Knuckles (TV series)

Main • Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles the Echidna, a hot-headed and serious anthropomorphic red echidna with super strength. Elba said the series would explore Knuckles being "a fish out of water" after moving to Earth at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), • Adam Pally as Wade Whipple, a dimwitted deputy sheriff of Green Hills who Knuckles trains in the ways of an Echidna warrior. • Kit Rakusen portrays a young version of Wade, while Michael Bolton provides Wade's singing voice. • Rory McCann as "The Buyer", a former agent of Dr. Robotnik who seeks to obtain Knuckles' power. • Cary Elwes as "Pistol" Pete Whipple, an eccentric 27-time championship bowler and Wade's estranged father. • Rob Huebel as Dylan Beagleton, a bowling commentator for ESPN8 The Ocho. • Paul Scheer as Gary N. Sinclair III Esq., also a bowling commentator for ESPN8 The Ocho. Special guest stars • Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds. • Colleen O'Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails, an anthropomorphic yellow-orange fox who can fly with his two tails. • Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski, Green Hills' veterinarian who is the adoptive mother of Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails. ==Episodes==

Development (pictured in 2018) reprised his role as Knuckles from the film franchise and was the executive producer. During development on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), the production team decided to expand the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise by developing television series. The producers decided to have the first Sonic spin-off star Knuckles the Echidna due to them having enjoyed the character's comedic portrayal in the film By February 2022, development had begun on a Sonic the Hedgehog series focusing on Knuckles for release on Paramount+ in 2023. Sega and Paramount Pictures officially announced the series' development at the ViacomCBS Investor Day presentation in February, with Idris Elba confirmed to be reprising his role as Knuckles from the then-upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the series serving as a spin-off of the film. In June 2022, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins referred to the series as a miniseries. In April 2023, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 co-writer John Whittington was announced as the series' developer and head writer. Whittington also executive produced the series alongside Elba and Sonic film franchise creatives Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher of Original Film, Jeff Fowler, and Toru Nakahara. Paramount Pictures and Sega of America would serve as production companies on the series. The producers developed the series as if it was a third film in the franchise, though its limitations on budget due to being a TV show meant the screen time for the CGI characters had to be more limited. In April 2024, Ascher said future seasons of Knuckles are possible should the series prove successful and if the filmmakers had "a really great story to tell". The fourth episode, titled "The Flames of Disaster", was written by James Madejski and directed by Jorma Taccone. The idea for the episode was to develop something just as entertaining as the feature films while also conserving the budget for visual effects for subsequent episodes, which Ascher felt allowed the team to do something "unique" and "slightly different" to the films. Writing The series had been in the writing stages by April 2022, The writers wanted the series to be an homage to the 90s comedies film Ascher watched in his childhood, in a similar vein to the Sonic films drawing inspiration from different genres. In response to criticism for the series focusing more on Wade than on Knuckles, Ascher explained that the focus on Wade was needed to tell a great story that would slowly build up the world and narrative, continuing the same path and approach taken by the Sonic films and their importance on the humans. Casting In April 2023, it was reported that the series would follow Knuckles as he trains Wade Whipple, with Adam Pally reprising his role as Wade. Also cast in recurring roles were Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, and Ellie Taylor, with guest stars including Rory McCann as well as Tika Sumpter reprising her role as Maddie. The series was shot back-to-back with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Visual effects providers for the series include Industrial Light & Magic, Fin Design, Taccone had hoped to include an image of Bolton singing during the sequence, but was unable to get him a camera in time. "The Warrior" by Scandal appears as the series' opening theme. The series features two original songs: "Frickin' Human Race" performed by Asa Taccone and "The Flames of Disaster" performed by Taccone, Julian Barratt, and Michael Bolton. A soundtrack for the series was released on April 26, 2024 by Sony Classical Records. ==Release==

Marketing An official trailer for the series was released online on February 8, 2024, and later aired on February 11 during Super Bowl LVIII. The trailer featured Crime Mob's "Knuck If You Buck". The incorporation of the song received praise across social media platforms. Ben Travis of Empire said, "It all looks suitably cartoonish fun, all anchored in Idris Elba"s gravelly vocals in the title role." Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge commented on the series' six-episode length by saying that it "feels less like a full-on spinoff show and more like a solid chunk of storytelling meant to hold fans over," but added that its "brevity" and "flash action pieces" might make it a success. Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net commented that the series looks like a Saturday Night Live sketch turned into a six-episode series. At the NXT Stand & Deliver professional wrestling event on April 6, 2024, a Knuckles mascot was present in the audience for the NXT North American Championship match, which was sponsored by the show. Streaming and broadcast Knuckles premiered on Paramount+ on April 26, 2024, with all six episodes. Home media Knuckles was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 10, 2024, by Paramount Home Entertainment. The physical releases include four behind-the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel. == Reception ==

Audience viewership In its premiere weekend, Knuckles became both the most watched Paramount+ original series and the service's most watched kids and family title ever, with more than 4 million hours streamed over the time frame. The series' debut also had a positive effect on the other Sonic titles on the service, with viewership up 278% over the previous daily average. Critical response The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 75% based on 32 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Pairing Idris Elba's terse echidna with a befuddled Adam Pally, Knuckles could use some extra punch to appeal more broadly beyond youngsters but hits just fine as light family entertainment." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Meredith Coons of The A.V. Club gave the series a B− rating. She commended the visuals, performances, comedy, and story and concluded her review by saying, "It's got some heart, too, which is always good, and unlike its prickly protagonist, it doesn't take itself too seriously." Ryan Leston of IGN gave the series an 8 out of 10 rating. He praised the performances of Elba and Pally as well as the chemistry between their characters, the action scenes, comedy, and use of licensed music, and wrote, "Knuckles is a fun, chaotic bonus level that nails everything that made the Sonic movies great, earning a well-deserved fist bump." Rendy Jones of RogerEbert.com compared Knuckles favorably to the mainline Sonic films because of its writing, characterization, and performances. They wrote that while the series "functions largely as a streaming-only clone of the first film, it displays a personality missing from the mainline movies by veering into welcoming absurdism and whimsy." Brian Lowry of CNN largely disliked the series for its plot, pacing, and characters. They felt that lacking Jim Carrey from the Sonic films "to help carry the load" led to an inferior product with no discernible target audience in mind. Ferdosa of Screen Rant gave the series a 2.5 out of 5-star rating. She felt that it failed to live up to its potential due to its use of human characters, uninteresting setting, lack of creativity, and lackluster writing and comedy, though she directed praise towards Elba's performance and the CGI rendering of the animated characters. Michael Thomas of Collider gave the series a 5 out of 10 rating. He similarly felt that the series failed to reach its full potential, directing criticism at the lack of focus on the title character and the uninteresting villains. He would, however, commend the buddy comedy aspect and the action sequences. Accolades Knuckles was nominated for "Best Adaptation" at The Game Awards 2024. It lost to Fallout. ==See also ==