Steven Universe

Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral-based aliens named Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz), and Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall)—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. The pilot was first shown in May 2013, and the series ran for five seasons, from November 2013 to January 2019. The TV film Steven Universe: The Movie was released in September 2019, and an epilogue limited series, Steven Universe Future, ran from December 2019 to March 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 was 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. The series is storyboard-driven; the show's storyboard artists were responsible for writing the dialogue and creating the action in addition to drawing the storyboards.
The series developed a broad fanbase and has been critically acclaimed for its design, music, voice acting, characterization, prominence of LGBTQ themes, and science fantasy worldbuilding. The series won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Program in 2019, becoming the first animated series to win the award. It also received a Peabody Award for Children's & Youth Programming in 2019. It was nominated for five Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards. Books, comics and video games based on the series have been released.
== Synopsis ==
Steven Universe is set in the fictional town of Beach City, Delmarva,[4] where the Crystal Gems live in an ancient beachside temple and protect humanity from monsters and other threats. The Gems are ageless alien warriors who project female humanoid forms from magical gemstones at the core of their being. The Crystal Gems comprise Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven—a young, half-human, half-Gem boy who inherited his gemstone from his mother, the Crystal Gems' former leader Rose Quartz. As Steven tries to understand his gradually expanding range of powers, he spends his days accompanying the Gems on their missions, as well as interacting with his father Greg, his best friend Connie, his magical pet lion, and the other residents of Beach City. He explores the abilities inherited from his mother, which include fusion—the ability of Gems to merge their bodies and abilities to form new, more powerful personalities.
The series' first season gradually reveals that the Crystal Gems are fugitives from a great interstellar empire. During their missions they visit ruins that were once important to Gem culture but have been derelict for millennia. The Gems are cut off from the Gem homeworld, and Steven learns that many of the monsters and artifacts they encounter are Gems who were corrupted by a Gem weapon of mass destruction and can no longer maintain rational, humanoid form. By the end of the first season, Steven learns that, millennia ago, the Gem empire intended to sterilize the Earth to incubate new Gems, but Rose Quartz led her supporters, the Crystal Gems, in a violent and apparently successful rebellion against this genocidal plan. The discovery and release of Lapis Lazuli, a Gem trapped on Earth for millennia, puts the Crystal Gems at risk from the Gem empire once more, leading to the arrival of hostile envoys Peridot and Jasper.
In the second season, Peridot allies with and eventually joins the Crystal Gems to prevent Earth's destruction by a Gem "geo-weapon" buried in the planet. During the third season, Lapis Lazuli decides to live on Earth with Peridot; Jasper is defeated and captured; and Steven learns that his mother assassinated one of the Gem empire's matriarchs, Pink Diamond. In the fourth season, as Steven wrestles with his conflicted feelings about his mother's actions, the Gem empire leaders Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond begin to turn their full attention to Earth. In the fifth and final season, Steven learns that in fact his mother was Pink Diamond, who faked her death to assume the identity of Rose Quartz; he uses this revelation to persuade the other Diamonds to try to take responsibility for and fix the damage they have caused.
