Mr. Pickles

Mr. Pickles is an American adult animated sitcom created by Will Carsola and Dave Stewart for Adult Swim. The series revolves around the Goodman family, especially their 6-year-old son named Tommy and the family's border collie, the demonic Mr. Pickles. The series aired from September 21, 2014 to November 17, 2019.[1][2][3]

For the unrelated character of the same name, see Kidding.
Mr. Pickles
Genre
Created byWill Carsola
Dave Stewart
Written byWill Carsola
Dave Stewart
Sean Conroy
Directed byWill Carsola
Voices of
Theme music composerMark Rivers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes31 (and 1 pilot) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducersMichael J. Rizzo
Eric Binns
Ollie Green
Sean Conroy
EditorWill Carsola
Running time11 minutes
Production companies
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkAdult Swim
Picture format1080p (16:9 HDTV)
Audio formatStereo
First shown inUnited States
Original releasePilot:
August 25, 2013 (2013-08-25)
Official:
September 21, 2014 (2014-09-21) –
November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)
Chronology
Followed byMomma Named Me Sheriff
External links
Website

The first episode of season 4 was a surprise series finale, replacing the show with a new spinoff series titled Momma Named Me Sheriff.[4]

Plot

In the small, old-fashioned community of Old Town, the Goodman family and their innocent and dimwitted 6-year-old son Tommy have a demonic border collie named Mr. Pickles. The two spend their days romping around Old Town, while unknown to Tommy, the family or anyone Mr. Pickles tolerates – except for Tommy's grandfather – Mr. Pickles' secretly slips away to kill and mutilate his countless victims. Mr. Pickles will often reassemble and resurrect his victims which then reside in his underground lair and do his bidding. Through his evil, murderous rampage against those that threaten his boy, get in his way or annoy him, Mr. Pickles brings some order to Old Town, which is otherwise riddled with crime in the face of the dimwitted sheriff.

Characters
Main article: List of Mr. Pickles characters

Additional voices

Production

The series, which is animated using Adobe Flash,[5] was created by Will Carsola and Dave Stewart – known for Funny or Die Presents – and executive-produced by Will Carsola, Dave Stewart, and Michael J. Rizzo.[6] The series was one of several shows pitched to Adult Swim, according to the creators, who also operate under the name "Day by Day". Stewart recalled promoting it as a "one-line sentence", while Carsola remembered that it derived from a "write-off" session, where the two present ideas to each other in the form of scribbles for their amusement. Carsola explained that ideas in this process are released from the pressure "of them being good", occasionally finding "one that sticks".[7] They later explained at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International that the idea was based on Lassie, but has become "more of its own thing since then."[8]

Stewart's own female Australian Cattle Dog[9] served as inspiration for the animators on the character of Mr. Pickles.[8] Stewart even pointed out similarities between her and the main character, and jokingly called her "Ms. Pickles".[8] Animation director Mike L. Mayfield recorded Stewart's dog playing around on video, with animators using the resulting footage as a basis for the character's movements.[9] Its setting is roughly based on Richmond, Virginia, where the creators started out in entertainment before moving to Los Angeles.[7] The creators are given creative freedom by the network, with Stewart explaining the notes received by them as "minimal", much to their surprise.[7] The creators observed some inconsistencies as to what is considered unacceptable, but try not to question it and compromise instead.[8]

Elaborating on its 11-minute running time, Carsola described it as a 22-minute show "squished" into a quarter-hour.[10] Among the voices for the characters include Brooke Shields,[7] Frank Collison, Jay Johnston and Carsola and Stewart themselves.[6] Shields' role in the series came after looking at the creator's work for Funny or Die and obtaining the script for Mr. Pickles. According to Carsola, the two were dubious over her interest in the series, but after being cast she provided lines in a recording booth in New York City while the creators supervised over Skype.[7]

Episodes
Main article: List of Mr. Pickles episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
Pilot August 25, 2013 (2013-08-25)
1 10 September 21, 2014 (2014-09-21) November 23, 2014 (2014-11-23)
2 10 April 17, 2016 (2016-04-17) June 26, 2016 (2016-06-26)
3 10 February 25, 2018 (2018-02-25) March 25, 2018 (2018-03-25)
Finale November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)[11]

