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| Final Space | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Action Adult animation Adventure Comedy drama Science fantasy Space opera |
| Created by | Olan Rogers |
| Developed by | Olan Rogers David Sacks |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Shelby Merry |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 36(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Tobias Conan Trost(s. 3) |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26) – June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) |
Final Space is anadult animatedspace operacomedy drama television series created byOlan Rogers and developed by Rogers andDavid Sacks forTBS. The series involves anastronaut named Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Mooncake, and focuses on their intergalactic adventures as they try to save the universe from certain doom.
The series aired on TBS on February 26, 2018.[1] It then moved toCartoon Network's late-nightprogramming block,Adult Swim, starting with the second season on June 24, 2019, followed by the third and final season on March 20, 2021.[2]
On September 10, 2021, Rogers announced that Adult Swim cancelled the series after three seasons[3][4] due to the proposed merger ofWarnerMedia andDiscovery Inc. announced that year.[5] In September 2022, Rogers stated on Twitter that the series would bewritten off for taxes. The series was internationally removed fromNetflix on December 16, 2023, though the series remained available in Spain, France, Germany and Belgium until March 18, 2024.[6][7]
An upcominggraphic novel titledFinal Space: The Final Chapter is set to be released in 2025, as a continuation and end of the television series.[8][9]
Gary Goodspeed is an energetic yet dim-witted astronaut who, in the midst of working off the last few days of his five-year sentence aboard the prison spacecraftGalaxy One, encounters a mysterious planet-destroying alien. He befriends the alien, naming him Mooncake, and then discovers that they are being pursued by the sinister, telekinetic Lord Commander. Together, Gary and Mooncake embark on a quest to save the universe, with help from the artificial intelligence HUE and a growing crew of shipmates, each with their own personal troubles – all while trying to uncover the secrets surrounding Final Space, a bizarre realm where the universe ends.
| Character | Voiced by | Seasons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Main characters | ||||
| Gary Goodspeed | Olan Rogers | Main | ||
| Mooncake | Main | |||
| Jack the Lord Commander | David Tennant | Main | Recurring | Main |
| Avocato | Coty Galloway | Main | Recurring | Main |
| Little Cato | Steven Yeun | Main | ||
| HUE | Tom Kenny | Main | ||
| Quinn Ergon | Tika Sumpter | Main | Recurring | Main |
| Nightfall | Recurring | Main | Guest | |
| KVN | Fred Armisen | Main | ||
| Ash Graven | Ashly Burch | Does not appear | Main | |
| Sheryl Goodspeed | Claudia Black | Does not appear | Main | |
| Fox | Ron Funches | Does not appear | Main | |
| Clarence Polkawitz | Conan O'Brien | Recurring | Main | Guest |
| AVA | Jane Lynch | Does not appear | Main | Guest |
| Bolo | Keith David | Guest | Recurring | Main |
| Invictus | Vanessa Marshall | Does not appear | Recurring | Main |
| Recurring characters | ||||
| Tribore Menendez | Olan Rogers | Recurring | ||
| John Goodspeed | Ron Perlman | Recurring | Guest | Does not appear |
| SAMES | Tom Kenny | Recurring | Does not appear | |
| Hushfluffles / Todd H. Watson | Alan Tudyk | Does not appear | Recurring | Guest |
| Quatronostro | Oscar Montoya | Does not appear | Recurring | |
| Kevin Van Newton | Tom Kenny | Does not appear | Recurring | |
| Biskit | Olan Rogers | Does not appear | Recurring | |
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| Pilot | April 5, 2016 (2016-04-05) | YouTube | |||
| 1 | 10 | February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26) | May 7, 2018 (2018-05-07) | TBS | |
| 2 | 13 | June 24, 2019 (2019-06-24) | September 23, 2019 (2019-09-23) | Adult Swim | |
| 3 | 13 | March 20, 2021 (2021-03-20) | June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) | ||
The idea for the show originated in mid-2010.Olan Rogers uploaded the first episode of a planned ten-part animated web-series titledGary Space to his personalFacebook channel.[16] The project went on hiatus three episodes in, and Rogers eventually explained on Facebook that both he and the series' artist, Dan Brown, were tending to separate projects at the time, but were in talks of continuing.[17] On April 30, 2013, Rogers confirmed that he was rebooting and producing a season ofGary Space episodes to release at once.[18] Over two years later, Rogers revealed that a new short for the reboot forGary Space was planned to be pitched toCartoon Network, in addition to premiering the episode atBuffer Festival if nothing came from the pitch.[19]
In early 2016, Rogers announced that his project had been retitledFinal Space – to avoid similarities withSteven Universe[20] – and revealed screenshots of the short via a vlog on his YouTube channel.[21] The pilot forFinal Space was posted on Rogers' YouTube channel[22] with voices by himself and a friend of his, Coty Galloway; Galloway had collaborated with Rogers in aStar Wars fan film calledThe Scarlet Lance.[23] The video caught the attention ofConan O'Brien, who invited him to Los Angeles to pitchFinal Space toTBS as a full series and also joined production as an executive producer alongside Rogers and3rd Rock from the Sun writer and producerDavid Sacks. Other members of O'Brien's company,Conaco (David Kissinger, Larry Sullivan and Jeff Ross), and members of New Form who executive produced the pilot short (Kathleen Grace, Melissa Schneider and Matt Hoklotubbe) joined as executive producers as well. To balance out Rogers' inexperience in the industry, Conaco brought in Sacks to also serve as the showrunner for the series.[24][25] After two weeks of working with Sacks and Jake Sidwell (co-composer of the series alongside Shelby Merry)[26] on the pitch, Rogers and Sacks pitched the show to TBS; as well asComedy Central,Fox,FX, YouTube, andFullscreen; all six companies wanted the series and resulted in a bidding war between the studios over the series, with TBS acquiring the series. On December 2, 2016, it was announced that the channel had given a series order.[27][28]