== Conception ==
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Rebecca Sugar, creator of Steven Universe
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Ian Jones-Quartey, supervising director of Steven Universe
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.[5] 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.[6]
Cartoon Network executives commissioned the show after the crew's art presentation, and Sugar became the first non-binary person to create a show independently for the network.[7] Prior to coming out as non-binary, she was described as the first woman to do so.[8][9] 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.[10]
=== Development ===
When Sugar's show was commissioned, she resigned from her role as a storyboard artist on Adventure Time to focus on her own series.[10] Sugar focused the pilot short on the main characters and their personalities to demonstrate the series' humor. The pilot is a slice-of-life episode that does not involve major events because the series' world was still in development.[11] Sugar and her production team focused the plot on interaction between the Crystal Gems and Steven.[12] Sugar strove to make her pilot distinctive in terms of its artistic and aesthetic detail but was hampered by the time limit imposed upon her by Cartoon Network. The problems with the pilot helped Sugar develop the show's concept; she said, "to know that there is so much more that you can't see and the way that knowledge frustrates and excites and confuses and scares you".[9]
The title character Steven is loosely based on Steven Sugar, Rebecca's younger brother.[13] During Steven Universe's development, Sugar repeatedly asked her brother whether naming the show after him was a good idea; she stopped asking when it was commissioned. Her brother had no problem with it and trusted Sugar to use his name wisely.[14] In an interview with the New York Times, Sugar discussed developing the background of the show's protagonist, saying she wanted to base the character's viewpoint on her brother growing up "where you're so comfortable in your life because you get all the attention, but you also want to rise up and not be the little brother".[15]
When the original pilot was presented to Cartoon Network executives, they told the crew the series would air in 2013.[9] Cartoon Network released the original pilot in May 2013. Sugar and her team panicked because the series was going to be very different from the pilot episode. The pilot was popular when it was released, engendering forum discussions in which people expressed their hopes of seeing it on the air soon. Those who knew Rebecca Sugar from Adventure Time were also interested. Positive reaction to the show reassured its crew.[16]
To prepare for the show's commissioning by Cartoon Network, Sugar began assembling a production crew.[10] Jackie Buscarino was engaged as a producer in September 2012 and was tasked with hiring people and supervising the show's crew.[17] During this period of development, Sugar and her team were moved to a building behind the main Cartoon Network studio and based on the same floor as the crew of The Powerpuff Girls CGI special. Some artists who had worked on the special, such as colorist Tiffany Ford and art directors Kevin Dart, Ellie Michalka and Jasmin Lai, were later invited to join the Steven Universe team.[18] Cartoon Network also provided Sugar with a list of suggested writers; when she saw Ben Levin and Matt Burnett (former writers for Level Up) on the list she immediately asked them to join her team because she was familiar with their work.[19] Freelance artist Danny Hynes, whom the former supervising director Ian Jones-Quartey knew from his own project Lakewood Plaza Turbo, became the show's lead character designer.[18][20] Steven Sugar was assigned as the background designer after his work on the original pilot,[17] and was assisted by Dart, Michalka, Lai, background painter Amanda Winterston and others.[21]
During the art presentation, Jones-Quartey, Guy, Hynes and Steven Sugar created artwork that differed from their previous work. Jones-Quartey wanted to work with something new, retaining elements of the show's previous project.[22] He worked with Elle Michalka, who later took over his role as background painter for the presentation, to create concept art for an "action-comedy" series.[14] Around this time, Jones-Quartey added stars to the series' logo because he saw them as a versatile symbol. He later said he overused them, and they were criticized at the art presentation.[22] The art presentation's drawings were by Rebecca Sugar, Jones-Quartey, Hynes, Paul Villeco (a writer and storyboard artist) and Steven Sugar. Michalka did the painting.[23]
=== Design ===
During the development of the Steven Universe pilot, Sugar focused much attention on the design of the world, adding notes to her drawings.[24] Inspired by the idea of foreign figures (Gems) living human lives, she drew many sketches depicting their world and history. The series' design was also inspired by her and her brother's interest in video games, comics and animation.[11] After the series was commissioned, Sugar decided to redesign everything to make the series "flexible and simple" for future production staff to add ideas of their own.[10] During this time, the art director was Kevin Dart, followed by Jasmin Lai, Elle Michalka, and Ricky Cometa.[25] Dart's artistic style has remained a great influence on the show long after his departure. Steven Sugar praised Dart's work and was inspired by him in college years, saying Dart had more ideas for the art than he did.[21]
