A new teaser for Scavengers Reign, which premieres on MAX on October 19, reveals a gripping sci-fi thriller that is evocative of Aliens, Riddick, and Event Horizon.
The first three episodes of the 12-episode series will be released on October 19 before switching to a weekly release schedule and ending on November 09.
Titmouse, Inc. (Black Dynamite, Big Mouth) is handling animation for the sci-fi series.
The 8-minute sci-fi short Scavengers by Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner from 2016 served as the inspiration for the show. Regarding the short's origins, Bennett has previously commented, "Scavengers began when someone at Adult Swim who was making smaller short-form content reached out and said they’d been watching our shorts online and was wondering if we were interested in doing something with them."
Bennett (From God's Mouth to Your Ears, Scavengers) and Huettner (Scavengers, Ghost Stories) co-created and executive-produced the show.
Speaking to io9, co-executive producer. Sean Buckelew shared, "We’d been looking at Werner Herzog’s approach to understanding nature. Predators, prey, parasites, and symbiotic relationships are all normal in that ecosystem. But once you put a human in the middle of it, it can be uncomfortable or appear evil, when it’s really just neutral."
Bennett went on to reveal that the show is inspired by U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis and the Gaia Hypothesis- which postulates that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on a planet are tightly interconnected to form a single, self-regulating complex system that maintains the planet's life-supporting operations. In short, the Earth is a single, living sentient being and all living creatures on it (including humans) are simply bacteria that aid in its day-to-day functions.
Titmouse's executive producers also include Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina, with Benjy Brooke serving as supervising director. Sean Buckelew and James Merrill co-executive produce for Green Street Pictures.
In Scavengers Reign, the brainchild of visionary creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, the remaining crew of a damaged interstellar freighter ship find themselves stranded on a beautiful yet unforgiving alien planet – where they must survive long enough to escape or be rescued.
But as the survivors struggle to locate their downed ship and missing crewmates, their new home reveals a hostile world allowed to thrive without human interference.
Featuring lush, visually stunning animation, Scavengers Reign presents a wholly unique view of the consequences of unchecked hubris and humanity’s eternal desire to conquer the unknown.
Cast includes Wunmi Mosaku (Azi), Bob Stephenson (Sam), Sunita Mani (Ursula), Ted Travelstead (Kamen) and Alia Shawkat (Levi).
The adult animated series debuts with three episodes on Thursday, October 19th at midnight PT, followed by three episodes weekly through November 9th on Max.