Sonic Prime

Sonic Prime is an animated television series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, co-produced by Sega of America, Netflix Animation, WildBrain Studios and Man of Action Entertainment. It is the sixth animated television series based on the franchise.
The first season, comprising eight episodes, was released on Netflix on December 15, 2022. The second season, also comprising 8 episodes, was released on July 13, 2023. According to WildBrain Studios, the show will have 24 episodes in total.
Synopsis
During a battle with Dr. Eggman, Sonic shatters the Paradox Prism, a crystalline artifact with reality-bending powers, which drastically warps reality and creates the "Shatterverse", a new section of the multiverse with five alternative dimensions called "Shatterspaces", each of them formed by one of the Prism shards and inhabited by alternative versions of Sonic's friends (Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Rouge and Big), but lack their own versions of him.
Sonic first ends up in New Yoke City, a futuristic dystopian version of Green Hill ruled by a group of Eggman variants who call themselves the Chaos Council, who used their realm's shard to conquer it with ease. Even worse, they seek to extend their reach and conquer the entire Shatterverse after learning of its existence through Sonic by getting their hands on all five shards, but are opposed by him and a resistance formed by denizen versions of his friends. While seeking to reassemble the Prism and restore his reality, which has been rendered into the dull and lifeless Ghost Hill by the shattering, Sonic ventures to other Shatterspaces to retrieve the shards before the council, including the Boscage Maze, a jungle world with feral versions of his pals; the No Place, a flooded world with pirate versions; and the Grim, a barren wasteland. Later, Sonic's rival Shadow, who managed to avoid the warping through Chaos Control, also reluctantly agrees to help him. Once the Chaos Council's plans for domination begin to put the Shatterverse in jeopardy, the natives of each world join the war against them and work with their counterparts.
Voice cast
Deven Mack as:
Sonic the Hedgehog: A blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with the power to run at supersonic speeds. Though he can be cocky and egotistical at times, he cares deeply for his friends and tries to keep the world safe from Dr. Eggman. In the different parts of the Shatterverse, Sonic's footwear grants him different abilities, such as electric capabilities in New Yoke City, the ability to climb walls in the Boscage Maze, and the ability to hover across the water in No Place.
Chaos Sonic: A robot created by the Chaos Council resembling Sonic. Chaos Sonic is based on Metal Sonic.
Orbot and Cubot: Dr. Eggman's robotic henchmen with less-than-average competence. Orbot is the red, sphere-shaped robot while Cubot is the yellow cube-shaped robot. Unlike the other characters, Orbot and Cubot do not have counterparts in the Shatterverse.
Brian Drummond as:
Dr. Eggman: An evil genius with an IQ of 300 who is Sonic's arch-nemesis. He planned to use the Paradox Prism for his plans.
Mr. Dr. Eggman: Dr. Eggman's counterpart from New Yoke City who is the leader of the Chaos Council.
Dr. Done It: A member of the Chaos Council who resembles an older version of Dr. Eggman.
Stormbeard: A former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew who left and formed a crew with the other members led by Jack.
Ashleigh Ball as:
Miles "Tails" Prower: An anthropomorphic fox who is Sonic's best friend, a genius inventor, and can fly with his twin tails.
Tails Nine (or "Nine" for short): Tails' counterpart from New Yoke City who built himself seven addition mechanical tails after being constantly bullied for his twin tails, a reluctant ally, and later enemy of Sonic.
Mangey Tails: Tails' counterpart from the Boscage Maze who acts like a wild animal, commonly walking on all fours and only communicating in growls.
Sails Tails: Tails' counterpart from No Place who created a mechanical arm on his belt so he can perform more tasks simultaneously.
Bunny Bones: A former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew who left and formed a crew with the other members led by Jack.
Adam Nurada as Knuckles the Echidna: A red anthropomorphic echidna whose large fists provide him with a lot of strength.
Shannon Chan-Kent as:
Amy Rose: Sonic's friend who fights using her Piko Piko Hammer.
Rusty Rose: Amy's counterpart from New Yoke City who is a cyborg that was formerly controlled by the Chaos Council, but joined Dread's crew, and practically Sonic's side, after the Chaos Council deserted her.
Thorn Rose: Amy's counterpart from the Boscage Maze who is overprotective of the nature around and attacks anyone who may try to harm it.
Black Rose: Amy's counterpart from No Place who is a member of Knuckles the Dread's crew.
Ian Hanlin as:
Shadow the Hedgehog: A black hedgehog whose speed rivals Sonic. After seeing the damage Sonic caused by breaking the Paradox Prism, he made it his mission to stop Sonic from causing any more damage and help him fix his mistake.
Big the Cat: A purple anthropomorphic cat who likes to fish. He is commonly seen with his pet frog Froggy.
Denizen 1998: Big's counterpart from New Yoke City who lives the same miserable life as the other law-abiding denizens.
Hangry Cat: Big's counterpart from the Boscage Maze, who stops at nothing to try to scavenge any food he can find.
Catfish: Big's counterpart from No Place. He is frequently seen playing music for the crew to sing songs to.
Kazumi Evans as:
Rouge the Bat: An anthropomorphic bat who is also a spy.
Rebel Rouge: Rouge's counterpart from New Yoke City who is the leader of the Resistance aimed at taking down the Chaos Council.
Prim Rouge: Rouge's counterpart from the Boscage Maze who is the leader of the Scavengers.
Batten Rouge: Rouge's counterpart from No Place who is a member of Knuckles the Dread's crew. She always shows loyalty to whoever the current captain is.