In the pilot, only two locations appeared (the Temple and the Big Donut). The Temple was designed by Ian Jones-Quartey, Steven Sugar, Ben Levin, Matt Burnett, Tom Herpich and Andy Ristaino. The Temple's dual faces were based on Guy Davis' ideas.[21] Steven Sugar designed the rest of Beach City for the series; he was painstaking in his attention to detail. Sugar also designed people, houses, cars, buildings and restaurants. Because of Rebecca Sugar's redesigned drawings, the two original locations had to be redrawn.[18]
To find inspiration for the show's backgrounds, the Sugars and Jones-Quartey went to their favorite beaches.[21] The series' setting, Beach City, is loosely based on Delaware beaches Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach, all of which Rebecca Sugar visited as a child.[13] Steven Sugar drew Beach City with a boardwalk lined with a variety of shops.[18] He wanted it to have a "specific style" so viewers could believe it was based on a real location; he drew the roads and shops consistently oriented with the Temple and a water tower.[21] The concept for the primary setting was inspired by Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump, which features a small environment in which the recurring characters live where they work. Steven Sugar made the boardwalk the focus of Steven Universe's human world.[18]
=== Characters ===
Main article: List of Steven Universe characters
During the early stages of production, Sugar worked on character appearance and personality development simultaneously;[26] during this process of conception, she was heavily inspired by fantasy television characters she and her brother used to draw when they were younger.[11] Lead character designer Danny Hynes, influenced by the design of Mickey Mouse by Disney artists, wanted the characters to be standardized, simple and recognizable.[27] He proposed 24 human characters to the crew; Rebecca and Steven Sugar drew 22 designs—13 of which were made official. The coloring was done by Jones-Quartey.[28] Rebecca Sugar merged several characters during the pilot development;[11] supporting characters Lars and Sadie were originally created when she was in college.[29] The Pizza family was based on Jones-Quartey's Ghanaian family,[21] and Ronaldo was created by Ben Levin and Matt Burnett.[30] Guy Davis, a childhood friend of the Sugars, designed the early monsters and Gem architecture.[21]
Making a character "look alive" was always a priority in their design; according to Jones-Quartey, a character's emotions should be clearly delineated.[31] The character design team's mission is for the characters to resemble a classic cartoon such as 1940s Disney cartoons, Dragon Ball Z or the works of Osamu Tezuka and Harvey Kurtzman. In drawing the characters for each episode, the crew has two weeks to make modifications.[27] Character names and some designs were inspired by types of food,[32] and some characters were redesigned because the pilot revealed discrepancies between appearances and personalities.[33] Sugar planned for the characters' designs to receive visual benchmarks so the show's artists can draw them consistently.[34] Sugar aimed to make the designs for her characters simple, flexible and consistent so the production team members would not become bogged down by over-complex details.[27] This redesigning meant the appearances of the characters in the pilot episode differs substantially from their depiction in the television series.[24]
Sugar wanted the Gems to resemble humans; she developed the Crystal Gems to ride a roller coaster of family life with Steven,[11] whom they would treat like a brother.[35] She wanted their gems to reflect their personalities; Pearl's perfect smoothness, Amethyst's coarseness and Garnet's air of mystery.[36] According to Sugar, the Gems are "some version of me ... neurotic, lazy, decisive".[37] Their facial designs were influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, who taught at the Bauhaus and encouraged his students to pair three primary colors—red, yellow and blue—with the three basic shapes—square, triangle and circle. Because of the characters' personalities, Garnet is square, Amethyst is a sphere and Pearl is a cone.[34] Sugar wanted to give the Gems a superpower similar to those of classic cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny. The Gems' ability to shape-shift is a reference to older cartoons such as Tex Avery's work for MGM, where characters would change at will. Although the Crystal Gems are intended to be serious characters, the writers wanted them to be "funny and weird" as well.[38]
== Production ==
According to Sugar, production for Steven Universe began while she was working on Adventure Time, her last episode for which was "Simon & Marcy". Working on both series simultaneously became impossible; she also encountered difficulty in the production of the episode "Bad Little Boy".[39] Cartoon Network executives authorized the Steven Universe production crew to begin working after their pre-production presentation, for which the crew were well-prepared. The episodes "Cheeseburger Backpack" and "Together Breakfast" were developed at this time.[14] Although Sugar works as executive producer on the series' art, animation and sound, she considers herself "the most hands on" at the storyboarding stage.[40]
