Annecy 2023: Max Reveals Preview of Its Original Adult Animation Slate
by Tito W. James
At Annecy 2023 Executive Vice President Suzanna Makkos showcased the Max Original Adult Animation Slate. Makkos outlined the strategy behind the Max Originals adult animation slate, highlighting what sets the platform apart in the adult animation space.
Makkos said:
“The series that we create at Max are art and voice driven, with character and comedy coming before anything else. We’re always looking for hard comedy with heart and edge, diverse and inclusive shows with underlying thematic resonance, and character design that showcases the hand of the artist. I am so excited to share these incredible series with the world, and continue to show why Max is a great home for adult animation.”
HBO has a track record for prestige adult dramas, with cinematic quality, and subversive subject matter. If Max’s Original Adult Animation wants to stand out from every other The Simpsons and Family Guy clone, I suggest that they lean into HBO’s brand identity and the rising class of viewers who expect more story from their animation. Many animation fans and professionals are still sore about the “content purge” that deep-sixed beloved shows like Infinity Train and Final Space. If Max wants to be a home for Adult Animation they’re going to have to do better than HBO’s universally panned Velma series.
That said, there are several upcoming animated shows that look promising.
Scavengers Reign
Scavengers Reign is a new adult animated sci-fi drama based on the short film, Scavengers. Created by Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, and produced by Titmouse, the series follows the surviving crew members of a damaged deep-space freighter who are stranded on a beautiful-yet-unforgiving planet.
Clone High
A modern refresh of the hit series of the same name, Clone High follows a high school for clones of the greatest minds in history. Twenty years after the original experiment was put on ice, Joan, JFK, Abe, and Cleo have been thawed out to resume school with their new clone classmates – all while navigating a new set of cultural norms and overly dramatic teen relationships.
Young Love
Young Love expands on the animated short, Hair Love, which centered around the relationship between an African American father, his daughter Zuri, and the most daunting task a father could ever come across – doing his daughter’s hair for the first time. Filled with comedy and heart, the all-new Max Original Animated Series, Young Love is an honest look into the world of the Young family – including millennial parents Stephen and Angela, their daughter Zuri and her pet cat Rocky – as they juggle their careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues and multi-generational dynamics, all while striving to make a better life for themselves.
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
This all-new half-hour young adult animated series stars the fearless sword-wielding adventurer, Fionna, and her magical best friend and talking cat, Cake. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, the ten-episode series will explore their relationship and the mysterious land of Ooo. Fionna and Cake – with the help of the former Ice King, Simon Petrikov – embark on a multiverse-hopping adventure and journey of self-discovery. All the while a powerful new antagonist determined to track them down and erase them from existence, lurks in the shadows.
Animated Shows In Production
Keeping Up with the Joneses
The Newberry’s struggle to hold onto their past glory while living in the shadow of Jerry Jones and their other rich neighbors in the wealthy Dallas suburb of Highland Park.
Anything Factory
From Tom Kauffman (“Rick and Morty”) Anything Factory follows Henry Zingo as he returns home to reconnect with his ailing father and help his sister manage the family business: A Wonka-esque factory riddled with ethics violations.
Uptown Bodega
Tati Cruz has inherited her father’s old Bodega and vows to keep the business booming in a fast changing Nueva York with the help of her husband, three kids, and Rocky the bodega cat.
