Final Space

Final Spaceis an Americanadult animatedspace operacomedy dramatelevision series created byOlan Rogersand developed by Rogers andDavid Sacks. The series involves anastronautnamed Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Mooncake, and focuses on their intergalactic adventures as they try to save the universe from certain doom.
The series aired onTBSon February 26, 2018.It then moved toCartoon Network's late-nightprogramming block,Adult Swim, starting with the second season on June 24, 2019, followed by the third and final season on March 20, 2021.
On September 10, 2021, Rogers announced that Adult Swim cancelled the series after three seasonsdue to the proposed merger ofWarnerMediaandDiscovery Inc.announced that year.In September 2022, Rogers stated on Twitter that the series would bewritten offfor taxes. The series was internationally removed fromNetflixon December 16, 2023, though the series remained available in Spain, France, Germany and Belgium until March 18, 2024.
An upcominggraphic noveltitledFinal Space: The Final Chapteris set to be released in early 2025, as a continuation and end of the television series.
Gary Goodspeed is an energetic yet dim-witted astronaut who, in the midst of working off the last few days of his five-year sentence aboard the prison spacecraftGalaxy One, encounters a mysterious planet-destroying alien. He befriends the alien, naming him Mooncake, and then discovers that they are being pursued by the sinister, telekinetic Lord Commander. Together, Gary and Mooncake embark on a quest to save the universe, with help from the artificial intelligence HUE and a growing crew of shipmates, each with their own personal troubles – all while trying to uncover the secrets surrounding Final Space, a bizarre realm where the universe ends.
The idea for the show originated in mid-2010.Olan Rogersuploaded the first episode of a planned ten-part animated web-series titledGary Spaceto his personalFacebookchannel.The project went on hiatus three episodes in, and Rogers eventually explained on Facebook that both he and the series' artist, Dan Brown, were tending to separate projects at the time, but were in talks of continuing.On April 30, 2013, Rogers confirmed that he was rebooting and producing a season ofGary Spaceepisodes to release at once.Over two years later, Rogers revealed that a new short for the reboot forGary Spacewas planned to be pitched toCartoon Network, in addition to premiering the episode atBuffer Festivalif nothing came from the pitch.
In early 2016, Rogers announced that his project had been retitledFinal Space– to avoid similarities withSteven Universe– and revealed screenshots of the short via a vlog on his YouTube channel.The pilot forFinal Spacewas posted on Rogers' YouTube channelwith voices by himself and a friend of his, Coty Galloway; Galloway had collaborated with Rogers in aStar Warsfan filmcalledThe Scarlet Lance.The video caught the attention ofConan O'Brien, who invited him to Los Angeles to pitchFinal SpacetoTBSas a full series and also joined production as an executive producer alongside Rogers and3rd Rock from the Sunwriter and producerDavid Sacks. Other members of O'Brien's company,Conaco(David Kissinger, Larry Sullivan and Jeff Ross), and members of New Form who executive produced the pilot short (Kathleen Grace, Melissa Schneider and Matt Hoklotubbe) joined as executive producers as well. To balance out Rogers' inexperience in the industry, Conaco brought in Sacks to also serve as the showrunner for the series.After two weeks of working with Sacks and Jake Sidwell (co-composerof the series alongside Shelby Merry)on the pitch, Rogers and Sacks pitched the show to TBS; as well asComedy Central,Fox,FX, YouTube, andFullscreen; all six companies wanted the series and resulted in a bidding war between the studios over the series, with TBS acquiring the series.
On December 2, 2016, it was announced that the channel had given a series order.
Rogers announced in December 2016 that he voices the main characters, Gary and Mooncake.In July 2017, an additional cast list ofFred Armisen, Conan O'Brien,Keith David, Coty Galloway (reprising from the pilot),Tom Kenny,Caleb McLaughlin,John DiMaggio,Ron Perlman,Shannon Purser,Andy Richter,David Tennant, andSteven Yeunwas revealed.
Animation for the series is handled byShadowMachineinLos Angelesand outsourced toCanadianstudioJam Filledusing theToon Boom Harmonysoftware. The show usesNASAspace imagery for the space backgrounds.
When asked onTwitterabout the series' longevity, Olan Rogers had stated that he had at least six seasons' worth of material thought up for the show, including an ending forFinal Spacein case the series gets cancelled in the future.
