Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland creating new animated series for Hulu

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The animated series follows the adventures of a not-so-superpowered Australian hero

Koala Man promo art.
(Image credit: Hulu)

Hulu has greenlit an eight-episode order for Koala Man, a family comedy about a powerless superhero in an Australian suburb created by and starring Australian animator Michael Cusack and executive produced by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and Pokémon Detective Pikachu co-writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit.

Koala Man follows a family patriarch (voiced by Cusack) with a not-so-secret identity as an Australian suburban hero with no power greater than a passion for stopping petty crime and bringing order to his community. 

Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez will serve as showrunners on the new family comedy, which also represents a reunion between Roiland and Cusack. The latter wrote and directed the 2018 Rick and Morty April Fool's special Bushworld Adventures.

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The pickup of Koala Man continues Hulu's push into adult animation. The Disney-run streaming service is home to Crossing Winds and two upcoming Marvel series: MODOK and Hit Monkey. 

The new family comedy also extends Hulu’s relationship with Roiland and 20th Television Animation. The creative mind behind the streamer’s hit adult animated original series Solar Opposites, whose first season was the most-watched Hulu original comedy premiere of 2020. Solar Opposites has also been renewed for a third season ahead of its second season's debut, which premieres on March 26. 

Showrunners Hernandez and Samit’s television credits include Central Park, One Day at a Time, The Tick, Super Fun Night, and 1600 Penn. They wrote the pilot and executive produce the new Disney Channel superhero comedy series Ultra Violet & Blue Demon. The duo is currently developing multiple shows under their overall deal with 20th Television.

Koala Man will be produced in both Los Angeles and Melbourne, where Bento Box's recently launched Princess Bento Studios has a home. Disney's 20th Television Animation also produces it. There is no further news on when the show will make its debut on Hulu, but in the meantime, you can check out our Solar Opposites review for season one. 

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Stephanie Williams

Stephanie is a comic book historian and pop culture critic for publications including SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She made her Marvel debut with a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy. She recently made her DC Comics debut in Wonder Woman Black and Gold #2 and is co-writing the Nubia and the Amazons miniseries.