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Squidbillies is an American adult animated sitcom created by Jim Fortier and Dave Willis for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim.[1] An unofficial pilot for the series aired on April 1, 2005. The series later made its official debut on October 16, 2005, and ended on December 12, 2021, with a total of 132 episodes over the course of 13 seasons.
| Squidbillies | |
|---|---|
 The Cuyler family. From the left: Rusty, Granny, Early and Lily. | |
| Genre | Adult animation Animated sitcom Satire Surreal humour Black comedy |
| Created by | Jim Fortier Dave Willis |
| Voices of | Stuart Daniel Baker (2005–19) Tracy Morgan (2021) Daniel McDevitt Dana Snyder Patricia French Charles Napier (uncredited; 2005–06) Bobby Ellerbee (2006–21) Todd Hanson Scott Hilley (2005–14) Pete Smith |
| Narrated by | Dave Willis (select episodes) |
| Music by | Billy Joe Shaver various artists |
| Composers | David Lee Powell Shawn Coleman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 13 |
| No. of episodes | 132 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Keith Crofford Mike Lazzo |
| Producers | Jim Fortier Dave Willis Ned Hastings Phil Samson Alan Steadman Melissa Warrenburg |
| Running time | 11 minutes 22 minutes (episode 60) |
| Production companies | Williams Street Radical Axis (2005–2011) Awesome Inc (2012–2021) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Adult Swim |
| Release | October 16, 2005 – December 12, 2021 |
| Related | |
| Anime Talk Show Carl's Stone Cold Lock Of The Century Of The Week | |
The series is about the Cuyler family, an impoverished family of anthropomorphic hillbilly mud squids living in the Georgia region of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The series revolves around the exploits of an alcoholic father (Early), who is often abusive in a comedic way towards his family. His son, Rusty, is desperate for his approval; his mother and grandmother, known in the show as Granny, is often the center of his aggression; and Lily, Early's sister, is mostly unconscious in a pool of her own vomit.
The series also airs in syndication in other countries and has been released on various DVD sets and other forms of home media.
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Squidbillies follows the exploits of the Cuyler family and their interactions with the local populace, which usually results in a fair amount of destruction, mutilation, and death. The Cuylers are essentially given free rein and protected from the consequences of their actions whenever possible by their crudely-drawn friend, the Sheriff (whose name is "Sharif"), as they are said to be the last twisted remnants of a federally protected endangered species, the "Appalachian Mud Squid". They live in the southern Appalachian Mountains located in the North Georgia mountains. At the epicentre of this rural paradise is Dougal County, home to crippling gambling addictions, a murderous corporation, sexual deviants, and the authentic Southern mountain squid.[2] The show often satirizes the history and culture of the American South, including the Lost Cause, slavery, religious fundamentalism, segregation, political conservatism, bigotry, racism and poverty. In the words of The New York Times, the show takes "backwoods stereotypes" and turns them into "a cudgel with which to pound maniacally on all manner of topical subjects."[3]
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Squidbillies is produced by Williams Street Productions; it is written by Dave Willis, co-creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Jim Fortier, previously of The Brak Show, both of whom worked on the Adult Swim series Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The show is animated by Radical Axis until 2012, with Awesome Inc taking on animation duties until the show’s conclusion.
Concept and development
The series has its origins in 2003 when Mike Lazzo, former vice president of Adult Swim, asked to develop a project around the title Squidbilly's, which he speculated about during a conversation with his colleagues about Hanna-Barbera's Squiddly Diddly character. In July of the same year, Matt Maiellaro and Pete Smith produced the first script of the pilot episode; however it was scrapped and over 35 scripts were written by Maiellaro, Smith, Dave Willis, Jim Fortier, Matt Harrigan and Mike Lazzo over the course of a year. Later, Lazzo approved and commissioned a screenplay by Dave Willis and Jim Fortier, who decided to base the plot and related characters on the stories of the two creators who both grew up in Conyers, Georgia. According to vice president Keith Crofford development of the first season was delayed due to a lack of ideas, revealing that the pilot episode was scheduled to air in December 2004. The original budget of the pilot episode was about 1100 dollars.