Broadcast and reception

The series was picked up for ten quarter-hour episodes for its first season,[12] premiering on the network on September 21, 2014 following the ninth-season premiere of Squidbillies.[6] In July 2013, the pilot episode was released online as part of a presentation of in-development shows for the network, partnered with KFC; viewers could vote for their favorite pilot, with the winner being broadcast on August 26, 2013.[13][14] The series lost to Übermansion, a Stoopid Buddy Stoodios production, although the presentation as a whole won an Internet Advertising Campaign Award in 2014 for "Best TV Integrated Ad Campaign".[15][16] The pilot was later published on the network's website on January 23, 2014,[17] and on YouTube on March 10 of the same year, becoming viral with over 700,000 views after roughly a month later.[7] A second season was mentioned at the 2014 Comic-Con.[8]

Aaron Simpson of Cold Hard Flash called the series an amalgamation of Lassie and Superjail!, while observing some social commentary "to ensure this is more than just a multi-episodic sketch."[5] Mike Hale of The New York Times labeled it "the less tasteful but more mainstream" counterpart to Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, another addition to the network.[18] He wrote that the show was "more grisly than funny," but predicted it to have a cult following and that Shields' voice would add "surreal-pop-culture cachet".[18]

In Australia, the series premiered on August 3, 2015 on The Comedy Channel,[19] and then moved to the free to air Adult Swim block on 9Go!

In Canada, the series premiered on April 1, 2019 on Adult Swim.[20]

In April 2017, a trailer was released promoting the season 3 premiere to air in fall 2017;[21] however, this was later pushed back, for unknown reasons, to the following year. The first episode of season three premiered on February 25, 2018.[22] The show was renewed for a fourth season, before the third one even premiered.[1]

References
  1. Robrock, Kaitlyn. "Looks like #MrPickles has been greenlit for Season 4 before Season 3 even aired!" – via Twitter.
  2. "Adult Swim Goes into Animation Overload with New Season Pick-Ups and Return of Squidbillies".
  3. "Mr. Pickles Season Four Premiere". Facebook. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  4. Momma Named Me Sheriff - Adult Swim "Momma Named Me Sheriff".
  5. Simpson, Aaron (March 24, 2014). "Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles Pilot". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  6. Milligan, Mercedes (July 30, 2014). "Adult Swim Premiering Mr. Pickles September 21". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  7. Kutner, Brad (April 1, 2014). "RVA Born Day by Day Premieres the Terrifying Mr. Pickles on Adult Swim, Brooke Shields Lends Voice". RVA Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  8. Begley, Jim (August 17, 2014). "SDCC – Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles Is the Touching Story of a Boy and His Evil Dog". Spinoff Online. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  9. Zargari, Shahab; Brunty, Ryan; Davis, Ryan (July 28, 2013). "SDCC 2013 Press Roundtable Interview Series: Mr. Pickles, King Star King, and Superjail!". Verbicide. Scissor Press. See video; 0:20–0:25, 6:00–6:50. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  10. Zargari, Brunty & Davis 2013, 6:45–6:55.
  11. "Adult Swim". www.facebook.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  12. Zargari, Brunty & Davis 2013, 7:10–7:20.
  13. "'Like a Slap to Your Taste Buds': KFC Gives Bite-Sized Chicken a Hot and Spicy Kick". KFC. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  14. "Adult Swim Pilots – Mr. Pickles". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. July 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  15. "Adult Swim Pilots". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. July 2013. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  16. "Adult Swim & KFC Wins 2014 Best TV Integrated Ad Campaign Internet Advertising Award for Adult Swim Pilots". Internet Advertising Competition. The Web Marketing Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  17. "Mr. Pickles". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  18. Hale, Mike (September 18, 2014). "A Devil Dog Tears into People, and Other Tales". New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. C3. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  19. Purcell, Charles (July 30, 2015). "New this week (Aug 3): Rogue, Jonathan Strange, Bitten, 7 Days in Hell and live sport". The Green Room. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  20. https://www.corusent.com/news/corus-entertainment-announces-adult-swim-launch-sponsors/#:~:text=TORONTO%2C%20March%2027%2C%202019%20–,of%20Adult%20Swim%20in%20Canada
  21. "Will Adult Swim Greenlight Mr. Pickles for Season 4?". premieredate.news.
  22. "Mr. Pickles - Season 3 Episodes List". next-episode.net.
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