The episode outlines are passed to the storyboarders, who create the action for the episode and write its dialogue. The storyboards are animated, using paper drawings and the production crew's designs, by one of two Korean studios; Sunmin and Rough Draft[41] and the production crew's designs.[42]
=== Writing ===
During the pilot development, Sugar wrote and sketched a number of plot ideas that later became episodes.[43] The series' initial premise focused mostly on Steven's human side, rather than his magic side, but the premise was later changed.[44] Sugar developed the Gems' history in conjunction with the pilot episode.[11] While the first season of the show introduced the human and Gem characters and their relationships, Sugar began to plot and explore second-season storylines involving the Crystal Gems.[45] Eventually, Sugar created a chart with taped printouts about a 2,000-year Gem and Earth history, with a number of events needing to be "fleshed out" for production. Although the series' overall plot is established, the writers improvise to arrive at its ending; according to Matt Burnett, the storylines will be resolved by the series' end.[46] Sugar wanted the series to focus on comedy and positivity before exploring controversial subjects involving the main characters, thinking it was "more honest" to begin the show with happiness instead of action or drama.[11]
The writers—formerly Levin and Burnett—would write the premises and outlines while the storyboarders wrote and drew the episodes.[47][48][49] Everyone would wait at least a day to get together and discuss.[47] The writers write potential episode names on paper cards, which they pin on the conference-room wall to review what they have written and plan their meetings. They discuss episode pacing and vary each season's texture by balancing "lighter" and "heavier" story arcs.[30] Changes in major-character appearances—such as Yellow Diamond—in a storyline can be difficult for the writers.[50] According to Ben Levin, writing a season of Steven Universe is like a "jigsaw puzzle" because the writing team must assemble a number of plot ideas, which are discarded if they do not benefit character growth. After further discussion and questions about the writing, an idea becomes an episode. After discussing a season's proposed episodes the "puzzle" is complete, and they begin writing a major story arc or a season finale. Burnett said writing a season is like an algebraic equation "where one side is the season finale, and the x's and y's are the episodes we need for that solution to make sense"; he cited "Ocean Gem", "Steven the Sword Fighter", "Monster Buddies", "An Indirect Kiss" and "Serious Steven" as examples. Those episodes led to the season-one finale as a minor story arc.[30] To develop new ideas for episodes, the writers play writing games. In one, a scenario with characters is drawn and passed to another writer. The second writer adds a few sentences before giving it to a third, until the drawing has a three-act story. Episodes such as "Island Adventure", "Future Boy Zoltron" and "Onion Friend" were written this way.[51] The writers also play drawing games, which design new Gem characters and technological ideas. Burnett said he and Levin use fewer ideas from the storyboarders than they previously did; storyboarders change fewer things than they did before because the episodes have a "stronger continuity".[50]
According to Levin, he and Burnett try to balance the focus between the main characters—with Steven in the center—and the theme of episodes in their writing. The balance indicates Steven has the same interests on his human side as he does on his Gem side. Levin said the Gem mythology and drama would have been less interesting if Steven was not as well-developed in the first few episodes. Grateful to work on a show which is unafraid to be "sincere and vulnerable", he said if every episode was emotional the series would become formulaic; happy episodes balance out emotional ones.[30] Levin said he and Burnett have found ways to integrate Steven's powers into the plot. The character's powers and home-world technology are revealed at a "measured (very slow) pace", satisfying the viewer and keeping the series clear of superhero territory.[50]
Before significant plotlines air, the writers reveal information relevant to a "climactic" episode for the audience. According to storyboard artist Hilary Florido, much of the series' action and magic are narrative climaxes, demonstrating the characters' discoveries, difficulties and views. Florido said if a character's evolution is not directly related to the plot, there is no drama.[50] The crew is discouraged from breaking perspective involving episode development as they want the audience to know the protagonist's point of view. Although the writers could hint at future events, they prefer to focus on plot and develop Steven in real time. Levin said if the pilot tried to present Gem history in five minutes, the audience and protagonist would be equally confused.[52]
=== Storyboarding ===
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steven_Universe_storyboard_from_Island_Adventure.png|alt=Cartoon drawing of an anxious-looking character|thumb|Portion of the storyboard and script from the episode "Island Adventure". The series' storyboard artists are also its writers.
