Netflix Orders Animated Series From ‘Adventure Time’ Creator Pen Ward, Comedian Duncan Trussell

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Netflix has ordered “The Midnight Gospel,” an animated series from “Adventure Time” creator Pendleton Ward and comedian and host Duncan Trussell. The series will debut on the streaming service in 2020.

Co-creators Ward and Trussell will executive produce the eight-episode series, which is “set in a fantastical universe” and draws on interview clips from Duncan Trussell’s podcast, “Duncan Trussell Family Hour.” The animation production company behind “Big Mouth,” Titmouse Animation, is the studio.

The show centers on Clancy, a “spacecaster with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator [who] leaves the comfort of his home to interview beings living in dying worlds,” according to .

In addition to Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time” — which ran for 10 seasons — the Emmy-winning Ward also has in the works the upcoming mini-series “Adventure Time: Distant Lands” for upcoming streaming service HBO Max, which launches in May. Ward’s credits also include “Bravest Warriors,” which he created and voiced, several “Adventure Time” video games, plus voice work on “The Simpsons” and in video games ranging from “Lego Dimensions” to “Broken Age.”

Trussell’s writing credits include “This Is Not Happening,” “Pretend Time,” the 2011 MTV Movie Awards, and “Funny or Die Presents…” As a voice actor, he has contributed to “Adventure Time,” HBO’s “Animals,” Cartoon Network’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” and more. His “Duncan Trussell Family Hour” podcast is a salon-style weekly that features guests ranging from Dr. Drew to occult writer Mitch Horowitz to “Rick & Morty” co-creator and “Community” creator Dan Harmon.

Netflix’s other animation deals include its recently inked agreements with Kuku Studios and Nickelodeon to produce animated TV shows and movies for the platform.