Purrfect Apawcalypse

Purrfect Apawcalypse is an American adult animated horror black comedy drama created by Horizon Animation Studios co-founder Denise Truong and developed by Jordan Peele, Lisa Hanawalt, and Fede Alvarez for Cartoon Network's nighttime Adult Swim programming block. It follows a group of dogs from Hachiko High School finding themselves in a world like theirs, fighting ghosts, zombies, and demons, while finding the person who brought them here in the first place.

Tara Strong voices the protagonist Olive, with Haley Tju, Stephen Amell, Michael Cera, Ansel Elgort, Dove Cameron, Robert Sheehan and Zach Woods playing the rest of Olive's friends. The show originated from some visual novel/interactive fiction games of the same name by Truong and her friend Andrew Schneider, released for itch.io in 2019 and 2020, where it got the attention of Peele and Hanawalt. The show received critical acclaim for it's characters, world building, action, and humor.

Synopsis
Olive Higgins, a shy and insecure little puppy, is starting her first year of high school, and not in a good way. She faces bullies on her way to class, laughing at her for being some sort of freak. However, as she sits down in her homeroom, crying, she hears screams coming from the hallway and people being sliced. A ghost then appears in the room and murders everyone, but not Olive, who passes out at the right moment when the ghost attacks. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a room full of dead dogs, and doesn't know what to do. However, in an act of self-confidence, she, along with Brownie, the snack loving corgi, Sparky, the sporty husky, and Volt, the rebellious shepherd, get out of the school before the ghosts kill them, only to find out that their world had been turned into a wasteland, with nothing but ghosts and demons roaming around the place. Now, the team has one mission: survive the wasteland before they get turned into chopped dog, and find the mysterious person who is behind the apocalypse, all while reviving dogs, finding a mysterious killer, and befriending cats.

Main characters

 * Olive Higgins (voiced by Kate McKinnon)-A socially awkward mutt who is easily flustered and speaks with a stutter that is exacerbated by their emotional state. They often try to lighten the mood with harmless jokes and puns, and is very much a puppy-pleaser. They truly love and care about everyone, and when they are wronged, they're more disappointed than angry.
 * Brownie Pembroke (voiced by Haley Tju)-A jokester corgi of the group who makes friends easily and is immediately attracted to anyone who's super fun, cool and unabashedly full of themselves. She often offends sensitive people and only occasionally puts in the effort to be more tactful. In spite of her impulsiveness she's somewhat of a voice of reason for her friends, prioritizing action over feelings. She may or may not have a crush on Coco though.
 * Sparky Fritz (voiced by Stephen Amell)-The sporty husky who likes everything sports, like ultimate frisbee, hockey, soccer, baseball, and sports in general. Although, he seems tough and strong, on the inside, he's actually a huge softie who cares about everyone close to him. His hockey stick helps protect him from any danger, especially when demons come.
 * Volt Steiner (voiced by Michael Cera)-Frivolous and friend-oriented, this German shepherd is always thinking about what to do for fun and feels that making noise with friends is his purpose in life. However, he's quite short-tempered and is occasionally scolded by the teacher for fighting. At that time, most of them are driven by a sense of justice and attack the opponent.
 * Caludar Kane (voiced by Ansel Elgort)-A tech geek, Cordus helps Olive and the gang battle though the horde of demons and zombies. Carrying a mechanical saw, he kills many enemies that oppose him. Though he might sound a bit cold, he's not afraid to let his emotions out and breathe in a sense of resurgence.
 * Patches Ito (voiced by Robert Sheehan)-Patches is a charming and polite dalmatian who seems to care about others, but he shows his true colors as a vengeful and spiteful dog. He takes whatever love he can get and lashes out at anyone who fails to serve him. His phrase "Hello puppy" is best known through out the school.
 * Coco Grimalkin (voiced by Dove Cameron)-Born into a family of magic, Coco is a loud and angry black cat. She takes her work very seriously and is so goal oriented that she can forget things like friends or morals. Stress fuels her but too much of it can cause her to break down.
 * Angel Grimalkin (voiced by Zach Woods)-Coco's younger brother, Angel is the opposite of Coco, being a quiet and shy white siberian cat.
 * Ginger Claret (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld)-Ginger is quiet, shy and lacks confidence. She relies on the love of others to feel whole and fulfilled. Her mysterious powers scare people and tends to hurt them in the process. When she meets Patches however, she embraces the dark side she has and shows no signs of mercy.
 * Miles Kattenstoet (voiced by Elijah Wood)-
 * Daisy Brooks (voiced by Mandy Moore)-
 * Oscar Eastburn (voiced by Ezra Miller)-

