# Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV series)

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed for the streaming service Paramount+. Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, it is set in the universe of the film Mutant Mayhem (2023) and serves as a bridge between the film and a planned sequel. The series follows the Turtles as they navigate their dual lives as both teenagers and heroes in New York City. Christopher Yost and Alan Wan serve as showrunners.
Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, and Ayo Edebiri reprise their voice roles from Mutant Mayhem (2023). During production on the film, its producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were granted approval to develop a canon streaming television series. The series was announced in July 2023, with Yost and Wan attached as executive producers and showrunners. It is produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Point Grey Pictures, and Titmouse provides animation.
The first season of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted on Paramount+ on August 9, 2024, with all 12 episodes. It received positive reviews from critics. A second season was picked up alongside the first and is set to debut on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ in 2025.

## Premise

Set two months after the events of the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023), the series follows the Turtles as they navigate their dual lives as both teenagers and heroes in New York City. In the first story arc, which is an imaginary story in a comic Leonardo is making, the Turtles are separated while facing Bishop, a villain who plans to eliminate all mutants. They must deal with being alone for the first time and reunite to save mutant kind. In the second arc, which is Raphael's spin on true events concerning a torrential storm, the Turtles clash with a group of aquatic mutants known as the East River Three. They must also deal with being saddled with different members of the Mutanimals.

## Cast and characters

* Micah Abbey as Donatello: The tech guru of the Turtles who uses a bō staff in combat. He has a liking for anime and video games.
* Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo: The fun-loving jokester of Turtles who uses nunchucks. He desires to be a stand-up comedian.
* Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo: The leader of the Turtles who uses two katana. He has a romantic interest in April O'Neil.
* Brady Noon as Raphael: The muscle of the Turtles who uses a pair of sai. He has a "fight first, ask questions later" attitude.
* Ayo Edebiri as April O'Neil: A high school news reporter and human friend of the Turtles.
* Splinter is a mutant rat and the adoptive father and mentor of the Turtles. He was previously voiced by Jackie Chan in Mutant Mayhem, but only speaks in a gibberish language called "vermin" in Tales. Fred Tatasciore provides the voice and is credited as "Splinter Vermin".

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| 1 | 12 | 12 | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 2 | 12 | 12 | 2025 (2025) | 2025 (2025) |

### Season 1 (2024)

| No. | Title | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Leo Nardo Stands Alone!" | Christopher Yost | Eleisiya Arocha, Gabriela Camarillo, Ian Higginbotham and Kenji Ono, Kalvin Lee (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 2 | "Mikey Does the Right Thing" | Matthew Bass | Sebrina Gao, Jerry Gaylord and Laura Gille, Kenji Ono (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 3 | "Raph Thinks It Through" | Christopher Yost | Peter Foltz, Ian Higginbotham, Kam Kalambay, Lyndsay Simpson and Jaxon Sorby, Jennifer Bennett (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 4 | "Donnie Hangs Tough" | Alex Hanson | Eleisiya Arocha, Gabriela Camarillo, Lyndsay Simpson and Tim Yan, Kalvin Lee (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 5 | "Bishop Makes Her Move!" | Haley Mancini | Ian Higginbotham, Jaxon Sorby and Jasmine Suggs, Jennifer Bennett (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 6 | "Night of the Mechazoids" | Kevin Shinick | Sebrina Gao, Jerry Gaylord and Laura Gille, Kenji Ono (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 7 | "Raph vs. Water" | Matthew Bass | Phil Allora, Lyndsay Simpson and Tim Yan, Kalvin Lee (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 8 | "Mikey Takes Charge" | Alex Hanson | Ian Higginbotham, Jasmine Goggins and Jaxon Sorby, Jennifer Bennett (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 9 | "Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish" | Haley Mancini | Sebrina Gao, Jerry Gaylord and Laura Gille, Kenji Ono (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 10 | "Donnie Goes Deep" | Matthew Bass | Phil Allora, Lyndsay Simpson and Tim Yan, Kenji Ono (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 11 | "Leonardo Saddles Up" | Elise Roncace | Ian Higginbotham, Jerry Gaylord, Jasmine Goggins and Jaxon Sorby, Jennifer Bennett (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |
| 12 | "The Pearl" | Alex Hanson | Sebrina Gao, Laura Gille, Chris Luc and Kevin Molina-Ortiz, Alan Wan (director) | August 9, 2024 (2024-8-9) |

