Carmen Sandiego (TV series)

Carmen Sandiego is an animated action-adventure television series with educational elements, based on the media franchise of the same name created by Broderbund. The series is produced by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt with WildBrain serving as the production company, and contains a "serialized look at Carmen's backstory that is told from her perspective". Serving as an origin story for the fictional thieving villain of the same name, it is the fourth Carmen Sandiego television show after the PBS game shows Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, and the Fox Kids animated series Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?; it is also the first Carmen Sandiego related show since the end of Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego in 1999.
Serving as WildBrain's second reboot of an animated DIC Entertainment series, the series sees many characters drawn from the franchise's 35-year history: Carmen Sandiego herself who debuted in the original World video game; The Chief who took her current form in the World game show; Player, Zack, and Ivy who were featured in the Earth animated series, Chase Devineaux who debuted in Word Detective, and Julia Argent who was featured in Treasures of Knowledge.
The first season was released on January 18, 2019, on Netflix. A second season was released on October 1, 2019. A third season announced on April 24, 2020 and was released on October 1. A fourth and final season was announced on October 2, 2020, and was released on January 15, 2021. In September 2024, it was announced that a puzzle-adventure game which visually resembles, and takes "plot cues" from, the series, would be released in the first quarter of 2025.
An orphan girl codenamed Black Sheep was found on the side of a road in Buenos Aires, Argentina, roughly 20 years ago and is raised and trained to become a master thief by a group of villains who double as the faculty at V.I.L.E. Academy, a school for thieves and secret criminal organization, located on the Isle of V.I.L.E. in the Canary Islands.
Black Sheep considers the island and faculty her home and family until she learns the organization's true nature. After seeing how much harm V.I.L.E causes, she goes rogue, escapes the island and adopts the name Carmen Sandiego. Now, she seeks to take down V.I.L.E. by stealing things they have already stolen, returning them to their rightful place or owner and stopping their future heists and plans from being executed. Carmen's friends and team are white-hat hacker Player, who works as recon tech support, and Boston siblings Zack and Ivy, who help her on-site and often act as distractions or operate various get-away vehicles. She treats each one of them with care and together, they set out to thwart V.I.L.E.'s criminal schemes all while on the run from the mysterious law enforcement agency, A.C.M.E., who have set their sights on arresting V.I.L.E and Carmen.
A recurring theme is that both V.I.L.E. and A.C.M.E. make mistaken assumptions about Carmen's actions and intentions.
In season one, Carmen is a modern-day Robin Hood, traveling the globe, stealing from V.I.L.E. and giving back to its victims. Cloaked in red, she is accompanied by her hacker Player, and her best friends Zack and Ivy. Carmen is publicly perceived as a master criminal by most law enforcement agencies due to the sheer scale and theatricality of her heists. We follow her escapades and learn why she became a super thief and get to determine not only where, but "who" in the world is Carmen Sandiego?.
In season two, Carmen seeks answers about her past, while V.I.L.E. attempts to keep their finances from plummeting even further into the red. The Faculty attempt to find a new fifth member after Shadowsan joins Carmen. Thanks to Julia's encouragement, Carmen and the Chief make a loose alliance to take down V.I.L.E..
In season three, Carmen has been off the grid for months, looking for clues to her mother's identity. Julia quits A.C.M.E., after Chief has become too blinded by distrust toward Carmen, for stealing intel on her father from them, to see that she isn't stealing from anyone. V.I.L.E. sets up base in Scotland, sending new agents after Carmen who were specifically trained to capture her.
In season four, after several failed attempts to claim gold, including the lost hidden treasures stolen by the past generations of the organization, V.I.L.E. has been pushed to its limits and they start using robot operatives. They eventually capture and brainwash Carmen, who then quickly rebuilds their funds and gains the Faculty's favor. However, Graham helps A.C.M.E. bring the real Carmen back bringing down V.I.L.E. in the process. Carmen finally tracks down and meets her mother. Shadowsan retires and reunites with his brother, while Zack and Ivy join A.C.M.E. in crime-fighting. After the downfall of V.I.L.E. with its leaders apprehended, A.C.M.E. chases down its remaining members, with the occasional help from Carmen.
A.C.M.E. (short for Agency to Classify & Monitor Evildoers) is the secret global law enforcement agency that often combats V.I.L.E. and the anti-heroes of the series. In this iteration, they seek out finding proof leading to the dissolution of the criminal organization through the means of finding and capturing Carmen and her crew for intel on them.
