2023. Produced byNetflix Animation, viewers follow Jonathan Fall, who is thecaptain of a cruise ship wheresmuggling andhuman trafficking are taking place without his knowledge. Helgaker, Torgersen, andJoel Trussell serve as executive producers, with Adam Parton as supervising director.
Jason Ritter stars as the voice of Jonathan, withChristopher Meloni,Lesley-Ann Brandt,Anthony Carrigan,Alejandro Edda,Adam DeVine, andTrond Fausa also starring. Development on the series officially began in July 2020, with Helgaker, Torgersen, and Trussell hired in their respective roles. The cast and release date were announced in June 2023. Animation was provided byBoulder Media.
In November 2023, the series was canceled after 10 episodes, with its remaining 10 episodes left unaired, without a distributor.[1]
A goofy, gullible sea captain is hired to helm a high-end cruise ship and becomes the perfect fall guy for an illicit smuggling andhuman trafficking operation.
— Netflix[2]
The series was planned to consist of 20 episodes split into two parts.[3]Jon Iver Helgaker andJonas Torgersen served as writers while supervising director Adam Parton directed several episodes.[6][9] The first ten episodes were released in July 2023; following the series' cancellation in November 2023, the remaining ten episodes have yet to be aired.[1]
In July 2020,Netflix announced development had begun onCaptain Fall, anadult animatedcomedy series created by Helgaker and Torgersen. Consisting of 20 episodes split into two parts, it would center on Jonathan Fall inadvertently in charge of asmuggling ship. Helgaker and Torgersen would serve as executive producers andshowrunners, whileJoel Trussell—an animation veteran and producer at Netflix—would also executive produce. Creators ofNorsemen, Helgaker and Torgersen initially pitchedCaptain Fall as a live-action piece before the service saw its potential as animated, thus making it the duo's first work in the genre. While they found the transition daunting, the two eventually deemed animation "amazingly limitless and creative on a whole new level", expressing gratitude for Netflix and the team surrounding them. Though the switch was a prior decision,Variety was confident it would benefit from theCOVID-19 pandemic, noting many shutdowns forlive-action productions and the rise of adult animation at the time of the announcement.[3]ComicBook.com, and eventuallyLooper, agreed, believing the story was better suited for it.[10][11] In a 2020 interview withVariety, Helgaker described the series asThe Love Boat,The Truman Show, andOzark carrying "a cartoon baby".[12]
Helgaker and Torgersen would operate as writers and, along with Trussell, receive credit for developing the series.[6] By the end of the month, Adam Parton was revealed to be the supervising director,[9] helming several episodes after working onBojack Horseman andTuca & Bertie. He describedCaptain Fall as having "an off-camber voice", praising Helgaker and Torgersen's style of work and believing their background helped made the show "stand out and keep you guessing as to where it is going to go".[13]
The series' first "part", comprising ten episodes, was released on Netflix on July 28, 2023,[3][6] before the series was cancelled in November 2023, the remaining ten episodes left unaired.[1]
According to the Creator Jon Iver Helgaker, the remaining ten episodes of the show were written, storyboarded and have their voice acting recorded. With only the animation left unfinished, he hopes that they could one day find another outlet for the remaining episodes.
In March 2023,Jason Ritter was announced to voice the lead character, Jonathan Fall.[4] In June 2023, he was joined byChristopher Meloni as Agent Steel;Lesley-Ann Brandt as Liza;Anthony Carrigan as Mr. Tyrant;Alejandro Edda as Pedro;Adam DeVine as Tanner; andTrond Fausa as Nico.[6]Christopher McDonald would voice Blake Fall,[7] andBebe Neuwirth cast as Alexix Fall.[8]
The series' animation was provided byBoulder Media inIreland,[8] with Helgaker citingThe Adventures of Tintin andThe Iron Giant as inspirations.[12] Parton described the production's content as "massive" due to the frequency of new characters and locations and toiling between having it "visually pop" and working under a confined budget and schedule. At the same time, the staff had "very ambitious ideas" that would be translated for the "cinematic quality" of the series, going beyond what is expected from most adult comedies.[13]
On June 21, 2023, Netflix unveiled the first trailer for the series, along with several images, the announcement of the cast, and the release date.[6] Despite voicing interest, many expressed doubts about a potential second season, contributing these concerns to multiple cancellations from the platform.[14] By July 26,The Messenger exclusively shared a clip showcasing the show'sdark humor and Jonathan's background.[5]
