Black Dynamite (TV series)


Black Dynamite is an American adult animated television series based on the 2009 film of the same name, although the series follows a separate continuity, with some back-references to the film. The series was announced shortly after the release of the film, the 10-minute pilot episode was released on Adult Swim Video on August 8, 2011, and the full series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim, on July 15, 2012. It ended on January 10, 2015 with a total of 20 episodes. Most episodes of the show were rated TV-MA for bloody, stylized violence, strong sexual references, profanity and humor derived from racism and discrimination.
Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Tommy Davidson and Kym Whitley reprise their film roles as Black Dynamite, Bullhorn, Cream Corn and Honeybee, respectively. Throughout the first and second seasons, Cedric Yarbrough also reprised his film role as Chocolate Giddy-Up, along with Jimmy Walker Jr. as the restaurant owner Roscoe and Arsenio Hall as Tasty Freeze. It was produced by Ars Nova, Jon Steingart, Carl Jones and Jillian Apfelbaum are executive producers, with Brian Ash as co-executive producer. Scott Sanders, White and Minns are producers. Monica Jones is associate producer. LeSean Thomas is creative producer/supervising director. The original music is by Adrian Younge for season 1 and Fatin "10" Horton for season 2.

Premise

The show, set in the 1970s, is predominantly a parody of and tribute to blaxploitation cinema. The show continues the story of Black Dynamite, Bullhorn, Cream Corn, and Honey Bee as they engage in dangerous and over-the-top misadventures sometimes involving famous celebrities such as Michael Jackson, O. J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Richard Pryor, Don Cornelius, Dick Clark, Spike Lee, Mr. T, Orphan Arnold, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Bob Marley, Bo Derek, Rick James, Elvis Presley and Fred Rogers as well as Black Dynamite's recurring nemesis President Richard Nixon, who was also the main villain from the film. The show makes references to the original Black Dynamite film, such as Fiendish Dr. Wu as the leader of a group of ninjas; the show is set before the events of the movie, as some characters from the film who were killed off are alive in the series. This is reinforced in one episode, where Cream Corn predicts his own future manner of death while in a helicopter.

Cast

Main cast

Pilot (2011)

The pilot episode features only an eleven-minute run time and was released on Adult Swim Video on August 8, 2011, and made its television debut over a year later on September 2, 2012.

Season 1 (2012)

Season 2 (2014–15)