The Cuphead Show! is an animated comedy TV series created by Dave Wasson for Netflix. It is based on the 2017 video game Cuphead made by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, who created the video game, are executive producers. Dave Wasson and CJ Kettler from King Features Syndicate are also executive producers, and Cosmo Segurson is a co-executive producer.
The show first aired on Netflix on February 18, 2022. The second season was released on August 19, 2022, and the third season began on November 18, 2022. Critics generally gave the show positive reviews, praising its animation, voice acting, music, humor, and overall style. However, some critics noted that the episodes lacked depth, with storylines described as "broken into small parts" and "repeating the same ideas."
Plot
Set in the 1930s-style world of the Inkwell Isles, The Cuphead Show! follows the adventures of Cuphead, an impulsive and mischievous character, and Mugman, who is cautious but easily influenced. The two cup-shaped brothers live with their grandfather and an elderly caretaker named Elder Kettle in a cottage shaped like a teapot. The stories often focus on the brothers trying to solve problems, sometimes meeting characters from the video game that inspired the show. While each episode usually tells a separate story, a repeated theme involves the Devil chasing Cuphead for his soul. The Devil believes he is owed the soul because Cuphead lost a game called "Soul Ball," but Cuphead and Mugman always manage to avoid him.
Voice cast
- Tru Valentino portrays Cuphead
- Frank Todaro portrays Mugman
- Grey DeLisle portrays Ms. Chalice
- Joe Hanna portrays Elder Kettle
- Cosmo Segurson portrays Porkrind and Elephant
- Wayne Brady portrays King Dice
- Luke Millington-Drake portrays the Devil
- Dave Wasson portrays Henchman and Telephone
- Chris Wylde portrays Ribby
- Rick Zieff portrays Croaks
- Andrew Morgado portrays Stickler
- Keith Ferguson portrays Bowlboy
- Natasia Demetriou portrays Cala Maria
- Zoë Moss portrays Baroness Von Bon Bon
- Jason Vande Brake portrays Captain Brineybeard
- Chris Kattan portrays Werner Werman /think
Production
In July 2019, it was announced that Netflix approved the series. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer from Studio MDHR are executive producers, along with C.J. Kettler from King Features Syndicate, Dave Wasson, and Cosmo Segurson, who is a co-executive producer. Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian are supervising directors. The series is animated by Lighthouse Studios, a division based in Kilkenny that works with Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon. Screen Novelties provided stop motion animation. To meet deadlines for the streaming series, the production team could not use hand-drawn animation like in the game. Instead, they used puppet-based methods and added details to match the 1930s rubber hose style. The series was first shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2020. At that time, it was announced that the show's music would be composed by Ego Plum.
Release
The first season of The Cuphead Show! began on February 18, 2022, and had twelve episodes. Netflix asked for 36 episodes to be made, which would be released as three seasons. The second season was released on August 19, 2022, and had thirteen episodes. The third and eighth episodes in this season were each about 25 minutes long. The third and final season was released on November 18, 2022, and had eleven episodes. The first and last episodes of this season were each 20 minutes long. The sixth episode of the entire series was the longest, lasting 30 minutes.
Reception
Variety’s Trending TV chart, which measures social media interactions with popular television shows, reported that The Cuphead Show! had 109,000 interactions on Twitter from February 14–20, 2022. It ranked No. 5 on the chart, behind Succession. Later, from February 28 to March 6, the show had 103,600 interactions on Twitter, placing it No. 7, behind Moon Knight. During the week of February 14–20, The Cuphead Show! was viewed for 14.6 million hours on Netflix. From February 21–27, the series was watched for 20.85 million hours. Between February 13 and March 6, the show spent three weeks on Netflix’s global "Top 10" list, totaling 47.29 million hours of viewing. On March 2, The Cuphead Show! ranked ninth on Netflix’s "Top 10" list.
TVision, which tracks how viewers watch shows, reported that 49% of viewers watched three or more episodes of The Cuphead Show! in one sitting in March 2022. By August 2022, this rate increased to 57%, making the series one of the most binge-watched shows on Netflix that month. Globally, The Cuphead Show! was the fourth most popular kids’ show or movie on Netflix in 2022, following Paw Patrol, CoComelon, and Gabby’s Dollhouse.
After its initial release, The Cuphead Show! gained renewed popularity. According to JustWatch, a streaming guide with data from over 20 million users, The Cuphead Show! was the sixth most popular television adaptation of a video game as of April 19, 2023. It ranked above other video game-based series, including Resident Evil, Dota: Dragon’s Blood, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, and Carmen Sandiego.
According to What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report, which details Netflix viewership from January to June 2023, the first season of The Cuphead Show! was watched for 14.5 million hours. The second and third seasons each had 16.3 million hours of viewing. Parrot Analytics, a market research company, reported that The Cuphead Show! had strong demand in February 2024. Its audience demand was 5.1 times higher than the average show in the United States, placing it in the top 8.6% of all TV shows. Compared to the same time the previous year, the series reached 6.8 times the average demand, showing a 41.1% increase. Globally, the show had strong demand, especially in Russia, China, and Brazil.
On review site Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 16 critics gave the first season a positive review, with an average score of 7.1/10. The site’s summary states: “While The Cuphead Show! copies the colorful animation of its video game source, it still needs more meaningful content.” On Metacritic, the show has a weighted average score of 69 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews.”
Jesse Lab of The Escapist praised The Cuphead Show! for focusing on its role as a children’s animated series, highlighting its retro-style animation and episodic structure. He noted that while the show may not satisfy fans of the video game due to its simple humor and lack of deep storytelling, it is entertaining for younger audiences. Lab appreciated the humor and moral lessons in each episode, calling the show charming and nostalgic. Rafael Motamayor of IGN gave The Cuphead Show! a score of 9/10, praising its mix of 1930s animation styles with modern comedy. He highlighted the show’s slapstick humor and the dynamic between the characters Cuphead and Mugman, as well as Elder Kettle’s comedic presence.
After its release, The Cuphead Show! appeared in rankings of the best video game adaptations on television. The show’s success also increased sales of the original Cuphead video game, according to its creators, the Moldenhauer brothers. Sales rose after the show debuted on Netflix, even before its downloadable content was released. In June 2024, fans started a social media campaign called “#RenewTheCupheadShow” to ask for the series to return.
In other media
In February 2022, Random House Children's Books announced a new line of books, including Screen Comix, Step into Reading, and Little Golden Books. The first books released were a Screen Comix title called Handle With Care and a Step into Reading title called Welcome to the Inkwell Isles. These books were published on May 3, 2022.
In November 2022, Dark Horse Books announced The Art of The Cuphead Show!, a hardcover book that explores the creation of the television series. The book includes input from the show's creators, writers, and artists, offering a detailed look at how the show was developed. It features artwork, character designs, and other materials that had not been seen before. The book was originally planned for release in bookstores on June 27, 2023, and in comic stores on June 28, 2023. It was finally released on September 3, 2023.
Future
In July 2025, The Cuphead Show! writer Deeki Deke said they were interested in creating a crossover with Hazbin Hotel. This would involve characters from the video game meeting the daughter of Lucifer Morningstar. Deke explained, "I would like to make a crossover aimed at older audiences. This could start a big conflict between fans of both shows, but such conflicts are already part of the stories in both series."