“Supermutant Magic Academy,” the upcoming series from Cartoon Network Studios based on the Eisner Award-winning 2015 comic by artist and writer Jillian Tamaki, debuted first footage at a panel discussing the making of the show. The series is set to air on Adult Swim.
A sizzle reel exclusive to a captive Annecy audience, though released at the end of the session, proved a charming introduction to the show’s alchemical blend of fantasy and more mundane teen comedy.
The footage embraced the chaos of introducing magic into the tumult of adolescence: dragons puncture soccer balls currently in play before the game resumes without missing a beat, kids vandalize walls with spray paint and then magic blasts, loners are enticed into joining LARPing groups. The sharp and punchy sense of humor is a natural result of what showrunner and co-executive producer Calvin Wong (“Regular Show,” “We Baby Bears”) calls the elevator pitch for the series: “No matter how magical you are, high school still sucks.”
Wong was joined on stage by Tamaki herself, who serves as co-executive producer on the show. The two traced the story of the show back to their first meeting in 2011, realized on screen at the presentation with a tongue-in-cheek comic panel featuring Wong complaining about their lunch. From here they moved chronologically, from Tamaki’s beginnings on the strip in the years 2011 to 2014, through to the beginning of development in 2021. The project began with fellow producer J.G. Quintel (best known for the creation of “Regular Show”), who later brought Wong on board. “[Quintel] always holds his cards close to the chest,” Wong added, showing his surprise about the show being developed through on-screen illustrations of Quintel bursting into the room during Wong’s retake drawings on “Regular Show.”
