The Fox Animation Lineup is getting some new residents! The cast ofBloom Countywill be joining the lineup in their own animated series. Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed confirmed today onhis social mediathat an animated show is in the works based on his ongoing comic strip.
Bloom Countyhas a pretty long history in Breathed’s life. It started when Breathed began producing a comic strip for The Daily Texan, a school newspaper for the University of Texas. That comic was titledThe Academia Waltz, and starred a cast of characters trying to make it through college life. The strip caught the eye of representatives of The Washington Post and soon Breathed found himself with offers to do a nationally syndicated strip. Borrowing a few characters fromThe Academia Waltz,Bloom Countymade its debut on December 8th, 1980. The cast was expanded upon and set in a boarding house in a small town in Middle America. The strip had an initial run from 1980 to 1989, but Breathed revived the strip in 2015. According to Breathed,it was the controversies aroundGo Set a Watchmanthat inspired him to return to his beloved characters. New strips are published regularly on hisFacebookpage.
Breathed plans to stay involved in this new incarnation of his work, as the show will be co-written and produced by him. Bento Box will cover the animation, while Miramax, Spyglass, and Project X will serve as executive producers.Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s president, expressed excitement over the project with Variety.
“I was introduced to the brilliance of Berkeley Breathed and Bloom County as a teenager. His signature blend of satire, politics and sentiment hooked me. Plus, I love Opus. Today, Berkeley’s smart and hilarious take on American culture is more relevant than ever. And, together with Bento Box, we’re thrilled to bring his unique ensemble of characters and social commentary to broadcast television.”
One of the main draws to Bloom County was its satirical take on politics, which dates the original strips in all the best ways. A notable example is Bill the Cat, who was initially a take on the growing popularity of Garfield. The comic spent a good portion of the 80’s riffing on hot topics of the time, such as the Cold War, race relations, and politics of all kinds. So in a time where tensions are high, maybe it’s about time we all had a good laugh. Breathed seems to think the same.
“At the end of ‘Alien,’ we watched cuddly Sigourney Weaver go down for a long peaceful snooze in cryogenic hyper-sleep after getting chased around by a saliva-spewing maniac, only to be wakened decades later into a world stuffed with far worse. Fox and I have done the identical thing to Opus and the rest of the Bloom County gang, may they forgive us.”
Bloom County’s Opus Returns to Television
This won’t be the strip’s first jump to animation. In 1991Bloom County’smost famous resident, the lovable penguin named Opus, starred in his own Christmas special titledA Wish for Wings that Work. The special, based on a children’s book of the same name, followed Opus as he faced the holiday season, hoping that his gift would be one involving flight. The special was produced by Amblin Television.Breathed was not impressed with the special overall.
Considering Breathed’s heavier involvement in this upcoming show, perhaps he’ll be taking what was learned fromA Wish for Wings that Worked. They say that failure is the best teacher, after all. Currently, there is no release date for the upcoming show, but it’s a good guess that Breathed will be the first to let us know when that news is ready.
Along with his work onBloom County, Breathed is also a children’s book author, screenwriter, production designer and film producer. His 2007 children’s book, Mars Needs Moms, was adapted to film by Disney. There is also a film currently in the works titledHitpig, which is based on an original story by Breathed. The film will star Peter Dinklage as the titular character and will be produced by Aniventure, and the film is scheduled for release this year.
