# The Garfield Show

The Garfield Show is an animated television series produced by Dargaud Media and Paws, Inc. It is based on the American Garfield comic strip created by Jim Davis. The animated series focuses on a new series of adventures for the characters of Garfield, Odie, and their owner Jon Arbuckle, alongside staple characters from the strip and a number of unique additions for the program. Both Davis and producer Mark Evanier, who previously wrote episodes for the 1988 original cartoon animated series Garfield and Friends, co-wrote stories for the program, with the cast including Frank Welker, Wally Wingert, Julie Payne, Jason Marsden and Gregg Berger. Welker and Berger had previously voiced various characters in Garfield and Friends.
The animated series premiered on 22 December 2008 in France as Garfield & Cie, in early 2009 in Japan as Gāfīrudo to shī, and on 2 November 2009 in the United States. It ran for five seasons, with its last episodes airing in the US on October 24, 2016; Evanier stated shortly afterward that it was on hiatus. On August 6, 2019, an untitled Nickelodeon series based on the Garfield comic strip was announced, seemingly ending any chances of The Garfield Show coming back.

## Plot

The show features loose continuity and is set in a different universe to the previous Garfield cartoon series Garfield and Friends, which is occasionally referenced. Liz is now considered a main character and has an official relationship with Jon to reflect their current status in the comic strip. The Garfield Show also reestablishes Arlene as Garfield's potential love interest, as in the comic strip, (despite being advertised as a main character, her actual role in the series is rather minor). In addition, Garfield is now a talking character. Nevertheless, only other animals are usually able to understand him, although Jon and other humans sometimes can.
The Garfield Show also features many new characters that are part of the regular cast, such as Vito, a local Italian chef and restaurant owner whose cooking Garfield enjoys, and Harry, a stray cat who acts as both a friend and a nemesis to Garfield. Squeak, Garfield's mouse friend that lives in Jon's house, also appears, having previously in the comic strip.

## Episodes

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network |
| 1 | 26 | 26 | 2 November 2009 (2009-11-02) | 23 December 2009 (2009-12-23) | Cartoon Network |
| 2 | 26 | 26 | 13 December 2010 (2010-12-13) | 28 June 2011 (2011-06-28) | Cartoon Network |
| 3 | 26 | 26 | 4 September 2012 (2012-09-04) | 5 October 2012 (2012-10-05) | Cartoon Network |
| 4 | 27 | 27 | 6 October 2015 (2015-10-06) | 2 September 2016 (2016-09-02) | Boomerang |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 24 October 2016 (2016-10-24) | 24 October 2016 (2016-10-24) | | Boomerang |

## Cast and characters
### Main characters

* Garfield (voiced by Frank Welker) is a lazy and sarcastic lasagna-loving ginger tabby cat and the protagonist of the show.
* Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a fun-loving brown and yellow beagle dog and Garfield's best friend.
* Jon Arbuckle (voiced by Wally Wingert) is Garfield and Odie's dorky owner who is employed as a cartoonist.
* Nermal (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a mischievous grey tabby cat with a cute appearance who is Garfield's frenemy and often visits the latter's house.
* Arlene (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) is a kind yet snarky pink tinted white short haired Turkish angora cat who serves as Garfield's love interest.
* Dr. Liz Wilson (voiced by Julie Payne) is the local veterinarian and Jon's love interest.
* Squeak (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a kind and loyal house mouse and one of Garfield's closest friends who regularly invades Jon's kitchen.

### Recurring characters

* Eddie Gourmand (voiced by Frank Welker) is a famous overweight but fun-loving food critic whose opinions on restaurants usually have a major impact on their success. He often crosses paths with Garfield, as they both enjoy Vito's cooking.
* Dr. Whipple (voiced by Stan Freberg) is a recurring antagonist who, while helping others, is usually out for his own gain. He is a parody of Dr. Phil.
* Professor Thaddeus Bonkers (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a mad scientist whose discoveries tend to lead to disaster.
* Doc "Doc Boy" Arbuckle (voiced by David Lander) is Jon's younger brother who owns a farm. Jon always teases him by calling him "Doc Boy," much to his irritation.
* Aunt Ivy (voiced by Laraine Newman) is Jon and Doc Boy's bossy aunt who often harasses Jon whenever she comes to visit.
* Vito Cappelletti (voiced by Jason Marsden) is an Italian chef who owns Vito's Pizzeria, whom Garfield admires for his amazing cooking.
* Harry (voiced by Gregg Berger) is a stray cat who lives in Garfield's neighborhood and is a sometimes friend of Garfield.
* Drusilla and Minerva (voiced by Laura Summer) are two annoying twins that like to dress up any animal they come across, often Garfield. They are hinted to be either Jon's cousins or nieces.
* Herman Post (voiced by Gregg Berger) is the mailman that works in Garfield's neighborhood. Garfield often plays pranks on him for "delivering nothing but bills". much to his dismay. He regularly earns salary raises as other mailmen are too scared of Garfield to permanently replace him.
* Al the Dog Catcher (voiced by Wally Wingert) is a clumsy dog catcher who is often fired for his incompetence only to be rehired for lack of a suitable replacement. His associate is Pete (voiced by Jason Marsden).
* Mama Meanie (voiced by Gregg Berger) is the greedy owner of a pizza place that rivals Vito's who usually resorts to underhanded tactics to make money since the food he sells tastes terrible and barely edible.
* Bruno (voiced by Wally Wingert) is a sadistic alley cat that bullies Garfield.
* The Evil Space Lasagnas are an alien race of living lasagnas that try to conquer Earth.
* Hercules (voiced by Wally Wingert) is a mean chihuahua "with a bad attitude" who is actually a troubled loner deep on the inside. He sometimes associates with Mademoiselle Fifi, the chihuahua belonging to Jon's boss.
* Mr. Barker (voiced by Gregg Berger) is Jon's kind but demanding former boss who commissions Jon's comics.
* Anthony Allwork (voiced by Jack Riley) is a lawyer and businessman who acts as an antagonist. He usually tries to come up with schemes to make himself richer. He has a soft spot for his son Jack.
* Esmeralda Brubaker (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a museum curator who prioritizes science over any person's individual life. She'll stop at nothing to get what she wants and usually finds a way to do so legally.
* Neferkitty (voiced by Susan Silo) is the leader of an ancient tribe of cats that once tried to take over the world and were banished to another dimension. Garfield tricks her into entering the human world alone where she is forcibly adopted by Liz's annoying niece Heather who renames her "Fuzzbutton," much to her chagrin. Since then, she swore vengeance on Garfield and Odie.

