Fionna and Cake

Ever since Adventure Time ended its run in 2018, they’ve attempted to expand its universe in multiple different ways through the Distant Lands miniseries: Sequels, prequels, spins-offs… You name it! Seemingly this current iteration appears to be an alternate universe; heavy emphasis on “appears” to be.

The crew at the panel and audience reactions tell us that this is more than just your average spin-off. It seems to be going the Distant Lands approach in trying to flesh out Adventure Time’s already expansive and lore-heavy world even further! A couple of other neat tidbits were mentioned during the panel as well: Talking about the difficulties of working during the pandemic and the importance of having your shows “grow up with the audience” as well, while still retaining that familiar core. On top of that, familiar faces like Rebecca Sugar have confirmed their participation as well. Fionna and Cake releases on MAX on August 31st.

Young Love

Next up – and personally my most anticipated – Young Love, a full-fledged tv series based on the short film Hair Love. When the announcement was made back in 2020, I was overjoyed. Though the animation landscape has changed massively these past few years, and unfortunately for the worse, as projects keep getting silently canned left and right these days. The lack of news also had me worried, so finally, getting to see some footage eased my fears. 

The most intriguing thing to me about the show so far is its premise: The new Max Original animated series is an honest look into the world of the Young family…. as they juggle their careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues, and multi-generational dynamics…” While it remains to be seen if the show can live up to it, I think it could truly be something special if it manages to juggle all three main characters equally. Family shows are generally lumped in with kids shows – that is, shows aimed at the 6-11-year-old demographic – but I feel like Young Love is going to make an earnest attempt to craft an experience that everyone can enjoy regardless of age. If you don’t believe me, then hear it from series creator and showrunner Matthew A. Cherry himself:

The more I hear about the show, the more excited I get, and I can’t wait to watch it the second it drops on MAX. Unfortunately, there’s no release date other than “coming soon,” but I’ll be looking forward to watching it whenever it drops!