Mission Hill (TV series)
Mission Hill (originally titled The Downtowners) is an American adult animated television sitcom that ran on The WB from September 24, 1999 to July 16, 2000, and on Adult Swim from July 14 to August 11, 2002. Although 18 episodes were planned, only 13 were produced. The series was put on hiatus by the WB Network after two episodes due to poor ratings. It returned to the WB in the summer of 2000 but was canceled after four additional episodes. The series went on to develop a cult following, thanks to repeated airings of all 13  episodes on Teletoon's Teletoon Unleashed block; Cartoon Network's popular late-night programming block Adult Swim; and Too Funny To Sleep, a late-night programming block on TBS. "Mission Hill" was formerly known as "The Downtowners", although MTV's production of the similarly titled "Downtown" forced a name change. It has also been popular outside of the United States and Canada, receiving broadcasts in Australia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Spain and New Zealand. Stylistically, the series is recognizable for its bright, neon color palette, and features a peculiar mixture of modern animation and traditional "cartoonish" drawings (dashed lines coming  from eyes to indicate line of vision, red bolts of lightning around a spot in pain). The style was made to be reminiscent of Warner Bros. cartoons from the 1930s to 1950s, as well as mid-century modern cartoons with the likes of Hanna-Barbera, UPA, Jay Ward, and "The Pink Panther". The designs were done by Lauren MacMullan, who cites the comic series "Eightball" as her source of inspiration for her overall design. The series was created in 1997 by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, former executive producers of "The Simpsons", and the artistic designer was Lauren MacMullan. It  features the voices of Wallace Langham, Scott Menville, Brian Posehn, Vicki Lewis, Nick Jameson, Tom Kenny, Herbert Sigüenza, Jane Wiedlin, Tress MacNeille and Lisa Kushell. The theme song is a faster, instrumental version of "Italian Leather Sofa" by Cake. Warner Home Video released all 13 completed episodes on DVD, on November 29, 2005. In 2020, Bill Oakley announced plans for a "Mission Hill" spin-off series, tentatively titled "Gus and Wally". Premise. Set in the world of teens and 20-somethings, this series follows hip 24-year-old Andy French, whose sheltered suburban teenage brother Kevin moves in with him  and his roommates in a big-city loft. Episodes. Thirteen episodes of the series were produced while five more were written, but never completed. Animatics for some of these episodes were in production at the time of the series' cancellation. It was planned to put these animatics on the DVD for the series, but this never came to fruition. However, several of the animatics—including a completed video animatic and synchronized audio read-through of the episode "Pretty in Pink (Crap Gets in Your Eyes)"—have been released through various internet outlets. Location. The series takes place in a district called  Mission Hill. Mission Hill is a diverse neighborhood in a much larger city called Cosmopolis. Cosmopolis is depicted as a large modern urban metropolis similar to New York City or Chicago. The official website states Mission Hill is a mix of Mission Hill in Boston (only miles away from where creator Bill Oakley went to college), Mission District in San Francisco, Silver Lake in Los Angeles, Wicker Park in Chicago, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The exact location of Cosmopolis has never been revealed, as it is a mix of East and West Coast cities. Most of the series takes place  in the neighborhood of Mission Hill, although the skyscrapers of Downtown Cosmopolis are seen in the background. In the DVD commentaries, Josh Weinstein says that a large portion of the development of the series was spent developing Mission Hill into a functional, albeit fictional, city. Writers and animators worked together to create fictional advertisements, bands, foods, and even bus schedules. Boston, MA has a neighborhood called Mission Hill in the Roxbury section of the city which bears many similarities to its fictional counterpart. Home release. Warner Home Video released all 13 completed episodes on DVD on November 29, 2005. The  collection replaced some of the original soundtracks with stock music, most glaringly "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. in the episode "Andy Vs. The Real World". The DVD collection also dubbed over some of the original voice tracks to remove any references to the replaced music, for example changing Andy's voice track from saying "Gordon Lightfoot" to "Scott Joplin" in the episode "Unemployment Part 1". Awards. "Mission Hill" received the 2000 Pulcinella Award for "Best Series for All Audiences"; the award cited the series' "stylized design and honest approach to sexual and moral issues." The series won an award from GLAAD  for its positive portrayal of a gay relationship. Potential spin-off. On June 30, 2020, Bill Oakley announced plans for a spin-off tentatively titled "Gus and Wally", which will be set six months after the series' conclusion and will focus on the elderly gay couple who were supporting characters in "Mission Hill."