‘The Midnight Gospel’ – Netflix’s New Introspective Animated Adventure | Article Reupload

(Minor spoilers for episodes 1 & 2)

At a glance, #Netflix’s new psychedelic animated series #TheMidnightGospel, created by Pendleton Ward, looks like a faithful follow-up to Ward’s 8-year-spanning animated series, #AdventureTime. However, where Adventure time kept much of its existential and abstract themes behind its ‘suitable for all ages’ appeal, The Midnight Gospel puts everything front and centre, as it takes viewers on an adults-only, introspective and surprisingly gory journey that explores love, loss, death and virtually everything in-between.

Presented as a pseudo-#podcast, the series focuses on Clancy Gilroy (voiced by Duncan Trussell), a pirate ‘space-caster’ (think podcaster but in space) who uses different avatars of himself to travel to various worlds, most of which are in the midst of a global catastrophe, to search for willing interviewees. Instead of focusing on the problems of each individual world (which make for some trippy animated backdrops), each episode explores the deep, personal philosophies and beliefs of the special-guest interviewees who inhabit them.

The show at its core is a fun mish-mash of Ward’s zany, abstract ‘Adventure time’ style and Trussell’s own philosophical charged podcast, ‘The Duncan Trussell Family Hour’ – and the end result works surprisingly well. The first episode, ‘Taste of the king’, see’s Clancy travel to an alternate earth that is in the midst of a zombie (or Zombo) pandemic. Clancy’s unwitting, soon-to-be interviewee turns out to be president (voiced by special guest Dr Drew Pinsky), who happily complies to the request for an interview.

The rest of the episode follows the two as they discuss the pros and cons of legalising marijuana, along with their own experiences with drugs. All while fighting their way through an escalating crisis and just about every zombie movie trope ever invented (while also creating at least 3 new ones), before things reach a gory, musical climax. Things only get trippier from there as episode 2, ‘Officers and Wolves’, explores death and belief in the midst of an alien meat processing lab, in the middle of a violent clown rebellion (with author Ann Lamott).

This is a show that pretty much forces you to submit to its strange, cosmic, world-hopping adventures, as Clancy and company discuss real-world issues with dark and relatable themes. While also acknowledging the rules (or lack thereof) of each planet, its other inhabitants and the ridiculous, mind-bending and often world-ending scenarios transpiring around them.

The Midnight Gospel is a welcome addition into the currently very roomy Netflix category that is ‘cartoons specifically for adults’. Just to make that clear, this is not one you’ll want to watch with the kids, rather this is one that cartoonists and introspective podcasts listeners alike won’t want to miss.