V.I.L.E. (short for Villains' International League of Evil) is a shadowy international crime syndicate of thieves and the main antagonists of the series. Its undercover name is Valuable Imports, Lavish Exports. Their origins date back to the medieval ages where the original founders pillaged trades routes, ancient monuments, and tombs. According to the Chief, their operations have been involved in manipulating financial markets and contaminating food staples in the past decades. Their headquarters are located on one of the Canary Islands and use the academy there to train their new recruits for a one-year semester. As of the end of Season 2, V.I.L.E. Island was destroyed after the V.I.L.E. Faculty believed that A.C.M.E. had found their location. V.I.L.E. was then relocated to a castle in Scotland in Season 3.
A council of five masterminds who are the leaders of V.I.L.E., the instructors of V.I.L.E. Academy, and the primary antagonists of the series who Carmen considered the only family she knew before betraying them. They each have equal authority, and reach decisions by a majority vote; thus they try to ensure an odd number is always present.
On April 14, 2017, Hollywood insider information site The Tracking Board reported that they had exclusively learned of an animated Carmen Sandiego project at Netflix, with Gina Rodriguez as the voice of the titular character. The site reported that the 20-episode series would aim to be "as educational as it is entertaining", in keeping with the style of the franchise. It was later confirmed that the series would be called Carmen Sandiego. Rodriguez confirmed the story via her Twitter feed the following day in response to a Hypable story, which compared the news to that of a Kate McKinnon-led revival of The Magic School Bus. Carmen Sandiego was set to appeal to a wider audience (ages 6–11), plus the parents of those kids and fans of the original series. On April 18 and 19, the news began to be published by reputable news sites, where it was confirmed that Netflix had rebooted the franchise on TV by ordering twenty 22-minute episodes of Carmen Sandiego, which would premiere in 2019 and with Gina Rodriguez in the starring role. Rotoscopers noted that this was "more than most Netflix Originals receive". The Hollywood Reporter noted that Rita Moreno, who voiced Carmen in the FOX animated series Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, had recently guest-starred on Rodriguez's show Jane the Virgin. The new series was described as having "thrilling adventure and intrigue", while offering an "intimate look into Carmen's past" and what inspired her career choices, essentially answering the question "Who in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" while simultaneously following her on her thieving escapades.
Caroline Fraser, Head of HMH Productions, is the Executive Producer of the series. Duane Capizzi, known for Transformers: Prime and The Batman, is the showrunner and Co-Executive Producer. Kevin Dart serves as visual designer. It is a production by DHX Media, providing production work, and Chromosphere, providing the design work. Animation services are outsourced to Top Draw Animation in the Philippines. DHX/WildBrain Media is the current owner of the library of DIC Entertainment, the animation studio which produced the Earth animated series. The series is produced by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who own the rights to the franchise after their corporate predecessor Riverdeep acquired the property in 2002. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the series followed in the wake of Bill Nye Saves the World and Julie's Greenroom. Finn Wolfhard signed on to lend his voice to the character Player, who is described as Carmen's chief accomplice and friend. Another character called "Player" was featured in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, but this character was a fourth wall-breaking live action boy who bookended the show and interacted with Carmen, implied to be the player of a video game featuring her. E! Online reported that the new series would be called, simply, "Carmen Sandiego".
Rodriguez, who had first learned about the series through the PBS game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, asserted that the new Carmen Sandiego origin series was "tight", "well written", "really, really good", and "unbelievable". She mentioned that Netflix was a home for great programming and that the show had partnered with talented illustrators. She added that despite being entertaining, the show would still provide geographic and historical education. In another interview, she said that she loved the art and story of the animated series, and praised the show's executive producer, Duane Capizzi, for making the world that Carmen inhabits in the show itself.
Andy Yeatman, Netflix director of global kids content, explained "We think there's a huge benefit of having a program that parents remember fondly and grew up with. We are giving them the opportunity to introduce it to their kids and spark a conversation", explaining that while the service pitched reboots of many '80s and '90s shows, Carmen Sandiego was one that "made sense" and "really stood out". They responded to the fact that this is not a show that is perennially rebooted, as the last Carmen Sandiego series ended 20 years before this new series would premiere, and that there are interesting ways to retell the story. In addition to Yeatman's comments, Amy Dunkin, Houghton Mifflin's the chief marketing officer, noted that many had "fond memories" of Carmen Sandiego, and added that there are many ways "you can go with Carmen just based on what she stands for."