On September 10, 2021, Rogers posted a video to his YouTube account stating that season 3 would be the show's last season.
On April 10, 2022, Rogers revealed on his Twitter that there is a chance that the show could be brought back in the future for an hour-long special to wrap up the story.On May 11, Rogers stated that he was still trying to put an end to the series.On June 15, after being unable to reach a deal to conclude the series in any medium, Rogers launched aKickstarterfor a short film titledGodspeed, spawned from unused ideas related to the series. At the end of the campaign, the crowdfund raised $464,438 in total.
On April 24, 2023, Rogers announced that Warner Bros. Discovery gave him a license to write a graphic novel to end the series. The novel, titledFinal Space: The Final Chapter, is set to be released in early 2025.
When responding to a question on Twitter, Olan Rogers revealed thatFinal Spacewould be showcased by TBS atSan Diego Comic-ConandVidConin 2017.Unlike other creators, Rogers runs thesocial mediaaccounts for the show, including the official Twitter account, calling it a "good opportunity" to connect with fans.
Final Spacepremiered onRedditon February 15, 2018, followed by anAMAwith Rogers.This would mark a first for a TV network to premiere a series on the site.Later that day, the first two episodes became available on TBS's website and app.TBS's sister networkTNTaired a sneak peek premiere of the show on February 17, 2018, right after the2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.After its official premiere on TBS on February 26, 2018, the pilot aired two hours later on sibling networkAdult Swim; the rest of the season also aired on the network in a similar fashion. On February 20, 2018, the first two episodes were released oniTunes.Netflixhandles the international distribution to the show and debuted the series on July 20.
On April 7, 2019, Rogers revealed that the show would move first-run airings to Adult Swim and be simulcast on TBS; a reversal of the airing pattern from the first season.The news would be confirmed in June of that year,with the second season premiering on June 24. TBS would air an encore the following week.
The show was renewed for a third season a week after the second finished airing.
The first 2 seasons became available to stream onHBO Maxon March 1, 2021, ahead of season 3's premiere.Season 3 was released on HBO Max on November 13, 2021.On July 1, 2022, the series was removed from HBO Max, as well as all content related to the series from Adult Swim's official website and YouTube channel on June 21.Some episodes remain available for purchase onAmazon Prime VideoandYouTubein the United States and the series was available on Netflix in international regions until its removal on December 16, 2023, though the series remained available in Spain, France, Germany and Belgium until March 18, 2024.
ABlu-rayand a soundtrack were released on August 11, 2020. The Blu-ray, containing seasons 1 and 2, was released byWarner Archive Collection, while the soundtrack was released byWaterTower Music.
The first season ofFinal Spacereceived positive reviews,with critics praising the show's cast (especiallyDavid Tennant's voice performance as the Lord Commander).On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Final Spacedoesn't always hit its mark, but for those looking for a bite-sized intergalactic comedy it may prove an amusing diversion."OnMetacriticseason 1 has a score of 60 of 100 based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Impressions about the first episodes were also mixed, with criticism focused on Gary's humor.Collider's Dave Trumbore gave the series four out of five stars, praising the cast, the series' uniqueness and its originality.The Hollywood Reportersaid "the new animated series from TBS misses the mark, and will likely float off into space".The A.V. Clubgave the series a C+ grade.Reviewing the first two episodes,Den of Geekgave them a score of 3.5 out of 5 stars.IndieWiregave a B+ grade.The Daily Beastreceived the series favorably, comparing its potential withAdventure TimeandBoJack Horseman.Robert Lloyd of theLos Angeles Timespraised the show for the space backgrounds and Gary's relationship with Mooncake, but criticized for being "not as clever asFuturamaorThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyorGalaxy Quest, series with which it shares certain features" and for the comedy which "leans toward things adolescent boys find funny".Screen Rantwrote favorably of the series, praising TBS' decision to release the first two episodes 11 days before the series premiere, and describing it as a "very silly comedy", comparing protagonist Gary toHomer SimpsonandPhilip J. Fry.
In March 2023,IndieWirenamedFinal Spaceone of the best animated series of all time, praising that the show has "that balance between the personal and the universal that make all large-scale space stories worth the journey".