On March 25, 2004, it was revealed that the series was in production with a first season consisting of seven episodes planned. Adult Swim later showed short clips from the first episode during San Diego Comic-Con and Dragon Con in 2004. It was also announced that the series, originating from the creators of Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, was in development with as many as 96 episodes, that the pilot episode would air on November 7, 2004, and that the official broadcast would take place in January 2005. On November 4, 2004, three days before the pilot episode was scheduled to air, the animated special Anime Talk Show aired, featuring future Squidbillies star Early Cuyler, along with Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sharko from Sealab 2021 who are interviewed by Space Ghost. The special was later placed as a bonus feature on the first DVD volume of Squidbillies.[4] The pilot episode was heavily promoted to air on November 7, 2004. On that date, however, Adult Swim decided to air the first episode of Perfect Hair Forever unannounced due to the incompleteness of the Squidbillies episode.
In March 2005, Adult Swim announced that a six-episode first season would air from September of that year alongside 12 oz. Mouse and Perfect Hair Forever. An unfinished version of the pilot episode aired on April Fool's Day, later revealed via a bumper that it would be completed in five weeks. On October 16, 2005, after being posted on the official website two days earlier, the episode aired alongside the rest of the season.
Writing
The series is written primarily and entirely by Jim Fortier and Dave Willis, who are sometimes aided by other writers such as Casper Kelly and Will Shepard, who send their scripts to the creators. Other producers or animators occasionally take part and write additional story elements, including Matt Harrigan, Matt Maiellaro, Pete Smith, and Lear Bunda.
The delay in production of the pilot episode was partly the result of a lack of ideas on the part of the writers who had subjected it to multiple rewrites between the commission of the series and its actual scheduled debut. Over 35 screenplays were written by Maiellaro, Smith, Willis, Fortier, Harrigan and Mike Lazzo in the course of a year. Originally the names of the protagonists Early and Rusty were to be Arvee and Donny respectively; however they were changed by Smith and Fortier in an attempt to renew the creators' original ideas.
During the development of Squidbillies, the creators also working on the development of Perfect Hair Forever inserted and moved some concepts and characters between the two animated series.
Animation
The series' animation, described by Willis as Beavis and Butt-Head style, is based on Adobe Flash and takes a week to complete. The main software adopted for the series's animation is Macromedia Shockwave Flash, which allowed in later seasons to more easily change the resolution format to render the broadcast in high definition. An average episode takes approximately 700 working hours to complete.
Up until the sixth season, the task of animating the various scripts and characters is entrusted to Radical Axis, while from the seventh onwards to Awesome Inc. The reason why the characters are drawn so crudely is not due to the budget, which is still substantial compared to that of their previous work Space Ghost Coast to Coast, but is by design; in fact, according to Jim Fortier, if the series had been drawn differently, therefore cleaner and sharper, it would not have been fun.
Production times for animation and various changes made to episodes can take up to eight weeks. Unlike traditional series, no storyboards or particular animations are produced and the pre-production product is not sent abroad to be further modified; in fact the production takes place exclusively in Atlanta and there are between five and seven animators. According to animator Alex Barrella, by the twelfth season, animations and episode designs are generally completed in a few weeks to a maximum of a month, before being revisited and saved. After being animated, the episodes are edited with Adobe After Effects for the final composition. Regarding subsequent seasons, Barrella stated that he wanted to resume the style of "the first three seasons of Aqua Teen Hunger Force", to increase the irreverent tone of the series.
Wallpapers
The series' backgrounds and colors were created by artist Ben Prisk at Primal Screen in Atlanta. According to Mike Lazzo, who supervises Prisk's works, he wanted to base his backgrounds on folk art. Together with Fortier and Willis, Prisk worked about a year and a half to develop the animation style of the backgrounds, trying to adapt them to the previously designed characters according to line widths, layers and texture complexity. The backgrounds are characterized by the lack of right angles and confusing perspectives. Prisk's works are created in acrylic, revisited with gouache and spray paint and finally composed on Adobe Photoshop. Each wallpaper takes approximately 12–15 hours to process and complete.
