Deathspider (TV series)

Deathspider is an American animated action science fiction sitcom series created by Seth MacFarlane, Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner. The series is the third spin-off of Dora the Explorer and sequel series to Dora and Friends: Into The City. The series takes place in Los Angeles about Deathspider and his friends' crazy adventures.

Deathspider premiered on March 11, 2022. The first season was met with positive reviews, was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series (the third animated series after Fox's Family Guy and The Flintstones) at the 79th Primetime Emmy Awards, and won seven Outstanding Animated Program Awards.

Main
Seth MacFarlane as Deathspider / Markus Katrino, Fred Scorpio, Wallace Penn, Martin Hendrickson, Dr. Harold Portman, additional voices

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Rick Scorpio

Tara Strong as Priscilla Katrino

Seth Green as Boots

Skai Jackson as Isa the Iguana

Jean Carlos Celi as Tico the Squirrel

John DiMaggio as Benny the Bull

Jacob Medrano as Diego Marquez

Elaine Del Valle as Val the Octopus

Chris Gifford as Big Red Chicken, Grumpy Old Troll

Minor
Adam Sietz as Boot's Daddy

Alex Borstein as additional voices

Recurring
Miya Cech as Mila Yamaka

Jacob Tremblay as Gary

Antagonists
Marc Weiner as Swiper

Gary Oldman as Zentrous (Rift Wars trilogy)

Guests
Colin Firth as Future Rick (Rick Scorpio: The Untold Story)

Bill Hader as EM-D (Rift Wars trilogy)

Gary Oldman as Zentrous (Rift Wars trilogy)

Richard E. Grant as Sorkhan (Rift Wars trilogy)

Bruce Greenwood as the Dean of the Secret Order of Joke Writers (The Splendid Source)

Abby Ryder Fortson as Selena (And Then There Were None)

Katherine Langford as Emily (Mr. and Mrs. Rick)

Kiefer Sutherland as Jason Smith (Tucan's Revenge)

Brooklynn Prince as Ellen (The Sounds of Metal)

Episodes
List of Deathspider episodes

Music
Ludwig Göransson was announced as composer for the series in December 2021. The basis of the main theme was created from Göransson experimenting with a bass recorder, digitally manipulating it to make it more "futuristic". Guitars, a piano, drums, and synthesizers are also featured in the main theme. A 70-piece orchestra was used for the first season, combined with recordings of Göransson playing the main instruments which he augmented with synthesizers and other digital manipulation. Paramount Music released soundtrack albums for each episode of each season.

Critical reception
Deathspider has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its pop culture references, humor, satire, and non-sequitur storytelling. The series received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of critics gave it positive reviews. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades
Deathspider and its cast have been nominated for 27 Emmy Awards, with 8 wins. Brodie-Sangster won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance award for his performance as Rick; Göransson won the Outstanding Music Composition for a Series award for his work on The Rift Wars trilogy, And Then There Were None and Rewind. Steven Fonti won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode "No Boots Left Behind"; Genndy Tartakovsky and Greg Colton won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for their storyboard work in the Rift Wars trilogy. The show was nominated for eleven Annie Awards, and won three times, twice in 2029 and once in 2031. In 2032, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, becoming the third animated program to be nominated in this category after Family Guy in 2009 and The Flintstones in 1961. The Simpsons was almost nominated in 1993, but voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs. The show was nominated for a Grammy in 2034. Deathspider has been nominated and has won various other awards, including the Teen Choice Awards and the People's Choice Awards. British newspaper The Times rated Deathspider as the 45th-best American show in 2032. IGN ranked Deathspider at number seven in the "Top 100 Animated Series" and number six in the "Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time". Empire named it the twelfth-greatest TV show of all time. In 2028 viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 voted Deathspider at number 5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons. In 2027 and 2030, TV Guide ranked Deathspider number 12 and number 15 in their list of top cult shows ever. Deathspider has garnered six Golden Reel Awards nominations, winning three times. In 2036, TV Guide ranked Deathspider the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.

Trivia

 * The series is not interactive as its predecessors, but it did some fourth wall breaks on the show.
 * It is the only series in the franchise to earn Primetime Emmy awards and nominations.
 * Dora does not appear in this series.
 * All animal characters from Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go! appear in the series.
 * Diego is the only human character from the original series and spin-off to appear in the show.
 * Deathspider has the same personalities as the Marvel character Deadpool and Peter Griffin from Family Guy.
 * Deathspider sounds like Peter Griffin from Family Guy.
 * Fred is voiced by Seth MacFarlane.
 * Fred has the same personality as Brian Griffin from Family Guy.
 * Fred and Rick's relationship is similar to Brian and Stewie's relationship in Family Guy.
 * Rick is voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster who voiced Ferb Fletcher from Phineas and Ferb.
 * Rick has the same personality as Stewie Griffin from Family Guy.
 * Boots is voiced by Seth Green.
 * Skai Jackson reprises her role as Isa.
 * Benny will no longer be voiced by Matt Gumley. Starting with this series, John DiMaggio will voice him instead.
 * The series is composed by Ludwig Göransson, who composed Community and The Mandalorian.
 * The Rift Wars trilogy is inspired by Family Guy's Laugh It Up, Fuzzball trilogy and LEGO Dimensions.
 * The series shares elements from Dora the Explorer, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Teen Titans Go! and Samurai Jack.