''Total DramaRama'' (originally titled ''Total Drama Daycare'') is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

created by

Tom McGillis Tom McGillis is a Canadian writer, producer, and the president of Fresh TV Inc. Early life McGillis is the son of Donald and Marguerite McGillis. Career Along with partner Jennifer Pertsch, he was the creator and executive producer of the animat ...

and

Jennifer Pertsch Jennifer Pertsch is a Canadian writer, producer, story editor, and one of the founding partners of Fresh TV, a Toronto-based production studio specializing in teen and family oriented television projects. She began her career as a writer for Nelvan ...

that premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 1, 2018, and on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

in Canada on October 7, 2018. The show, serving as a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

prequel spin-off as well as the second spin-off of ''

Total Drama ''Total Drama'' (often shortened as ''TD'') is a Canadian animated television series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon in Canada on July 8, 2007, and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on June 5, 2008. The se ...

'', following ''

The Ridonculous Race ''Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race'' (also known as ''Total Drama: Ridonculous Race'' or simply ''The Ridonculous Race'') is a Canadian animated reality television series which lampoons the conventions commonly found in reality televisi ...

'', is set in an alternate universe of ''

'' and ''

6teen ''6teen'' (originally titled ''The Mall'') is a Canadian animated comedy television series originally produced by Nelvana, with the final two seasons being produced by Fresh TV. It began airing on November 7, 2004 until its final episode aired ...

''. The series is co-produced by

Fresh TV Fresh TV Inc. (formerly Fresh Animation) is a Canadian production company specializing in family entertainment aimed at preteens and teenagers, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Shows that have been broadcast internationally include '' Stoked'' ...

and

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

in association with Cartoon Network, and distributed by

Cake Entertainment Cake Entertainment Ltd (CAKE) is an independent company specialising in the production, distribution, financing and development of kids’ and family entertainment brands. About CAKE works with producers of animation and live-action content, inc ...

Premise

The series re-introduces some of the original "Total Drama" characters in an alternate universe where they are aged down from teenagers to toddlers, being taken care of by Chef Hatchet. Each episode features dream sequences, cutaways, visual jokes, confessionals, and flashbacks. A ''Ridonculous Race'' contestant, MacArthur, has made recurring appearances and several other characters from the ''

'' series and ''The Ridonculous Race'' have made cameo appearances throughout the series.

Episodes

Characters

* Chef Hatchet (voiced by Deven Mack) * Courtney (voiced by

Emilie-Claire Barlow Emilie-Claire Barlow (born 6 June 1976) is a Canadian singer, arranger, record producer, and voice actress. She has released several albums on her label, Empress Music Group, and has voiced characters for animated television series. She performs ...

) * Gwen (voiced by

Lilly Bartlam Lilly Noelle Bartlam (born July 17, 2006) is a Canadian actress.Dan Rolph"Detention Adventure adds Grand Bend’s Lilly Bartlam to cast" '' Exeter Lakeshore Times-Advance'', October 21, 2020. She received two Canadian Screen Award nominations at ...

) * Duncan (voiced by Drew Nelson) * Owen (voiced by

Scott McCord William Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He is known for his versatility and character work in film, television, animation and on stage. He is a Lifetime Member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurri ...

) * Izzy (voiced by

Katie Crown Katherine Crown (born November 23, 1985) is a Canadian voice actress and writer. She is known for voicing Izzy in ''Total Drama'', Fin in '' Stoked'', Mary Wendle and Melanie Baker in '' Clarence'', Tulip in ''Storks'' and Ivy in ''Amphibia''. In ...

) * Noah (voiced by

Cory Doran Cory Doran (born February 7, 1982) is a Canadian voice actor and director who is known as the voice of Dabio & Rex in the PBS Kids animated series '' Wild Kratts'', and Jimmy, the star of the Breakthrough Entertainment animated show '' Jimmy Two ...

) * Bridgette (voiced by

Kristin Fairlie Kristin Louise Fairlie (born April 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. In 1998, she won a Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble for her lead role in the Showtime original movie ''The Sweetest Gift''. As a voice actress, Fairlie has voiced the roles ...

) * Harold (voiced by Darren Frost) * Beth (voiced by

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and ''Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

) * Jude Lizowski (from ''

'') (voiced by

Christian Potenza Christian Potenza (born December 23, 1972) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for voicing Jude Lizowski on '' 6teen'' and Chris McLean in the ''Total Drama'' franchise. Career He has been on television since 1997, when he first ...

) * Leshawna (voiced by

Bahia Watson Bahia Watson (born May 15, 1992) is a Canadian actress and playwright, best known for her recurring role as Brianna/Oferic in the television series ''The Handmaid's Tale''. She grew up in Carman, Manitoba, the daughter of a Canadian father and a ...

) * Cody (voiced by Wyatt White) * Lightning (voiced by Kwaku Adu-Podu) * Sugar (voiced by Rochelle Wilson) * MacArthur (from ''

'') (voiced by

Evany Rosen Evany Rosen is a Canadian comedian and actress, most noted as a founding member of the comedy troupe Picnicface and as co-creator with Kayla Lorette of the Crave original series '' New Eden''. Early life and education Originally from Ontario, ...

)

Production

The show was under production as of December 19, 2017 under the title ''Total Drama Daycare''. It first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 1, 2018. Jennifer Pertsch revealed in an interview with TV Kids that Fresh took "11 favorites from the original cast and aged them down to 4". On February 13, 2019, the series was green lit for a second season. On June 23, 2020, Corus Entertainment announced that the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered in Canada in mid-year 2021. '' Revenge of the Island'' contestant, Lightning, and '' Pahkitew Island'' contestant, Sugar, were aged down to join the cast.

Broadcast

Streaming

The first season is available to stream on

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 ...

as of September 20, 2021. The second season is also available to stream on HBO Max. The first 25 episodes of the third season were added to HBO Max on June 6, 2022.

Reception

Critical

''Total DramaRama'' has received mostly mixed reviews. Emily Ashby of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the series three stars out of five and found that it was as entertaining as previous entries in the ''Total Drama'' franchise, declaring that "Total Drama fans who tune in for DramaRama will appreciate the humor in seeing these familiar characters' big personalities in little bodies." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' found that "the satire that defined the “Total Drama” shows is less clever" than it had been in previous seasons, and recommended the series for ages 7 and up.

Ratings

References

External links