During Geeked Week, Netflix shared the first trailer for its adult animated comedy series Exploding Kittens. Based on the popular card game of the same name, Exploding Kittens follows the bitter rivalry between God and the Devil, as both are sent down to Earth in the bodies of chunky house cats.
"An adventure of ungodly proportions begins meow," the trailer cleverly teases before introducing us to Godcat, voiced by Lucifer star Tom Ellis. Though just a minute in length, the trailer perfectly encapsulates the hilarious absurdity of the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell being fought out by Gods trapped in cat bodies.
Tom Ellis is joined by fellow cast members Abraham Lim, Lucy Liu, Mark Proksch, Ally Maki, and asheer Zamata, although the full cast list has yet to be announced.
Shane Kosakowski (You’re the Worst, Teenage Bounty Hunters) and Matthew Inman (founder of the Exploding Kittens card game) serve as showrunners. Inman is also an executive producer alongside King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as well as Dustin Davis from Bandera Entertainment. Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping of Chernin Entertainment Group are also executive producers.
As previously mentioned, Exploding Kittens is a table-top card game that began through a Kickstarter campaign that ultimately generated over $8.7 million in funding. The game launched in 2015 and became a global hit, spawning additional expansions and eventually getting adapted for mobile gaming and the Nintendo Switch.
In April 2022, a free-to-play mobile game, Exploding Kittens - The Game, was announced. It launched in May by Netflix, helping grow the service's catalog of mobile games available to subscribers.
“The co-development of a game and animated series breaks new ground for Netflix,” Mike Moon, head of adult animation at Netflix, said back in 2022. “And we couldn’t think of a better game to build a universe around than Exploding Kittens, one of the most inventive, iconic and original games of this century! Netflix is the perfect place to explore this growing franchise and we are so fortunate to be working with this incredible team!”
“Our goal is to offer our members great entertainment they’ll love in whatever format they may enjoy — whether it be a game or an animated series,” added Leanne Loombe, head of external games at Netflix, at the time. “As we expand our mobile games catalog, we’re excited to partner with the Exploding Kittens digital team to bring this enjoyable game to all age groups, including a few exciting updates exclusively for our members.”
The Exploding Kittens animated series is set to debut on Netflix sometime in 2024.