page_title: Steven Universe
section_title: Conception
hierarchical_section_title: Steven Universe / Conception
caption_attribution_description: English: Rebecca Sugar speaking at the Cartoon Network Presents: CN Anythingǃ panel at the 2014 New York Comic Con. Photo by Peter Dzubay
context_page_description: Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It is Cartoon Network's first animated series to be created solely by a woman. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe, who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, humanoid aliens named Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl —in the fictional town of Beach City. Steven, who is half-Gem, has adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind. Its pilot was first shown on May 21, 2013, and the series premiered on November 4, 2013. Its fifth and final season concluded in January 2019. The TV film Steven Universe: The Movie was released on September 2, 2019, and an epilogue limited series, Steven Universe Future, premiered on December 7, 2019 and ended on March 27, 2020.
  The themes of the series include love, family, and the importance of healthy interpersonal relationships. Sugar based the lead character on her younger brother Steven, who is an artist for the series. She developed Steven Universe while she was a writer and storyboard artist on Adventure Time, which she left when Cartoon Network commissioned her series for full production.
context_section_description: In 2011, after former Cartoon Network vice-president of comedy animation Curtis Lelash asked the staff for ideas for a new series, Rebecca Sugar—an artist working for the network's series Adventure Time—described her initial ideas for what would become Steven Universe, and the project was chosen for development. While developing her show, Sugar continued working on Adventure Time. The series evolved from a short story written by Sugar entitled "Ballad of Margo and Dread", about a sensitive child helping teenagers with problems they cannot verbalize.
  Cartoon Network executives commissioned the show after the crew's art presentation and Sugar became the first woman to create a show independently for the network. Before a production team had been appointed, Sugar tried to alter elements of the show's plot and developed the character's identity so her crew would have the freedom she did when she worked for Adventure Time.
caption: Rebecca Sugar (creator of Steven Universe) is the first woman to create a show for Cartoon Network.
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