## Production
### Development

According to Christopher Yost, during the middle of production on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023), producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were granted approval to develop a canon streaming television series. Yost was then approached to see if he would be interested in meeting Rogen, and after agreeing, the two discussed what the series could be. Alan Wan was brought in to work with Yost. Together, the two had experience working on the 2003 Turtles series, the 2012 Turtles series, and the 2018 series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In July 2023, Variety reported that a film sequel and a 2D animated television series follow-up for Mutant Mayhem had been greenlit. The series, titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was reported to act as a bridge between Mutant Mayhem and the film sequel, which has been scheduled to release in theaters in 2026. Yost and Wan were announced as executive producers and showrunners. Lukas Williams was set to oversee production for Point Grey Pictures which co-produces with Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Production for Nickelodeon was overseen by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Animation, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.
Despite reportedly being greenlit for two seasons on announcement, Yost later said in an August 2024 interview that he was unsure if there would be a second season but said they had plenty of ideas for one. In the January 2025 issue Toy World Magazine, Paramount confirmed that season 2 will debut later that year on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.

### Casting, voice recording and music

Along with the series' announcement in July 2023, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon were confirmed to reprise their voice roles from Mutant Mayhem as the four Turtles. Ayo Edebiri was later confirmed to reprise her role as April O'Neil in February 2024. Unlike with Mutant Mayhem, in which Abbey, Brown, Cantu, and Noon recorded their voice roles together, for Tales, they recorded independently from one another. The actors felt that the decision affected the way they performed and helped them dig deeper into their respective characters. Splinter, who was previously voiced by Jackie Chan in Mutant Mayhem, only speaks in a gibberish language called "vermin" in Tales. Fred Tatasciore provides the voice and is credited as "Splinter Vermin". The series' opening theme and score was composed by Matt Mahaffey, who previously composed the score for Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its 2022 film continuation.

### Writing and animation

Unlike previous Turtles series, which were developed as television shows first, Tales is a continuation of a film. This meant the showrunners had to use Mutant Mayhem as a guiding map in development. Just like with the film, the showrunners emphasized the teenage aspect of the Turtles. The series is presented from the Turtles point of view. Yost said that they sometimes think of it as "Tales by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", adding that there was a bit of an unreliable narrator element to it. The showrunners described the world presented in the series as being more grounded than those of previous incarnations of Turtles. The team made efforts to integrate April O'Neil into the stories and make sure she did not feel too distant from the Turtles.
Independent animation studio Titmouse provides the animation for the series. Like with Mutant Mayhem, which took an unconventional approach to its CG animation, Wan wanted the series to take an unconventional 2D animation look. He wanted to capture a "punk rock" feeling and described the style as rough and raw. The showrunner felt the series' more crude art style helped to distinguish it from its more clean-looking action cartoon peers. Wan also felt that the art style paid homage to the original Turtles comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The series uses comic book drawings by Leonardo as a framing device, which the showrunners also added as an homage to the comics. For the action sequences, the team drew inspiration from various iterations of Turtles, including Mutant Mayhem, the 1990s live-action films, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

## Release and reception

The first season of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted on Paramount+ on August 9, 2024, with all of its ordered 12 episodes. The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 12, 2024, by Paramount Home Entertainment. The second season is set to debut on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ sometime in 2025.

### Critical response

For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported 100% approval with an average rating of 8.0/10 based on 9 reviews. Overall, the season received positive reviews from critics for its voice performances, animation, and action sequences. Some critics felt that it lived up to standard set up by Mutant Mayhem, while various others opined that it was a downgrade.

### Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Rustam Hasanov (for "Night of the Mechazoids") | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Alan Wan, Colin Heck (for "The Pearl") | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Laura Gille, Sebrina Gao, Kevin Molina-Ortiz (for "The Pearl") | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Ayo Edebiri (for "Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish") | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2025 | Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Caleb Yoder (for "The Pearl") | Nominated |
| Hollywood Professional Association Awards | November 7, 2024 | HPA Award for Outstanding Color Grading – Animated Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature | Ara Thomassian (Keep Me Posted) (for "Night of the Mechazoids") | Nominated |