In March 2018, Netflix also ordered a live-action film of Carmen Sandiego, once again with Rodriguez as the titular character.
Of the initial 20-episode order, nine episodes were released as the show's first season. On February 15, 2019, Netflix announced the second season, made up of a further ten.
On April 24, 2020, Netflix announced a third season, followed on October 2, 2020, with announcement of a fourth, which was later announced to be the final season.
In September and October 2021, the official Twitter account for the show confirmed that a spin-off of the series was in the "earliest stages" and that they would share details on the spinoff as soon as they could.
After the end of the show, it has been syndicated across countries. In France, it airs on Disney Channel since August 29, 2022. In Switzerland, it airs on RTS 1 since August 27, 2022. In Japan, it also airs on Disney Channel. In Canada, it airs on Family Channel since 2023 and WildBrainTV since November 5, 2022.
The announcement saw a positive response by the media, who appreciated the throwback, and a return for the Carmen Sandiego franchise to the small screen. TVShowsOnDVD wrote "It's awesome to see this franchise return to television". The Rolling Stone thought the TV series' origin story subject matter offers what was once one of "golden age of television's favorite thematic trappings". Commenting "children of the 90's rejoice", Maxim suggested that Netflix enlist the talents of World game show theme song performers Rockapella to provide music for the show. ScreenRant noted that "those who still hold fond memories of the property" would be intrigued as to what type of shape the new series will take; adding that it has a "storied legacy" to live up to and will likely take some inspiration from Earth. Dark Horizons expressed sadness that the show was two years away. Toonzone wondered if the new show would maintain the established backstory of the red fedora-wearing villain, which in mid-to-late '90s canon involved Carmen Sandiego beginning as an A.C.M.E. agent before finding the work too easy so wanting to outsmart her former colleagues. Gizmodo thought the new series would "bring the character's trademark blend of edutainment to new audiences". Mashable said "fans demanding the series NOW". Pedestrian thought the trend toward series such as this was a sign that producers were aiming to " trap people in a downwards vortex of nostalgia ". Fortune suggested that the new show offered Netflix "huge merchandizing potential", and that the company could follow in the footsteps of Disney by creating a merchandising arm to support its shows. Rom-Game saw this as a sign that Netflix was "indirectly interested in gaming heritage". MiscRave mentioned how much potential the franchise with its interactive edutainment in a compelling package it previously had. NerdHQ noted that the new series offered an opportunity to resuscitate the "once-dormant" and "dying" franchise. Apart from these media reviews, various Latina women across the United States were excited and energized by the show's release.
The show currently holds a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews, with the site's consensus reading, "Vivid animation and creative reconstruction of the Carmen Sandiego backstory elevates this property beyond its edutainment roots." Other reviewers are more critical. Renaldo Matadeen of CBR, for instance, critically reviewed the series. He argued that the second season ended on a "very intense note," while noting the family history themes in the show, and stated that the final episode of the third season remixes all the movies of the Ocean's franchise. In a review of all the episodes of the third season, he wrote that there is a "lot packed in" the third season, predicting the revenge of the villainous Roundabout, saving Gray, a face-off between The Chief and Carmen, and the continued search for Carmen's mom in the show's next season. At the same time, Martha Sorren of Bust also predicted that the fourth season could explore the relationship between Carmen and her mother.
Megan Summers of Screen Rant highlighted Wolfhard's role as Player, calling it one of his best roles, and Prabhdeep Dhaliwal in The Peak stated that while the show is "geared towards a younger demographic," adults can still be entertained by it. He also stated that the show has sympathetic characters and an "overarching theme of good winning over evil." Katherine Smith of Paste took a different tack. While stating that Carmen Sandiego has returned to relevance with the Netflix series, she also highlights how animated projects "hustle their employees out of sight," contrasting the gains in visible representation with "very plausible worker exploitation." She cites an example of Filipino company, Top Draw (working on the animation), which fired a whistleblower who demanded proper compensation. She concludes by saying that in the current series, Carmen Sandiego is a female thief who "steals only from thieves now," and worries about where her character has gone, compared to the original story. On the other hand, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described the series as "action-packed" and argued that the series "incorporates solid geographical and cultural information" into the story in "creative ways."