Rogers announced in December 2016 that he voices the main characters, Gary and Mooncake.[citation needed] In July 2017, an additional cast list ofFred Armisen, Conan O'Brien,Keith David, Coty Galloway (reprising from the pilot),Tom Kenny,Caleb McLaughlin,John DiMaggio,Ron Perlman,Shannon Purser,Andy Richter,David Tennant, andSteven Yeun was revealed.[29]
Animation for the series is handled byShadowMachine inLos Angeles and outsourced toCanadian studioJam Filled using theToon Boom Harmony software. The show usesNASA space imagery for the space backgrounds.[30]
When asked onTwitter about the series' longevity, Olan Rogers had stated that he had at least six seasons' worth of material thought up for the show, including an ending forFinal Space in case the series gets cancelled in the future.[31]
On September 10, 2021, Rogers posted a video to his YouTube account stating that season 3 would be the show's last season.[32]
On April 10, 2022, Rogers revealed on his Twitter that there is a chance that the show could be brought back in the future for an hour-long special to wrap up the story.[33] On May 11, Rogers stated that he was still trying to put an end to the series.[34] On June 15, after being unable to reach a deal to conclude the series in any medium, Rogers launched aKickstarter for a short film titledGodspeed, spawned from unused ideas related to the series. At the end of the campaign, the crowdfund raised $464,438 in total.[35]
On April 24, 2023, Rogers announced that Warner Bros. Discovery gave him a license to write and self-publish a graphic novel to end the series under various limitations.[9][36] The novel, titledFinal Space: The Final Chapter, is set to be released in November 2025.[37]
When responding to a question on Twitter, Olan Rogers revealed thatFinal Space would be showcased by TBS atSan Diego Comic-Con andVidCon in 2017.[38] Unlike other creators, Rogers runs thesocial media accounts for the show, including the official Twitter account, calling it a "good opportunity" to connect with fans.[39]
Final Space premiered onReddit on February 15, 2018, followed by anAMA with Rogers.[40] This would mark a first for a TV network to premiere a series on the site.[40] Later that day, the first two episodes became available on TBS's website and app.TBS's sister networkTNT aired a sneak peek premiere of the show on February 17, 2018, right after the2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.[41] After its official premiere on TBS on February 26, 2018, the pilot aired two hours later on sibling networkCartoon Network via its nighttime programming blockAdult Swim; the rest of the season also aired on the network in a similar fashion. On February 20, 2018, the first two episodes were released oniTunes.[42]Netflix handles the international distribution to the show and debuted the series on July 20.
On April 7, 2019, Rogers revealed that the show would move first-run airings to Adult Swim and be simulcast on TBS; a reversal of the airing pattern from the first season.[43] The news would be confirmed in June of that year,[44] with the second season premiering on June 24. TBS would air an encore the following week.[45] Unconventional for Adult Swim programming,The Cartoon Network, Inc. andWilliams Street are not involved in its production.
The show was renewed for a third season a week after the second finished airing.[46]
The first 2 seasons became available to stream onHBO Max on March 1, 2021, ahead of season 3's premiere.[47] Season 3 was released on HBO Max on November 13, 2021.[citation needed] On July 1, 2022, the series was removed from HBO Max, as well as all content related to the series from Adult Swim's official website and YouTube channel on June 21.[48] Some episodes remain available for purchase onAmazon Prime Video[49] andYouTube[50] in the United States and the series was available on Netflix in international regions until its removal on December 16, 2023, though the series remained available in Spain, France, Germany and Belgium until March 18, 2024.[51]
ABlu-ray and a soundtrack were released on August 11, 2020. The Blu-ray, containing seasons 1 and 2, was released byWarner Archive Collection, while the soundtrack was released byWaterTower Music.
The first season ofFinal Space received positive reviews,[52] with critics praising the show's cast (especiallyDavid Tennant's voice performance as the Lord Commander).[53][54] On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Final Space doesn't always hit its mark, but for those looking for a bite-sized intergalactic comedy it may prove an amusing diversion."[55] OnMetacritic season 1 has a score of 60 of 100 based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[52]
Impressions about the first episodes were also mixed, with criticism focused on Gary's humor.Collider's Dave Trumbore gave the series four out of five stars, praising the cast, the series' uniqueness and its originality.[56]The Hollywood Reporter said "the new animated series from TBS misses the mark, and will likely float off into space".[57]The A.V. Club gave the series a C+ grade.[58] Reviewing the first two episodes,Den of Geek gave them a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars.[54]IndieWire gave a B+ grade.[53]The Daily Beast received the series favorably, comparing its potential withAdventure Time andBoJack Horseman.[59] Robert Lloyd of theLos Angeles Times praised the show for the space backgrounds and Gary's relationship with Mooncake, but criticized for being "not as clever asFuturama orThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy orGalaxy Quest, series with which it shares certain features" and for the comedy which "leans toward things adolescent boys find funny".[60]Screen Rant wrote favorably of the series, praising TBS' decision to release the first two episodes 11 days before the series premiere, and describing it as a "very silly comedy", comparing protagonist Gary toHomer Simpson andPhilip J. Fry.[61]
In March 2023,IndieWire namedFinal Space one of the best animated series of all time, praising that the show has "that balance between the personal and the universal that make all large-scale space stories worth the journey".[62]
