Superjail!

Superjail! is an American adult animated television series created by Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It follows the events that take place in an unusual prison. The pilot episode aired on May 13, 2007, and its first season began on September 28, 2008.
Superjail! is characterized by its psychedelic shifts in setting and plot and extreme graphic violence, which give the series a TV-MA-V rating (for graphic violence, including scenes of bloodshed, dismemberment, torture, and extreme cruelty). These elements are depicted through highly elaborate animated sequences, which have been described as "Baroque and complicated and hard to take in at a single viewing".
== Setting and premise ==
The majority of Superjail! is set inside the eponymous prison, located in an alternate dimension identified as "5612". The prison is overseen by a Willy Wonka-esque individual known only as "The Warden", the amiable yet sadistic and mischievous head of Superjail with apparent shapeshifting powers who uses the prison (and prisoners) to satisfy his numerous whims. Externally, Superjail is built underneath a volcano which is itself located inside of a larger volcano. Internally, it seems to constitute its own reality, where the fabric of time and space is fluid and changes at the whim of the Warden. It has been indicated that the prison itself has a degree of sentience and that the nature of the prison is fluid according to the perceptions of the individual. Superjail's inmate population is estimated by Jared, the Warden's primary assistant, to be in excess of 70,000, though the show's creators mention that the prison processes "billions of inmates".
In the first season, each episode begins with a linear story revolving around an irresponsible scheme concocted by the Warden to satisfy some personal desire. The episode builds in both violence and surrealism into a climactic psychedelic blood bath during which dozens of inmates are brutally and gruesomely murdered either by one another or an external force. Some episode plots have no resolutions at all, with the story simply stopping when events have reached their most chaotic. Regardless, the status quo is always restored by the next episode, unless the episode is a multi-part one.
Beginning with the second season, the creators modified the format of the series to focus more on character development and story, as imagined by a revised writing staff. The second-season premiere "Best Friends Forever" demonstrated an immediate break from the first season's template, focusing the episode on Jailbot and Jacknife as opposed to the Warden, setting half of the episode outside of the prison and lacking an extended murder sequence in the climax.
The third and fourth seasons of the show attempted to meld the formats of the first two seasons, continuing a focus on character development and ongoing storylines while reviving the technique of ending each episode with a complex murder sequence.
== Development ==
The series was the creation of Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick, and Ben Gruber. Karacas was a member of the band Cheeseburger (who provided the show's theme song "Comin' Home" until season 4), a background designer for MTV's Daria, directed Robotomy for Cartoon Network and later created Ballmastrz: 9009. Stephen Warbrick was originally known for his work on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria, was a digital artist on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch and was also an animatic artist at Blue Sky Studios. Ben Gruber originally wrote for Ultracity 6060 on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and later wrote for shows like Teen Titans Go!, Breadwinners, and SpongeBob SquarePants, and would later become a story editor for Jellystone!.
Karacas originally created a student film in 1997 for MTV's Cartoon Sushi, entitled "Space War". He then partnered with Warbrick in 2001, creating another film known as "Bar Fight", which caught the attention of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, who allowed them, and Ben Gruber, to create a show of their own.
== Episodes ==
Main article: List of Superjail! episodes
Season	Episodes	Episodes	Originally aired 	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	Episodes	First aired 	Last aired
Pilot 	Pilot 	Pilot 	May 13, 2007 	May 13, 2007
1 	10 	10 	September 28, 2008	December 7, 2008
2 	10 	10 	April 3, 2011 	June 12, 2011
3 	10 	10 	September 30, 2012	December 9, 2012
4 	6 	6 	June 15, 2014 	July 20, 2014
== International broadcast ==
In Canada, Superjail previously aired on G4's Adult Digital Distraction block, and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.
== Characters ==
=== Main ===
* The Warden (voiced by David Wain) 
* Jared (voiced by Teddy Cohn) 
* Alice (voiced by Christy Karacas) 
* Jailbot
* The Doctor (voiced by Christopher McCulloch)
* The Twins (voiced by Richard Mather)
* Jackknife (voiced by Christy Karacas)
* Lord Stingray (voiced by Eric Bauza)
=== Recurring ===
* Gary and Bird
* Paul Guaye and Jean Baptiste Le Ghei (voiced by Christopher McCulloch, Stephen Warbrick)
* Ash (voiced by Christopher McCulloch)
* Fatty (voiced by Stephen Warbrick)
* Peedee (voiced by Dana Snyder)
==== Ultra-Prison ====
* The Mistress (voiced by Sally Donovan)
* Bruce (voiced by Melissa Brown (Ladies' Night) and Chris McCulloch, Stephen Warbrick (Stingstress)
* Nova (voiced by Sally Donovan)
* Charise (voiced by Kamala Sankaram ("Ladies' Night") and Sally Donovan in "Vacation" and onwards)
== Influences ==
In a Cold Hard Flash interview, creator Christy Karacas explained influences for the show were Gary Panter, Robert Crumb, Sally Cruikshank, Mad magazine, Vince Collins, Looney Tunes, Fleischer Studios, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Schoolhouse Rock!, Sesame Street, the Itchy & Scratchy segments from The Simpsons, kids' art, Muppets, outsider art, underground comics and Pee Wee's Playhouse.
== Home releases ==
Season	Season	Season	Episodes 	Release date 	Features
Season	Season	Season	Episodes 	Region 1 	Features
 	1 	2008 	10 + Pilot	February 23, 2010	All episodes from the first season, the music video "Comin' Home", the animatics for episodes 1,9,10, and the pilot. All featured in 2.0 Stereo and closed captioning. Dialogue remains censored in the feature episodes despite the label on the DVD stating otherwise.
 	2 	2011 	10 	March 13, 2012 	Episode commentary for all episodes but 2 and 7, Cheeseburger concert footage, Cheeseburger animated music video, interview with Christy Karacas and Joe Bradley, script to film comparison of episode 10, animation tests, animatics for episodes 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10, "Introstring" of the episode openings. Dialogue and footage are uncensored.
 	3 	2012 	10 	July 23, 2013 	Animatics for episodes 1 and 7, animation tests of episodes 6 and 10, "Introstring" featurette. Dialogue and footage remain censored despite the DVD label stating otherwise.
The series is also available on HBO Max since September 1, 2020.
== Superjail!'s cameos ==
=== Other characters appearing in Superjail! ===
Other Adult Swim characters make cameo appearances during the series.
* In the episode "CEII episode 12 part 2 RC", Warden Car
=== Superjail!'s appearance in other shows ===
* Superjail!, and of the Dumb ways to die appeared in the YouTube Music song - Superjail! ways to die, Dumb ways to die: Superjail Edition and Dumb ways to die in Superjail!
* Superjail!, and of the Transformers appeared in the YouTube Video series - Transuperjail! and Transuperforjail!
* Superjail!, and of Angry Birds appeared in the YouTube Video series - Angry Superjail!
* Superjail!, and of Annoying Orange appeared in the YouTube Video series - Annoying Superjail!