Hulu will be the home to the latest creation from the mind of animator Michael Cusack, a rising star within the field based on the cult followings from various recent projects. Koala Man follows middle-aged dad Kevin and his not-so-secret identity, whose only superpower is a burning passion for following the rules and snuffing out petty crime in the town of Dapto. During the past weekend’s San Diego Comic Con events, Murphy’s Multiverse had the opportunity to sit down with Cusack, alongside executive producers Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez to discuss the upcoming series.
Michael Cusack and Benji Samit discussed how this project serves as a major step towards creating a project appealing to a more general audience, but also maintaining the goal of keeping the content of the show generally in line with the content of Cusack’s previous work.
Koala Man is the experiment in doing something more mainstream, more for a broad audience. But still trying to keep that edge that I had on YouTube and with other projects. But seeing how to marry that with something that’s a bit more serialized.
Michael Cusack
I sort of took it as a mission to take Michael (Cusack)’s Youtube, AdultSwim energy…which is also funny and good, but bringing it to a half-hour family sitcom adventure, superhero thing. To bring in a bigger audience and widen it, but also not lose sight on what makes Michael uniquely Michael.
Benji Samit
One element of this series that stood out during the interview was the creative team discovering a surprisingly emotional core to the show that has helped define Koala Man as a truly distinct entity in the universe of Michael Cusack projects and adult animation at large. Executive Producers Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez both discussed this topic.
We’re also really proud that the show is weirdly very optimistic and very emotional…Koala Man really loves his family, and really loves his town, and really cares about other people in a kinda earnest, almost naive kind of way sometimes. I think there is a sweetness to the show that is a little bit unexpected in the adult animated space.
Benji Samit
One of the cool things with the show is that it kinda sneaks up on you that it’s a superhero adventure. And that by the end of the season, you’re like ‘I’m really invested in the story of what’s happening and I really didn’t expect that’. And that was intentional on our part. That was something that we really spent a lot of time talking about. I think a lot of the time, the more seriously that you take something, the more funny it is and that it can actually offer it at the same time. And I think that this has been a real experiment in that. So at least for me, when I watch the finale, I’m emotionally moved.
Dan Hernandez
Koala Man is produced by 20th Television Animation and will be released on Hulu. The main cast consists of Michael Cusack, Hugh Jackman, Rachel House, Jarrad Wright, Claudia O’Doherty, Michelle Brasier, and Natalie Tran. And this past Thursday’s San Diego Comic-Con panel confirmed the additions of Sarah Snook and Demi Lardner to the principal cast.
This interview was done in conjunction with Saturday Morning Cereal, Pixelated Geek, and JVS Media & Productions.