Voice cast
- Stuart Daniel Baker (2005–2019) and Tracy Morgan (2021) as Early Cuyler
- Daniel McDevitt as Rusty Cuyler
- Dana Snyder as Granny
- Patricia French as Aunt Lily
- Charles Napier (2005–2006) and Bobby Ellerbee (2006–2021) as Sheriff
- Todd Hanson as Dan Halen
- Scott Hilley (2005–2014) as Reverend
- Elizabeth Cook (2011–2014; 2017–2021) and Faye Otto (2016) as Tammi
- Jason Isbell as Reverend Nubbins
- Dave Willis as Deputy Denny and Glenn
- Pete Smith (2005–2016) as Boyd
Dismissal of Stuart Baker
On August 16, 2020, Stuart Baker was fired from the series for controversial comments towards the Black Lives Matter movement and country singer Dolly Parton. A response was posted on Facebook by Baker claiming that being fired from Squidbillies ruined his life. The response was later deleted.[5]
The thirteenth and final season of Squidbillies premiered on November 7, 2021, with Baker being replaced by comedian Tracy Morgan.[6][7]
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| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 6 | October 16, 2005 | November 20, 2005 | |
| 2 | 14 | September 17, 2006 | December 24, 2006 | |
| 3 | 20 | January 20, 2008 | June 8, 2008 | |
| 4 | 10 | May 17, 2009 | July 19, 2009 | |
| 5 | 10 | May 16, 2010 | July 18, 2010 | |
| 6 | 10 | September 11, 2011 | November 13, 2011 | |
| 7 | 6 | July 22, 2012 | August 26, 2012 | |
| 8 | 9 | August 11, 2013 | October 13, 2013 | |
| 9 | 10 | September 21, 2014 | November 30, 2014 | |
| 10 | 9 | July 10, 2016 | November 20, 2016 | |
| 11 | 10 | October 15, 2017 | December 17, 2017 | |
| 12 | 9 | August 11, 2019 | September 15, 2019 | |
| 13 | 9 | November 7, 2021 | December 12, 2021 | |
In Canada, Squidbillies previously aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block[8] and later G4's Adult Digital Distraction block.[9] The series currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.[10][11]
- Jason "Wee Man" Acuña voiced himself in "The Guzzle Bumpkin" (Season 11, Episode 2)
- "Action Plan" Tim Andrews voiced the homicidal GPS in "Fatal Distraction" (Season 5, Episode 7)
- Fred Armisen voiced Miguel in "Take This Job and Love It" (Season 1, Episode 2) and Office Politics Trouble" (Season 1, Episode 6), Jesus in "Giant Foam Dickhat Trouble" (Season 2, Episode 5) and Hippie Killed With Chainsaw in "Earth Worst" (Season 3, Episode 6).[12]
- Don Barnes, Danny Chauncey, and Larry Junstrom of 38 Special voiced themselves, and their band's song "Caught Up in You" is featured in "Burned and Reburned Again" (Season 2, Episode 10)[13]
- Todd Barry voiced Glenn in "Office Politics Trouble" (Season 1, Episode 6) and Dr. Bug in "Family Trouble" (Season 1, Episode 5).[14]
- Vernon Chatman (as Clarence Towelstein) voiced Shuckey the Corn Mascot in "Mud Days and Cornfused" (Season 3, Episode 18)[15]
- David Allan Coe is uncredited for voicing himself in "Okaleechee Dam Jam" (Season 3, Episode 17)[16]
- Elizabeth Cook performed the theme song and voiced Tammi in "Keeping It In The Family Way" (Season 6).