### Additional characters

* News Anchorwoman Winona, Angelica, Bella Bellissima, Tyham, Aunt Esther, Queen Tania, and Abigail, voiced by Laraine Newman
* Celeste, Chester, Lester, Mary Margaret Reporter, and Squirrel #2, voiced by Candi Milo
* Buckley, General Gorgonzola, and Jim Davis, voiced by Gregg Berger.
* Fluffykins, Hippo, Mole, and Spencer Spendington voiced by Stan Freberg
* Mr. Arbuckle, Nimbus, Ricotta, and Spumoni, voiced by Frank Welker
* Charley, Irv, and The Lasagna King, voiced by Wally Wingert
* Humphrey, Gnarley, and Mr. Wilson, voiced by Jason Marsden
* Brandon Scoop, King Glorm, and Tyler Edge, voiced by Neil Ross
* Biff and Dirk Dinkum, voiced by Fred Tatasciore
* Gloria and Newscaster, voiced by Audrey Wasilewski
* Mrs. Arbuckle and Mrs. Wilson, voiced by Julie Payne
* Jack Allwork and Sandra, voiced by Grey DeLisle
* Farley and The Sandman, voiced by Joe Alaskey
* Angie and Scheherazade, voiced by Misty Lee
* Hostess and Squirrel #1, voiced by Tress MacNeille
* Lucerita and Tabitha, voiced by Laura Summer
* Armstrong, voiced by Phil LaMarr
* Mrs. Cauldron, voiced by June Foray
* Cousin Ratzo, voiced by Corey Burton
* Ghost Cat, voiced by Jack Riley
* Ms. Gourmand, voiced by April Winchell
* Health Inspector, voiced by Bob Bergen
* Hiram “Hi” Pressure, voiced by Marvin Kaplan
* Lyman, voiced by Frank Ferrante
* Master Control, voiced by Mark Hamill
* Mayor Graffton, voiced by Chuck McCann
* Metalla, voiced by Susan Silo
* McCuckoo, voiced by Bill Farmer
* Officer Reed, voiced by Jewel Shepard
* Nathan, voiced by Melissa Disney
* Samuel W. Underberger, voiced by Maurice LaMarche
* Varicella, voiced by Rose Marie

## Development

Development for The Garfield Show began in 2007 to coincide with the strip's 30th anniversary. Many crew members from the previous animated series based on Garfield that debuted in 1988 returned to work on The Garfield Show.

## Broadcast

The series premiered in France on France 3 on 22 December 2008 and in Japan on NHK in early 2009.
The series also airing on Gulli since, 25 October 2021 in France
English-language episodes started airing on Boomerang UK on 5 May 2009.
English-language episodes started airing on Boomerang (Middle East and Africa) and on Boomerang (Central and Eastern Europe) on 7 November 2009.
It aired on YTV in Canada from 13 September 2009 to 30 December 2011.
In the United States, it aired on Cartoon Network from November 2, 2009 to May 23, 2014. It also aired on Boomerang from February 4, 2013 to December 30, 2016.
In Bangladesh, the series aired on Duronto TV from 12 January 2020.

## Reception

Common Sense Media gave the show 3 stars out of 5, saying "Infamous cat's antics are fun, if not exactly message laden."
Kevin Carr of 7M pictures gave the show 2 stars out of 5 stating that the animation felt unpolished compared to the direct-to-video movies and that the show was full of "throwaway stories" because it "aims for a more kid-friendly presentation of the fat feline." He concluded his review stating he preferred "old-school cell animation as the week-to-week series CGI looks too much like cheap video game emulations, but I’m not the target market of these things".
Justin Felix of DVD talk gave the show 2.5 out of 5 stating that "The Garfield Show isn't some great work of art, but it efficiently delivers cartoon animal fun that little kids would probably enjoy. The animation is a tad rudimentary and clunky at times, but it's good enough to pass muster for cartoon fare of this type."
Mike Gencarelli of Media Mikes gave the show 3.5 out of 5 stating "it doesn’t compare to the classic Jim Davis cartoon but it is all we have right now."

## Video game

The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna, a party video game, was released in July 2010 for the Wii. A PC port was released in 2011 exclusively in Russia. It includes over 12 minigames and supports the Wii Balance Board and Wii Motion Plus. The game was critically panned for its short length, lack of interactivity and monotonous gameplay.