During storyboard meetings, artists draw their ideas on post-it notes, which are then attached to walls, table and boxes in the corners of their conference room. The drawings play a major role in forming episode ideas; Sugar looks at these designs and occasionally makes changes to key poses. Sugar likes to review and re-draw scenes and characters to add extra pathos and emotion to storyboards.[53] Each episode's storyboards are created by two artists, each of whom writes half of the dialogue and draws panels similar to comic strips. This process can be quite complex; the storyboard artists must create the cinematography and focus on scenic design in a way similar to film production. After the panels are made, the thumbnail-storyboard artists draw mannerisms and dialogue based on their own experiences; Sugar draws "quintessential" scenes from her memories of hanging out with her brother after school.[54] The storyboard artists then discuss their work with the rest of the crew and make any necessary changes.[55] After the team discussion, the storyboard artists draw a revised board—based on the thumbnail board—on a full-size panel with notes. The storyboards are again discussed, corrected and finally approved.[56]
=== Backgrounds ===
The production of background art begins after the approved storyboards are received. If the characters visit old locations, the pre-existing backgrounds are modified for authenticity; it is likely locations would change slightly over time. Steven Sugar likes to hide narrative bits in the backgrounds because he believes the key to world-building is "having a cohesive underlying structure to everything".[57] Former art director Elle Michalka said the backgrounds' artistic style was inspired by French post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, whose apparent lack of focus belied detail and specificity. The art was also inspired by Tao Te Ching, whose work highlights the importance of empty spaces, "like the space within a vase as being part of the vase that makes it useful".[57] During the painting phase, the painters see the lines as "descriptive bones" and color is used loosely, meaning the color is intentionally slightly off register, highlighting the distinction between color and line.[57] The painters used "superimposed" watercolor texture before switching to Photoshop because the former made the backgrounds "very chunky". When painting the backgrounds, they use one primary and several secondary colors; Amanda Winterston and Jasmin Lai found suitable color combinations. After the primary backgrounds are painted, they are sent to the color stylist, who chooses colors for a character or prop from model sheets, matching and complementing the storyboard and background. The lines of the character or prop are rarely colored. The lines are removed when scenes need light effects. The coloring in early season-one episodes was experimental because the stylist would have difficulty if a storyboard's character and background mixed together or a bright character walked unchanged into a shadow. Mistakes became rare as the crew planned and checked storyboards. The primary backgrounds are made in Burbank; the secondary ones by Korean artists.[58]
=== Animation ===
After the crew finishes constructing an episode, the production team sends it to animators in Korea. The animation is produced by Sunmin Image Pictures and Rough Draft Korea. The production team and animators communicate by email and sometimes use video chat when animating a major episode. Before sending the episode to one of the studios, animation director Nick DeMayo and his team create a plan for the animators after reviewing the animatics.[59] They then add character movements on exposure sheets to guide the animators. Mouth assignments for the characters, describing mouth shapes and timing for lip-syncing, follow.[60] The episode is then sent to one of the animation studios. The black-and-white version is sent first, followed about two weeks later by the colored version.[61] The animation is drawn and inked on paper, then scanned and colored digitally. The crew then arranges a "work print" meeting to discuss the episode and review it for errors. DeMayo notes any errors, removes them and sends the episode back to the animation studio or to Cartoon Network's post-production department to fix any remaining issues.[62] Minor animation mistakes or omissions are fixed by the crew.[63]
