Netflix has officially renewed Disenchantment. The first new Matt Groening series in nearly two decades premiered on the streaming service earlier this year to reasonably decent buzz from viewers and the critical community alike. While Netflix is always tight-lipped when it comes to any sort of ratings reports, they are clearly very happy with what they’ve seen so far as they’ve given the show a 20-episode pick up. Here’s what Groening had to say about it in a statement.
“We’re excited to continue this epic journey with Netflix. Stay tuned for more cranked-up suspense, infuriating plot twists, and beloved characters getting knocked off.”
Disenchantmentseason 1 consists of 10 episodes, but was billed as a part one. The second batch of 10 episodes is set to air in 2019, which had already been picked up byNetflixinitially. Technically speaking, those 20streamingepisodes will make one entire season, split into two parts. But because of the way people consume and think about TV, it more or less serves as two seasons. The pick up by Netflix will be the same kind of thing, with the first batch of those episodes expected to air in 2020, followed by the second batch in 2021. So the streaming service will be in the Matt Groening business for the next few years at least.
The series takes place in medieval times in thefantastical kingdom of Dreamland.Disenchantmentfollows Princess Bean (Abbi Jacobson), her companion Elfo (Nat Faxon) and her personal demon Luci (Eric Andre) as they navigate the landscape and try to live their lives to the fullest, despite whatever expectations have been placed upon them by the society they live in. The rest of the voice cast features manyMatt Groeningregulars, as well as other accomplished voiceover artists, including John DiMaggio, Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, David Herman, Matt Berry, Jeny Batten, Rich Fulcher, Noel Fielding, and Lucy Montgomery.
Matt Groening is and will forever best be known for creatingThe Simpsons. The mega-hit animated series recently kicked off its 30th season and, for most of those three decades, Groening has poured most of his focus and attention to Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the Springfield gang. However, he has taken time to work on other projects every now and again. Most notably wasFuturama, which initially debuted in 1999 and, in an on-again-off-again fashion, continued to air through 2013.Disenchantmentmarks his first new series since the creation ofFuturama.
As the Disney purchase of Fox looms, the future of shows likeThe Simpsonsis, to some degree, uncertain. Not to mention that the show can’t go on forever. In many ways,Disenchantmentis a look at the future for Matt Groening. Plus, unlike the other shows he’s behind, this series is heavily serialized, which is a different type of storytelling for him to explore.Disenchantmentwill return toNetflix streaming servicesometime in 2019, but an exact return date hasn’t been set.
