OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is an American animated television series created by Ian Jones-Quartey for Cartoon Network. The show is based on Jones-Quartey's pilot "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", which was released as part of Cartoon Network's 2013 Summer Shorts project. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The web series premiered on Cartoon Network's YouTube channel and on Cartoon Network Video on February 4, 2016. On March 9, 2017, nearly four years after the original short's premiere, Cartoon Network announced that the television series had been greenlit , and it premiered on August 1, 2017. The opening sequence was storyboarded by Japanese artist Hiroyuki Imaishi, co-founder of Studio Trigger. On December 4, 2017, the series was confirmed to be renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 18, 2018. A third and final season, which was announced on June 26, 2019, premiered on July 7, 2019; the final episode aired on September 6, 2019. Premise. "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" is set in the retro-futuristic year of 201X. The series follows the titular character, K.O., and his efforts to become the world's greatest  hero while working at Gar's Bodega (run by Mr. Gar), a hero supply shop in Lakewood Plaza. Alongside him are his best friends and co-workers Radicles, a narcissistic alien, and Enid, a levelheaded big sister–like ninja, as well as other heroes who work in the area. Main voice cast. In addition, Stephanie Nadolny played K.O. and Gladys in the pilot and several episodes of the first season, and Mena Suvari portrayed Enid in the pilot. Production. The pilot, "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", aired in 2013, and the show was greenlit in March 2017, with the first episode airing  on August 1. To promote "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes", Cartoon Network's Chief Content Officer Rob Sorcher hinted many times that it would become a full series. On March 9, 2017 on PlayStation's Blog, Chris Waldron, the VP of Games & Digital Products for Cartoon Network, announced a series in the works, along with a video game. It was announced as part of a slate of animations for the 2017-2018 season, alongside new series such as "Craig of the Creek" and "Summer Camp Island", and recurring series. The show was traditionally animated in South Korea by Digital  eMation and Sunmin Image Pictures. Unlike many animated programs, which are inked on paper and then scanned for coloring, "OK K.O.!" was drawn in pencil. The animators pencil each frame on paper using a light table, and then color them digitally on a layer beneath the transparent line work, to retain a hand-drawn quality. For Jones-Quartey, it was important for the audience to "never forget that these are drawings." This was partially inspired by the first season of "The Simpsons", which had a loose, rough quality to its animation. In addition, the show's design sense is inspired  by "Yoshi's Island". Animation Magazine later stated that the 30-person production team at Cartoon Network's studios that works on the series was "ruled by storyboards." Diego Molano, later a creator of "Victor and Valentino", was a character designer on the series. In September 2017, Jones-Quartey said that Dobbin Center was the inspiration for the Lakewood Plaza, while Boxmore represented Columbia Crossing, a strip mall which opened in 1997. He also stated that each episode takes nine months to work on "from start to finish," and stated that the series spoke to kids who are interested in  superheroes, "special powers" and enjoy drawing. In August 2021, Ian Jones-Quartey told Insider that in hiring people for the show, he avoided relying on a trusted network of people, prioritizing finding a diverse group of people, doing many open calls, with the studio having a database with which they "sort of cold emailed people," then asking people to come in after looking at what they had done in the past. LGBTQ representation. Series creator Ian Jones-Quartey hinted at this in an interview with Den of Geek published a day before the first episode aired, saying those watching it  would "be delighted" by the LGBTQ representation in the series. There were LGBTQ characters in the main cast, among supporting characters and other recurring characters. For instance, the series featured two married couples: Lord Boxman and Professor Venomous, two villains, and Joff and Nick Army, two recurring heroes. The series was noted as portraying Boxman and Venomous romantically, and ending with a same-sex wedding between Joff and Army in the series finale "Thank You for Watching the Show" on September 6, 2019. Before the episode aired, Jones-Quartey confirmed Army and Joff as a canon gay couple and Gregg , a minor character, as non-binary, while Bobo was implied to be agender. Enid, a bisexual ninja and witch, and Red Action, a lesbian, were recognized by GLAAD as a couple, and kissed in the episode ""Red Action 3: Grudgement Day"". The series was later recognized by Philadelphia Gay News and Out for its LGBTQ representation. Broadcast. "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" premiered on Cartoon Network on August 1, 2017. The first 6 episodes were released online on June 13, 2017. It also aired on sister network Boomerang from August 7 to September 1, 2017. It was also featured  at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con. On December 7, 2017, the series was renewed for a second season. In early 2018, Let’s Play Heroes, a video game adaptation of the series premiered. The second season premiered on March 19, 2018. On October 8, 2018, a crossover episode entitled "Crossover Nexus" between characters in "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes", "Steven Universe", "Ben 10" and "Teen Titans Go!" aired. On July 9, 2019, the third, and final, season of "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" began airing on Cartoon Network. On August 4, 2019, the episode "Let's Meet  Sonic" aired, a crossover episode with characters from "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog". On August 6, 2019, Ian Jones-Quartey announced that Cartoon Network opted to not renew the show for a fourth season. The series finale aired on September 6, 2019. Streaming. Currently, all of the episodes are available on the iTunes Store, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu since June, August and October 2017, May 2018, May and July 2019 and March 2020 in HD and SD formats. On September 1, 2020, the entire series became available on HBO Max in the United States. It is also  available on the streaming platform in other countries and territories. Video game. A mobile game, "OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo", was launched on Android and iOS on February 4, 2016 as a free game for those platforms. It is a beat 'em up developed by Double Stallion Games and published by Cartoon Network Games. The game's original score was composed by Mathieu Lavoie and FX Dupas at Vibe Avenue in Montreal, Canada. Capybara Games developed a video game based on the show for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Entitled "OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes", it was  released on January 23, 2018, and a Nintendo Switch port was released on October 30, 2018. Reception. The series was received positively. Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media described the series as fun, with a "hard-working wannabe hero" but warned of cartoon violence. She also called the series "quirky", said it has "lots of positive messages" and "clever moments", with some scenes understood more by young tweens rather than small children.