=== Voice cast ===
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The main voice cast (clockwise from top left): Zach Callison (Steven), Michaela Dietz (Amethyst), Estelle (Garnet) and Deedee Magno Hall (Pearl)
American actor Zach Callison voices Steven. The role of Steven is his first lead role on television.[64] For his audition, Callison spoke ten lines of dialogue from the pilot and sang the theme song while being recorded.[65] Garnet, the Crystal Gem leader, is voiced by Estelle, a singer, songwriter and actor. Cartoon Network asked Estelle to take the part, her first voice-acting role.[64] Steven Universe was also the first animation voice role for actor Michaela Dietz who voices Amethyst and The Party singer Deedee Magno Hall who voices Pearl.[66][67] Sugar wanted Tom Scharpling, whom she knew from his podcast The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, to voice a character for one of her projects before Steven Universe was conceived. She approached Scharpling for the part of Greg Universe, who was originally named Tom. The Ruby Gems are voiced by Charlyne Yi, to whom Sugar wrote to say she was confident Yi would be perfect for the role.[65] Grace Rolek, who voices Steven's friend Connie, was 16 years old when the series began; Rolek has been a voice actor in animated productions since the age of five or six.[68]
The show's four main voice actors—Callison, Dietz, Magno Hall and Estelle—spend three to four hours recording per session; three to four weeks a month for ten months each year. Cast members record together or separately; they are often recording multiple episodes. Each recording session covers a new episode and includes retakes for that episode or previous ones if needed. In group recording sessions, a maximum of six actors stand in a semicircle.[69] Sugar and voice director Kent Osborne attend the sessions,[70] advising the actors about voicing the characters in specific situations. If they like a take, the production assistant marks it and gives it to the animation editor for the episode's rough cut. When a recording session begins, Sugar explains the storyboards and describes the sequences, character intention and the relationship between them; Osborne does the recording. Before the sessions, Sugar and the voice actors discuss new plot elements and shows them the advanced storyboards. Magno Hall said she enjoys the group recording sessions because the funny faces the cast members make while recording lines requiring emotion or movement often cause them to laugh.[69]
=== Music ===
Steven Universe features songs and musical numbers produced by Sugar and her writers, who collaborate on each song's lyrics. Multiple drafts of the theme song's lyrics were written.[71] Sugar composed the extended theme song while waiting in line for a security check at Los Angeles International Airport.[72] The series relies on leitmotifs for its soundtrack; instruments, genres and melodies are allotted to specific characters. The music is influenced by the works of Michael Jackson and Estelle;[73] and Sugar has cited Aimee Mann as "a huge influence".[74] Sugar writes songs for the series during her travels, accompanying herself on a ukulele.[72] Not every episode features a song; according to Sugar, she uses them occasionally, to avoid forced creativity.[39]
Most of the show's incidental music is composed by the chiptune piano duo Aivi & Surasshu, with guitars by Stemage.[75] Jeff Liu, who was familiar with producer Aivi's musical score for the video game Cryamore, recommended them to Sugar as a composer. Sugar asked Aivi to audition and agreed that producer Surasshu could join them. Aivi & Surasshu scored a clip from "Gem Glow", the series' first episode; Sugar liked their work and hired them as series composers.[76] Before composing an episode, Aivi & Surasshu video chat with Sugar and the creative director to discuss the episode; they have a week to send Sugar a preview score.[77] After any necessary changes, Aivi & Surasshu send the score to Sabre Media Studios for the final mix with their sound designs.[78]
