Disenchantment (TV series)


Disenchantment is an American fantasy animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for Netflix. The series is Groening's only production to appear exclusively on Netflix; he previously created The Simpsons and Futurama for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Set in the medieval fantasy kingdom of Dreamland, the series follows the story of Bean, a rebellious and alcoholic princess, her naive elf companion Elfo, and her destructive "personal demon" Luci. Disenchantment stars the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, Nat Faxon, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Matt Berry, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Lucy Montgomery, and Billy West.
Twenty episodes of the series were initially ordered by Netflix, with the first 10 episodes being released on August 17, 2018, and the remaining episodes were released on September 20, 2019. In October 2018, Disenchantment was renewed for a 20-episode second season, to be released between 2020 and 2021.

Cast

Main

Part 1 (2018)

Part 2 (2019)

Production

Development

The series, created by The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening, "will bear his trademark animation style.” The series is animated by Rough Draft Studios, the same studio that worked on Futurama. In July 2017, it was announced that rapper Briggs is part of the writing team for the series. John DiMaggio has described the series as "the offspring of The Simpsons and Game of Thrones." Groening has said the show has a "definite feminist point of view."

Marketing

On May 22, 2018, Groening released three teaser images on Reddit. The next day, the premiere date was revealed along with several more images. Before Part 2 was released, Groening created a new comic book company, Bapper Books, which released a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive book, Disenchantment: Untold Tales.

Tie-ins

The episode "Dreamland Falls" ties into Groening's other show Futurama, implying that both shows do in fact take place in the same universe. When Luci uses the crystal ball to show moments from before, Philip J. Fry, Bender and Professor Farnsworth can briefly be seen in a time machine. The moment is a clear reference to the episode "The Late Philip J. Fry" in which the trio travel in a one-way time machine and witness the end and rebirth of the universe, implying that the three were passing through after time restarted.
In the episode "Tiabeanie Falls", when giving testimony at Tiabeanie's witch trial, Chazzzzz points out to the court recorder "That's Chazzzzz, with five z's", to which the court clerk replies "I think I have done enough court reporting to know how to spell Chazzzzz". This is a direct reference to the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before in which the Planet Express crew is being held against their will and forced to attend a Star Trek convention with the cast from the original show. During an autograph session, the energy being holding them, known as Melllvar, says "That's Melllvar, with three l's", to which Sulu responds by saying "I think I've done enough fan conventions to know how to spell Melllvar!"

Release

Initially, 20 episodes of the series have been ordered by Netflix, with the first 10 episodes being released on August 17, 2018, and the remaining episodes released on September 20, 2019. On October 22, 2018, Disenchantment was renewed for a 20-episode second season, to be released between 2020 and 2021.

Reception

Critical reception

The series' first part of season one has received mixed reviews from critics, based on the first seven episodes sent to critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first part of season 1 has a score of 63% based on 88 reviews with an average rating of 6.13/10. The critical consensus reads: "Disenchantment showcases enough of Matt Groening's trademark humor to satisfy fans—although the show's overall familiarity and disappointing willingness to play it safe may not bode well for future seasons." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 56 out of 100 based on 28 reviews indicating "mixed or average reviews". Forbes called the series "charming, unique, and excellent." Ars Technica stated the series starts rocky, but then it gets "bloody good". Entertainment Weekly gave the series a "C" grade, likening it to an extended "Treehouse of Horror" story. Den of Geek gave a more mixed reception of the series, praising the concept, but criticizing some of the jokes. Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com wrote the series does not live up to the standards of other Netflix Original animations, but praised its concept and cast, and suggested the series might improve in the future. Reviewing seven of the first season's 10 episodes, Danette Chavez of The A.V. Club gave the series a B-, saying that the strength of the cast made up for weak writing.
Upon its initial review, TV Guide had a lukewarm reception. But upon viewing of the last three episodes, the opinion changed, and praised the serialization of the series that paid off in the end.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second part of season 1 has a score of 73% based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 6.6/10. The critical consensus reads: "As Disenchantment's pieces slowly fall into place it grows deeper in character and world building to become a more fully realized show -- if only those pieces would fall just a little bit faster."