Supporting

 * Duke Higgins (voiced by Alex Wolff)-The older brother of Olive, this mutt took a job at Primal Labs in Snowfield, after he graduated at Hachiko High School, before Olive arrived there. After the attack on Canine Falls, he decides to retire from Primal and move back to the city so he can be closer with Olive and her friends.
 * Levi Higgins (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin)-Youngest brother of the Higgins family.
 * Rex Winstead (voiced by Shea Whigham)-Head scientist of Primal Labs, Rex is the lead subject on the Apawcalypse. He leads a team of biologists called the Alpha Pack.
 * Cleo Wilson (voiced by Elizabeth Olsen)-Assistant scientist to Rex
 * Lancelot Grimalkin (voiced by Simon Pegg)-Lancelot's charm and wit is the reason why he is part of the Grimalkin family.
 * Misty Higgins (voiced by Elisabeth Moss)-Olive's caring mother who has an alcohol problem.
 * Orion Higgins (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key)-Father of Olive
 * Asmodeus (voiced by Steven Yeun)-A lost soul in Infurno who died in a freak accident a few years ago, who escaped the place to be with the dog world again, and acts as a guardian to Olive.
 * Malvi (voiced by Bex Taylor-Klaus)-
 * Dell Courtney (voiced by Tara Strong)-

Bone Rebellion

 * Grayson Novak (voiced by KJ Apa)-Grayson looks like Sparky as a whole, but his personality sort of strays away from that.
 * Hazel Levine (voiced by Jessica DiCicco)-
 * Dosei Thatcher (voiced by Katherine Langford)-
 * Tomoka Rawfield (voiced by Randall Park)-Tomoka is a "trans species" that thinks of itself as a cat and is a game loving Samoyed dog. He thinks he's a cat and has an excessive fear of dogs.
 * Cookie Bardot (voiced by Amy Sedaris)-
 * Snowy Madison (voiced by Betty Gabriel)-

Hachiko High School

 * Doug Pugg (voiced by Gregg Berger)-A bit of a slacker, Doug is your standard, middle of the road pug.
 * Luna Puddleton (voiced by Mae Whitman)-Luna is kind and over-achieving. She greatly values law and order, which explains her interest in being the President of Hachiko High's Literature Club. In spite of her goal-orientedness, she prioritizes the feelings of others and is quick to apologize if she feels she might've overstepped in some way.
 * Holly Melita (voiced by Kimiko Glenn)-This no-nonsense and kind of snarky shih tzu is a member of Hachiko High's Literature Club and is encouraged by Luna to attend the Literature period along with every other member of the club.
 * Rover Jackson (voiced by Tom Holland)-A jack russell terrier who is always looking for adventure
 * Noel Arenberg (voiced by Andrea Libman)-Noel is an elegant and ladylike papillion with aristocratic blood. She inwardly yearns for thrilling adventures and seeks exciting happenings. She's very intelligent, but somewhat lacking in determination.
 * Sora Aykroyd (voiced by Joel McHale)-The serious akita who values discipline yet takes pride in being a student at Hachiko, Sora's always trying to act like a role model. He's quite gullible and fails every time he tries to caution a student who does not follow discipline.

