''Primal'' (also known as ''Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal'') is an American

adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

horror television series created and directed by

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...

for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's late night programming block

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

. ''Primal'' is set in a deliberately anachronistic vision of

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

, portraying

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, prehistoric

hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

s, and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

''Homo sapiens'' as coexisting within the same barbaric time period and incorporating many elements of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, horror,

, and

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

. The first 10-episode season of ''Primal'' was split into two 5-episode parts. The series premiered on Adult Swim on October 8, 2019, with the remaining episodes releasing daily that same week. The second half of the season premiered one episode April 1, 2020, with the remaining episodes premiering weekly for the five weeks following October 4, 2020. In August 2020, the series was renewed for a 10-episode second season, which premiered July 22 and concluded September 16, 2022. Following the second season finale and conclusion of Spear and Fang's storyline, Tartakovsky confirmed that ''Primal'' would become an

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

from its forthcoming third season onward. ''Primal'' has received widespread critical acclaim, with much praise for its animation, storytelling, music, emotional depth, horror elements and editing. The show has won three Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Juried Awards from the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Storyboard Artist (Genndy Tartakovsky), Art Director (Scott Wills), and Character Designer ( Stephen DeStefano).

Premise

Set in an

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

and fantastical

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

world, the premise is a bond between a

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

named Spear and a female ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' named Fang as they struggle to survive, encountering various dangerous fauna and people that live in their world while also encountering different creatures and

homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

''.

Characters

In comparison to Tartakovsky's other shows where there are multiple characters, ''Primal'' initially only features Spear and Fang in the show as they encounter different prehistoric or fantastical species and various tribes of

hominin The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The t ...

s. Tartakovsky stated that although the show is a work of fantasy, the prehistoric animals, modern creatures and futuristic beasts in the show are based on real prehistoric animals, as well as some new ones created by the artists involved in the project.

Main

* Spear (voiced by Aaron LaPlante; Noah Bentley (young)) – A

whose mate and two children are attacked and devoured by a pack of horned

Tyrannosaurs Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent be ...

. Although he overcomes his initial urge to commit suicide, Spear is still learning to cope with the loss. Eventually, he develops a deep bond with Fang and is willing to make any personal sacrifice to protect her. (seasons 1–2) * Fang – A teal female ''

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...

'' whose hatchlings are killed by the same horned Tyrannosaur pack that killed Spear's family. Unlike Spear, who is still traumatized and dealing with the loss of his loved ones, Fang is able to cope with hers much quicker. Initially, she attempts to assert her dominance over Spear but eventually learns that it is far healthier to work in a partnership than with a

pack mentality Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, riot ...

and is willing to do anything to ensure his survival. * Mira (voiced by

Laëtitia Eïdo Laëtitia Eïdo (born October 25, 1985) is a French actress, born to a French father and a Lebanese mother. She is best known as Dr. Shirin El Abed, one of the leading roles in the Israeli Netflix series '' Fauda'', and as the voice of Mira in the ...

) – A virtuous

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

-speaking

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

. Enslaved and branded with a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

symbol by a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

clan, Mira escapes and encounters Spear and Fang, who become her new friends and companions. She proves to be very capable with

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

, helmsmanship, and

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

. (season 2; guest: season 1) *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(voiced by

Jacob Dudman Jacob Stanley Dudman (born 22 August 1997) is an English actor, writer and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in Netflix programs '' The Stranger'' (2020), ''Medici'' (2019), '' Fate: The Winx Saga'' (2021-2022) and the BBC iPlayer series '' ...

) – A

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

and member of the Historical Society who theorizes about the correlation between the primitive and modern man. (" The Primal Theory") *

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

(voiced by

Jeremy Crutchley Jeremy Crutchley is a British-born South African actor and singer. He played roles in the television series ''Salem'', ''Black Sails'', ''Leonardo'', ''Constantine'' and ''Hannibal'' and several theatre and cinema works in a career spanning for ...

) – An

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

scientist and former

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion whose manor hosts a Historical Society of well-educated scientists. ("The Primal Theory")

Recurring

Season 1

* Spear's family – Spear's mate, son, and daughter that were eaten by a pack of horned Tyrannosaurs in the first episode, but reappear through visions and flashbacks across the series. * Fang's first brood – Fang's first two hatchlings. Like Spear's family, they were eaten in the first episode, but reappear through visions and flashbacks across the series.

Season 2

* The Chieftain (voiced by

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...

