TMNT: Family Issues

TMNT: Family Issues is a 2032 animated series created by Ciro Nieli and based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The series stars the voices of Janice Kawaye, Zeno Robinson, Phil LaMarr, Nolan North, Greg Cipes, Eric Bauza, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jim Pirri, and Mae Whitman. The series centers on the Turtles as they struggle to adapt to live with their long-list sister, Diana.

The series was announced in 2030, with Nieli returning from the 2012 series as executive-producer alongside Andy Suriano, showrunner of 2018's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dana Terrace, and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. The producers said they wanted the series to "show the true potential of Venus de Milo" after her highly controversial introduction in the live-action series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. The producers also did heavy research to accuretly potray Ninjitsu spirituality.

TMNT: Family Matters would be released in May 3, 2032. A second season was be released in October 3, 2033.

A film adaptation of the series, titled TMNT: Battle Nexus, was released on Netflix in December 25, 2034.

Synopsis
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been fighting crime for 2 years, but nothing coukd have prepared them from their biggest shock yet: They have a sister! Lost in the sewers as a child and raised by a Japenese martial artist, Mei Pieh Chi a.k.a Diana has just learned of her heritage and wants to join them, but personality clashes get in the way of Diana's dream of having a family after her adoptive father's passing. Between aliens, ninjas, and evil scientists, however, the Turtles will find that families are hard to live wuth, but worth all the effort.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 * Mei Pieh Chi / Diana (voiced by Janice Kawaye): A young and excitable mutant turtle and the TMNT's long-lost sister. The producers changed her name due to feeling naming a female character after an object was "a bad idea".
 * Leonardo (voiced by Zeno Robinson): The leader of the TMNT, who is calm in appearance but struggles with his self-steem deep down.
 * Donatello (voiced by Phil LaMarr): The nerdy scientist of the Turtles.
 * Raphael (voiced by Nolan North): The hot-headed but good-hearted second-oldest member of the TMNT. North reprises his role from TMNT (2007).
 * Michaelangelo (voiced by Greg Cipes): The youngest and most creative member of the TMNT. Cipes reprises his role from the 2012 series.

Allies and Friends

 * Splinter (voiced by Eric Bauza): A mutated rat and the Turtles' sensei and father figure. Bauza reprises his role from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
 * April O'Neil (voiced by Mae Whitman): A young scientist and the Turtles' first human friend. Whitman reprises her role from the 2012 series.
 * Mona Lisa (voiced by Zelda Williams): A bombastic alien warrior and Raphael's girlfriend. Williams reprises her role from the 2012 series.
 * Leatherhead (voiced by Steven Blum): A scientific mutant cocodrile with anger jssyes, and Mikey's best friend.
 * Karai (voiced by Anna Akana): The leader of a rebel part of the Foot Clan.
 * Angel Bridge / Nobody (voiced by Diamond White): A young vigilante Mei befriends.

Villains

 * Oroku Saki / The Shredder (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson): The leader of the Foot Clan and the Turtles' archenemy. Richardson reprises his role from the 2012 series.
 * Krang (voiced by Jim Pirri): An alien warrior from the Utrom race and the Shredder's ally. Pirri reprises his role from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.
 * Baxter Stockman (voiced by Phil LaMarr): The Foot's chief scientist, who wears a fly-like armor. LaMarr reprises his role from the 2012 series.
 * Bebop and Rocksteady (voiced by Khary Payton and Frank Welker, respectively): The Shredder's enforcers.

Other characters

 * John MacDonald (voiced by Kevin Eastman): A Channel 6 reporter. He was created specifically for the series.

Film adaptation
A film adaptation of the series, titled TMNT: Battle Nexus, was released on Netflix on December 25, 2034. The film, a crossover with the 2003 and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, would see the Turtles and their counterparts from other realities being transported to the Battle Nexus. According to director Sabrina Cotugno, the other series were chosen due to respective desires to explicitly acknowledge the 2003 series and "see the Rise versions react to more traditional turtles". The filmmakers would also avoid using the 1989 versions due to the characters having already being used in previous crossovers.

Trivia

 * This is the second TMNT series to have co-creator Kevin Eastman involved in a creative capacity; he previously wrote a season five episode for the 2012 series.
 * This is the first animated series to feature Venus de Milo, albeit under a different name.
 * According to Dana Terrace, the character was renamed "Diana" due to being the name of both a Renaissance artist (much like the four other Turtles) and Wonder Woman.
 * Terrace said the creators were "extremely mindfull" of the criticisms regarding the character, to the point of creating "a list of everything that people hated about her that we must avoid".
 * This is the second animated series to have Splinter be a mutated rat as in the comics, after the 2003 series.
 * Five cast members previously worked with Terrace on The Owl House: Zeno Robinson (Hunter/Leonardo), Mae Whitman (Amity Blight/April O'Neil), Kevin Michael Richardson (Tarak/The Shredder), Eric Bauza (multiple characters/Splinter), and Jim Pirri (Alador Blight/Krang). Composer T.J. Hill also worked on the first season of The Owl House.
 * Terrace felt that the focus on Mei and havimg the Turtles be seasoned crimefighters with an already established rogue gallery allowed the series to stand out from the previous shows.
 * This is the second Nickelodeon animated series to have Janice Kawaye star as a lead character who wants to fit in, after My Life as a Teenage Robot.