Maddoxverse

The **Maddoxverse** is a term used to refer to the franchise and shared fictional universe centred on various interconnected teen and family comedy-drama television series airing on Cub and streaming on Cub Forest. The franchise began with *All the Wrong Kids* (2009–2014), a television adaptation of the Leopold McGough 2002 teen film *Ass-Kickers' Association*, itself the first film in a shared universe of known as the Leoverse. The franchise spans five main series: *All the Wrong Kids*, *Young Adults* (2016–2020) and *Maddox* (2022–present), all of which are primarily set at Marshall Maddox High School; *Mass Media* (2019–2022), which takes place at an elite private school and rival to Marshall Maddox High, McCormick School; and *New Adults* (2022), a direct sequel spin-off to *Young Adults* which takes place at liberal arts college New England School of the Arts. Several actors from the Maddoxverse have gone on to receive wider critical and commercial success since their time on the series, including actor Eric Martindale and filmmaker Jason Cunningham of *All the Wrong Kids*, actress and singer-songwriter Brittany Owens and comedian Leo Fleischer of *Young Adults*, and actors Zoey Kapsimalis and Luke Szostak of *Mass Media*.

## Series

### *All the Wrong Kids* (2009–2014)

*All the Wrong Kids* was created by Abigail Grimshaw adapted from the Leopold McGough's coming-of-age teen comedy-drama film *Ass-Kickers' Association* (2002). Grimshaw was initially drawn to the film's depiction of mental health among teenagers and wanted to explore those themes further. It is a loose adaptation of the film that follows six students—Anastasia Holmes (Robyn Brinkworth), Candace Summerfield (Roxanne Lambert), Finn Chamberlain (Eric Martindale), Percy Chamberlain (Sam Martindale), Nathaniel Ross (Jason Cunningham) and Liesel Hofmeister (Jessica Sheffield)—as they navigate their middle and high school years together. In addition to mental health, *All the Wrong Kids* explores sexuality, divorce, learning disorders, complex parent-child relationships, religion and sexual assault over the course of its run. The series features a large recurring cast of fellow students and is the only series in the franchise to feature Marshall Maddox Middle School. Originally more comedic in nature, the show took on a more serious and dramatic tone throughout its run which received mixed responses from critics. The series ran for five seasons and 104 episodes.

### *Young Adults* (2016–2020)

Created by Frances Jude Coffman and Maia Doggett, *Young Adults* was produced with the mission statement to return to the more comedic nature of *All the Wrong Kids*'s earlier seasons and stars Maxine Ray as Gwen Doberman, the younger sister of two recurring characters in *All the Wrong Kids* who uses her love of young adult literature to guide her through her years at Marshall Maddox High. The series also stars Brittany Owens, Rose Anderson Lee, Leo Fleischer, J. C. Walker, Ani Ackerman and James King Butler. It is so far the most widely acclaimed series in the Maddoxverse, with praise for the writing and the performances of the cast. The series ran for four seasons and 84 episodes, though production for the last season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A TV special, *Young Adults: Final Installment of a Long-Running Series*, was released in 2021 to wrap up the series.

### *Mass Media* (2019–2022)

*Mass Media* is the first series in this universe not to feature Marshall Maddox High School and is the first to have been released on the streaming service Cub Forest. Instead, the series is set at the elite boarding school McCormick School, which is mentioned in previous series, and follows Angie Maynard (Ally Joyner) as she founds and heads an independent online news publication, *The Blue Rose*, covering stories that the school would otherwise ignore. The series, which was a partial satire of American politics, news journalism and sensationalism, received mixed reviews and was cancelled after its third season, reportedly as a result of COVID-related budget cuts at Cub.

### *Maddox* (2022–present)

*Maddox* is a return to Marshall Maddox High School that features a new generation of students as well as some returning characters from both *All the Wrong Kids* and *Young Adults*. Leaning into the strength of *All the Wrong Kids*'s large recurring cast of students, *Maddox* features an ensemble cast of freshmen and sophomores at Marshall Maddox High School as they explore a variety of issues facing modern teenagers. It premiered on June 17, 2022 and has thus far received positive reviews from critics.

### *New Adults* (2022)

A direct sequel and spin-off of *Young Adults*, *New Adults* follows Tiffany Rosenblum, played by Ani Ackerman, throughout her college years at the New England School of the Arts. It is set to premiere in November 2022.