) – The chieftain of the Viking tribe responsible for abducting Mira's people. He soon seeks revenge on Spear and Fang for decimating his tribe. Following his son Eldar's death, the Chieftain is transformed into a monstrous, fiery giant by the demonic entity in order to kill Spear and Fang in exchange for Eldar's soul. * Eldar (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) – The Chieftain's eldest son. He joins his father on their quest for revenge against Spear and Fang for their tribe's destruction. * Demonic Entity – The lord of the fiery underworld who makes a deal with the Chieftain to have him kill Spear and Fang and bring him their souls in exchange for Eldar's soul. * Ima (voiced by Amina Koroma) – A tyrannical and ruthless Egyptian queen who resides in a large city-ship called the ''Colossaeus'' filled with her warriors and slaves that she uses to raid and loot other kingdoms. * Kamau (voiced by Imari Williams) – A

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

African man who, while naturally peaceful, is also immensely strong and was enslaved by Ima along with his similarly-sized tribe. It is revealed that Ima is holding his daughter Amal hostage, which serves as leverage to force him to obey her. * Amal (voiced by

Hillary Hawkins Hillary Hawkins is an American actress. She introduced shows such as ''Dora the Explorer'', '' Bob the Builder'', and '' Little Bill'' on TV everyday as Robyn, Host of the Nick Jr. block. She also was a Host for Radio Disney. Career Early role ...

) – Kamau's daughter. * Fang's second brood – Fang's second set of hatchlings that were born after she mated with a ''Tyrannosaurus'' named Red. While one was killed before hatching, the other two live to adulthood.

Production

Conception and development

According to Tartakovsky, ''Primal'' was an early piece of work he scrapped because it did not click with him at the time. As he learned more and more about what drew people in to his shows, he wanted to experiment with those artistic traits, particularly the use of no dialogue and slow moments. He also stated that the method in which he approached animated projects began to slow down in terms of energy, and by the time he finished working on '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation '', it had come full circle. He said he was inspired by

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

and vintage

pulp novel Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

s, as well as films such as '' The Revenant''. Tartakovsky felt that people would not take the show seriously because they were "breaking the rules" by having "a man and a dinosaur together," so he emphasized that it is a character study, a "buddies" journey about two characters who are very different but bonded by tragedy. The first season consists of 10 episodes. On August 31, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which consists of 10 episodes.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019–20)

Season 2 (2022)

Broadcast

The first season premiered on October 8, 2019, with episodes from the first half of the season airing daily from the premiere date. An episode from the second half was shown during Adult Swim's

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

2020 run. Adult Swim announced on their

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that the second half would start airing on October 4, 2020. The first season of ''Primal'' was broadcast during Thanksgiving weekend on Adult Swim's

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

programming block for the first time on November 29, 2020. The marathon commemorated the launch of the series on the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

streaming service. The first season began a second run on the normal schedule of the Toonami block beginning on May 15, 2022. The second season encored on the block on July 24, 2022.

Home media

The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 1, 2021 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It was later released in France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Reception

Critical response

Initial reception for ''Primal'' was highly positive; much praise was given to the art and animation, the use of storytelling with no dialogue, and the balancing of the show's interpretation of violence and beauty. In a review from

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

, Steve Greene wrote "''Primal'' is a piece of elemental storytelling that finds some real emotional depth without either of its protagonists uttering a single word of dialogue", ultimately giving the series an "A−". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the first season has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 23 critics, with an average rating of 9.10/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Epic in every sense, ''Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal'' is a stunning feat of

visual storytelling A visual narrative (also visual storytelling) is a story told primarily through the use of visual media. The story may be told using still photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, voice and other audio. Overv ...

." The second season has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 7 critics, with an average rating of 9.30/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Awards and nominations

A film retelling of the first four episodes, ''Primal: Tales of Savagery'', screened at the London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills on November 21, 2019. This version was submitted in the Best Animated Feature category for the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...

, but it was not nominated.

Future

After the second season finale "

Echoes of Eternity Echoes of Eternity is an American progressive metal band based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Their debut album ''The Forgotten Goddess'', was released in February 2007 on Nuclear Blast records. The band's follow up album, ''As Shad ...

" aired on September 16, 2022,

confirmed that while Spear and Fang's story was officially concluded, he was formulating a third season for the series with a focus on new characters, intending for ''Primal'' to become an

, inspired by the stand-alone second season episode " The Primal Theory". While no official release date has been announced, Tartakovsky said that he intends to develop the season after completing his work on

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

's ''Fixed''.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Toonami Adult Swim 2010s American adult animated television series 2020s American adult animated television series 2019 American television series debuts Adult Swim original programming American action adventure television series American adult animated action television series American adult animated adventure television series American adult animated drama television series American adult animated fantasy television series American adult animated horror television series Animated television series about dinosaurs Animated thriller television series Anime-influenced Western animated television series Annie Award winners Emmy Award-winning programs English-language television shows Films with screenplays by Genndy Tartakovsky Human trafficking in fiction Slavery in fiction Television series by Cartoon Network Studios Television series by Williams Street Television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky Television series set in prehistory