Vincent Tong as:
Renegade Knucks: Knuckles' counterpart from New Yoke City who is a member of the Resistance.
Gnarly Knuckles: Knuckles' counterpart from the Boscage Maze who is a member of the Scavengers.
Knuckles the Dread: Knuckles' counterpart from No Place who is the captain of his ship, the Angel's Voyage. He seems to be laid-back, and unlike the rest of his crew, expresses his trust in Sonic quickly.
Dr. Deep: A member of the Chaos Council, who speaks philosophically and has an oriental flair to him while making more flamboyant gestures than the other members.
Dr. Don't: A teenage member of the Chaos Council who is lazy and is frequently seen playing video games, but is nevertheless a skilled programmer.
Dr. Babble: An infant member of the Chaos Council who, despite his young age and inability to communicate, is just as physically and intellectually capable as the other members.
Rachell Hofstetter as Squad Commander Red: A member of the Resistance.
Seán McLoughlin as Jack: A former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew. After a voyage caused the crew to lose their ship, Jack and the other crew members left Dread on his own, forming their own crew with Jack as the leader.
Episodes
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Season 1 (2022)
Season 2 (2023)
Production
Sonic Prime was officially announced in February 2021, though the development of the series was initially revealed in a deleted tweet in December 2020. The series will have 24 episodes overall. Colleen O'Shaughnessey, known for portraying Miles "Tails" Prower since 2014, responded to a tweet on Twitter that she would not be reprising the role in the Netflix series, due to Canadian content and union laws meaning that a large portion of voice actors portraying roles in Canadian television programs have to be Canadian. In May 2022, it was announced that Deven Mack would voice the titular character for the series.
The series is made by Man of Action and WildBrain Studios, and marks as their second collaboration on a video game based series after Mega Man: Fully Charged, along with Netflix Animation and Sega's animation studio Marza Animation Planet. One of the writers, Duncan Rouleau, stated that the series will be set in "the video game universe created by Sonic Team" and that "possible Sega crossovers are not ruled out." According to executive producer Logan McPherson, the series is canon to the games' timeline.
In June 2021, concept art of the series was discovered on a now deleted artist's portfolio.
Duncan Rouleau later confirmed that Ian Flynn, who has written for the Archie, Boom, IDW series and the newly released Sonic Frontiers, would be a consultant. Additionally, The Willoughbys director Kris Pearn worked on the series as a creative consultant with My Little Pony: Equestria Girls director Ishi Rudell as an episodic director.
Release
The first season of Sonic Prime, consisting of eight episodes, was released on December 15, 2022. The first episode premiered on Gamefam's Sonic game on Roblox, Sonic Speed Simulator, on December 10, 2022. The release timeframes of the next seasons have not been officially confirmed, but will be in the "not too distant future" after the first season, according to executive producer Logan McPherson.
Season 2 was released on July 13, 2023. The first episode of season 2 premiered on YouTube on July 4, 2023.
On July 14, just a day after the release of the second season, writer Duncan Rouleau revealed that the third season will be released at some point in January 2024. A sneak peek of the third season was shown during the Netflix Drop 01 livestream on September 27.
Reception
Audience viewership
On December 20, 2022, Netflix announced that Sonic Prime was ranked number five of the top 10 on English television to be watched with 27.7 million hours watched between December 12 and 18.
The second season also made it to the Top 10 of Netflix most watched English TV shows in the week of July 10–16 of 2023, with 7.9 million hours watched. It ranked 10th and reached the Top 10 in 19 countries. It maintained its position for the following week, with an additional 6.8 million hours watched.
Critical response
Sonic Prime received generally positive reviews from critics with praise given to the voice acting, story, and animation; but some criticized its writing, with a few calling it "repetitive". On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has a score of 60% based on reviews from 5 critics.
Polly Conway of Common Sense Media said that it is fun, frenetic animated series touts teamwork and has violence. Kennet Seward Jr of IGN gave season one a score of 8 out of 10, calling it a "fun and family-friendly" show for new and old fans, said "Sonic Prime is a fun and overall entertaining, family-friendly show. Sitting tonally between the 1992 Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and 93’ Sonic the Hedgehog – which features a similar 'freedom fighters seeking to overthrow a cruel leader' vibe – it offers an exciting look at the past while presenting some new ideas. It has some issues concerning pacing and the abrupt ending of the first season won't do it any favors. That said, Sonic Prime should be well received by new and longtime franchise fans."
Joshua Kristian Mccoy of Game Rant gave Prime 3.5 out of 5, labeling it "very good" and also calling it a lot of fun: "Sonic Prime is yet another argument for Sonic as a TV star first and a game character second. Sonic fans will love the showcase for their favorite characters and the fast-paced action. Despite some weak writing and a bit too much repetition, Sonic Prime is a lot of fun. Enjoy the Blue Blur's journey into the multiverse."
Accolades
References
External links
WildBrain's official announcement
2022 American television series debuts
2022 Canadian television series debuts
2020s American animated television series
2020s Canadian animated television series
2020s Canadian comic science fiction television series
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American computer-animated television series
Canadian children's animated action television series
Canadian children's animated adventure television series
Canadian computer-animated television series
Animated series based on Sonic the Hedgehog
Animated television series about hedgehogs
Anime-influenced Western animated television series
English-language Netflix original programming
Netflix children's programming
Television series about parallel universes
Television series by DHX Media
Television series by Netflix Animation