Kemono Woods

 * Whiskers Wichien (voiced by John Oliver)-Part of the Elite Magic Club, Whiskers frequently expresses his massive crush on Angel and his hatred for dogs, yet fails to notice Angel's sudden change of behaviour (ironically as a result of him being possessed by Patches).
 * Mittens Wichien (voiced by Sonoya Mizuno)-This cat is highly composed and cunning. They have no qualms about manipulating or hurting others (especially dogs). They value familial relations and status over all. However, they also value truth and honesty, one of their potentially stronger traits.
 * Felix Munch (voiced by Tom Kenny)-Felix, the siamese cat, is terrified of just about everything, especially dogs. He speaks with an intense stutter, just like Olive.
 * Tigger Sugden (voiced by Rachel Bloom)-An outgoing and arrogant toyger, Tigger is a bodybuilder and is known for her athletic purrowess across Kemono.
 * Velvet Graham (voiced by Lucy Hale)-
 * Jaxson Yui (voiced by Lakeith Stanfield)-

Infurno

 * Nyx (voiced by Adam Scott)-One of the three demons
 * Lilith (voiced by Maya Rudolph)-One of the three demons
 * Mephisto (voiced by David Arquette)-One of the three demons
 * Daemon (voiced by Josh Brener)-Bapawmet's reluctant servant who's always on edge.
 * Kaige (voiced by Patton Oswalt)-Replusive and appalling, Kaige is hired by Bapawmet to kill Patches because of his misdemeanor. Teaming up with Lynk and Caim, they are both hired by
 * Lynk (voiced by Ben Schwartz)-One of the demons hired by Bapawmet to kill Patches along with both Kaige and Caim.
 * Caim (voiced by Norman Reedus)-The leader of the killer group known as Lucifer's Angels
 * Bapawmet (voiced by Keith David)-The repulsive king of Infurno who loves to watch dogs die.

Pawardise

 * Raph (voiced by David Harbour)-A knight hired by Ariel to protect Pawardise from any harm.
 * Gabe (voiced by John Cho)-
 * Salem (voiced by Khary Payton)-
 * Halo (voiced by Chris Parnell)-The assistant of the queen of Pawardise.
 * Ariel (voiced by Samara Weaving)-Queen of Pawardise who foresees all souls who pass through the gates of Purrgatory.

Background
Denise Truong, an art school graduate, had already made some other projects before doing PA. She did a web series on YouTube on Banimation and a spin off web comic series called Bannie Comics, similar to those of the Archie Comics. However, when she got a job to animate for Jaiden Animations, she was forced to drop it entirely. However, in 2019, she and friend Andrew Schneider had plans to develop their 2nd game for their company, 90% Studios after Cool Kid Cody. The game was released on February 20, 2019 and gained very positive reviews. It was followed up by two sequels: Purrgatory Furever and Patches' Infurno, along with a remake called Love at Furst Bite. 6 years later, though, she, Andy, Nathan Holloway, and Thomas Grimm, had their show, Technomagic, greenlit in 2026, and stopped making games because of it.

Development
Jason Blum, the founder of Blumhouse saw their work when a friend showed it to them, and was planning to option the rights to an animated TV show with Jeremy Slater acting as lead writer and director. There was an attempt for Zack Snyder to produce it into a feature film, but it never materlized. That same month, Ragnarok Entertainment announced it was opening up a new animation called Horizon Animation Studios led by Holloway, Truong, and Grimm, and was looking for new shows to bolster their collection of shows. After the three had finished their work on Technomagic, Holloway asked what Truong wanted do next, she responded with Purrfect Apawcalypse. When Blum saw their game for the first time, he thought there would be room for improvement, as it had a chance to reach a broader audience. Blum then hired Jordan Peele and Lisa Hanawalt as co-developers, based on their original work on Us and Tuca and Bertie.

Casting
Comedian Kate McKinnon was cast as the lead, Olive. Back then, she had a reputation of starring in SNL, and the team wanted either Kristen Wiig or Tara Strong to play them, but Truong said otherwise.

Reception
The show gained immediately gained critical acclaim when the first episode aired. People praised it for it's characters, world building, action, and humor. Metacritic gave it a full 100, while IMDb gave it a 8.6.