Each character has a leitmotif expressing their personality, which changes slightly depending on the situation.[79] Pearl is often accompanied by a piano, Garnet by a synth bass, Amethyst by a drum machine with electric bass and synths, and Steven with chiptune tones.[73][77] Sound palettes were produced for the human characters to represent the evolution of the series, its characters and their relationships. Sound motifs and palettes were also created for locations, objects and abstract concepts.[77] When Sugar or the other writers write a song for an episode, they record a demo that is sent to the composers. The same musical style for a song and the character singing it is used for each song. Over time, the songs have become increasingly complex and production has become more difficult because the show's original musical style no longer fits perfectly with the newer lyrical themes. An example is "Here Comes a Thought", sung by Estelle and AJ Michalka (who voices Stevonnie). The two were less inspired by a specific musical style, but rather by the song's "feel", which Sugar had explained to them.[80]
== Broadcast ==
The pilot episode of Steven Universe was released on Cartoon Network's video platform on May 21, 2013,[81] and an edited version was released on July 20.[82] The pilot was shown at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con,[83] and Sugar hosted a 30-minute panel discussion about the series at the 2013 New York Comic Con on October 13.[84] Initially, thirteen half-hours (26 episodes) were ordered for the first season; on November 14, the season was picked up for an additional thirteen half-hours.[85] The series was renewed for a second season of 26 half-hours on July 25, 2014,[86] which began airing on March 13, 2015, and for a third season of 26 half-hours in July 2015. In March 2016, a production shuffle saw the second and third seasons subdivided to create four seasons of 13 half-hours each, making a total of five seasons.[87][88] Finally, in 2016, following the decision to end the series, Sugar petitioned Cartoon Network to extend the fifth season by three extra half-hours to wrap up the story, making it 16 half-hours total.[89]
The series premiered in the United States on November 4, 2013, on Cartoon Network with two episodes.[90] In Canada, it began airing on Cartoon Network on November 11, 2013,[91] and on Teletoon on April 24, 2014.[92] It began airing on Cartoon Network channels in Australia on February 3, 2014,[93] and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on May 12 of that year.[94]
Beginning in 2015, Cartoon Network often aired new episodes in groups of five over one week—marketed as "Stevenbombs"—rather than one episode per week. The hiatuses between groups have irritated fans, according to The A.V. Club causing "agonized cries of a rabid, starving, pained cult following".[95] The format, which is also used for other Cartoon Network series, has, in the website's view, contributed to the network's spikes in Google Trends associated with each "bomb". The A.V. Club attributed the effect to Steven Universe's unusual—for a youth cartoon—adherence to an overarching plot, which can generate "massive swells of online interest"—similar to the release of full seasons of adult TV series—which are "crucial to a network's vitality in an increasingly internet-based television world".[95]
In May 2018, Cartoon Network apologized to fans after one of the channel's promotional videos contained unaired footage with significant spoilers for future episodes. In response to the video, former series producer Ian Jones-Quartey noted in a later-deleted tweet that "being a Steven Universe fan is suffering", alluding to the series' irregular and unpredictable airing schedule.[96] In an October 2020 art book for the series, Sugar stated that when clips from unaired episodes, giving away major spoilers, were leaked or those clips were used in official promotional videos, it was "very demoralizing for the crew."[97]
From June 2 to July 29, 2018, Steven Universe aired re-runs on Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.[98]
== Episodes ==
Main article: List of Steven Universe episodes
Season	Episodes	Episodes	Originally aired	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	Episodes	First aired 	Last aired
Pilot 	Pilot 	Pilot 	May 21, 2013 	May 21, 2013
1 	53 	53 	November 4, 2013	March 12, 2015
2 	25 	25 	March 13, 2015 	January 8, 2016
3 	25 	25 	May 12, 2016 	August 10, 2016
4 	25 	25 	August 11, 2016 	May 11, 2017
5 	32 	32 	May 29, 2017 	January 21, 2019
Category:2013 Cartoons
Category:Cartoon Network Studios Cartoons