- Coolio voiced himself in "The Guzzle Bumpkin" (Season 11, Episode 2)
- Bradford Cox voiced himself in "Granite Caverns" (Season 8, Episode 1)
- Lavell Crawford voiced Judge Jammer in "Stop. Jammertime!" (Season 8, Episode 6)
- Rachel Dratch voiced a Hippie Woman in "Earth Worst" (Season 3, Episode 6)[17]
- Eric "Butterbean" Esch voiced himself and sang the national anthem in "Condition: Demolition" (Season 3, Episode 9)[18]
- Mick Foley is uncredited for voicing Thunder Clap in "Anabolic-holic" (Season 4, Episode 4)[19]
- Kevin Gillespie voiced himself in "Asbestos I Can" (Season 6, Episode 1)
- Phil Hendrie guest-starred in "Lean Green Touchdown Makifying Machine" (Season 5, Episode 9)
- Jason Isbell performed the theme song in "The Pharaoh's Wad" (Season 6, Episode 8) and voiced the new reverend Kyle Nubbins in "Greener Pastor" (Season 10, Episode 7), later going on to be his official V.A.
- David Jackson of the Japanese country group Western Crooners voiced a Japanese war veteran and a documentary narrator in "The Appalachian Mud Squid: Darwin's Dilemma" (Season 3, Episode 10)
- Jonathan Katz is uncredited for voicing The Rapist in "Government Brain Voodoo Trouble" (Season 2, Episode 1).
- George Lowe voiced Space Ghost in "Unofficial Pilot" (Season 1, fake pilot) and a TV wrestling-promo voice in "Anabolic-holic" (season 4, episode 4)
- Riley Martin voiced the Horseman of Pestilence in "Armageddon It On!" (Season 3, Episode 13) and a voice inside Dan Halen's head in "Pile M For Murder" (Season 3, Episode 19)[20]
- Ralphie May (as Sweet Dick May) voiced PNUT in "Thou Shale Not Drill" (Season 8, Episode 7). This was the second 30-minute episode in the series' history.
- JD McPherson voiced a prisoner in "Dove in an Iron Cage" (Season 11, Episode 1)
- The Mighty Ohba of the Western Crooners provided the Japanese voice dub of Early Cuyler in "Snow Daddy" (Season 6, Episode 6)
- Larry Munson provided the Voice of God on "Armageddon It On!" (Season 3, Episode 13)[21]
- Amber Nash voiced Prosperity in "Lipstick on a Squid" (Season 10, Episode 1)
- Chad Ochocinco voiced himself in "Lean Green Touchdown Makifying Machine" (Season 5, Episode 9)
- Tara Ochs guest-starred in "Lipstick on a Squid" (Season 10, Episode 1)
- Patton Oswalt (as Shecky Chucklestein) voiced the One-Eyed Giant Squid in "Survival of The Dumbest" (Season 2, Episode 12)[22]
- Paleface voiced a guy at a bar in "Green and Sober" (Season 7, Episode 4)
- Mike Schatz voiced the Prosecutor in "Terminous Trouble" (Season 2) and the Scientist in "God's Bro" (Season 4).
- Billy Joe Shaver performed the theme song in several episodes and voiced a customs agent and a TV announcer in "Trucked Up!" (Season 6, Episode 10)
- Brendon Small wrote and played the "Rusty Shreds" metal pieces in "Mephistopheles Traveled Below to a Southern State Whose Motto Is 'Wisdom, Justice and Moderation'" (Season 3, Episode 5).[23] He also voiced Dr. Jerry in "Family Trouble" but was listed in the credits as "Donald Cock".
- Todd Snider performed the main title in "Fatal Distraction" (Season 5, Episode 7) and as a rabbit in "America: Why I Love Her" (Season 5, Episode 10) and voiced a lobster in "Clowny Freaks" (Season 5, Episode 8)
- Paul Stanley voiced himself in "Fatal Distraction" (Season 5, Episode 6)
- Jared Swilley voiced himself in "Granite Caverns" (Season 8, Episode 1)
- T-Pain voiced himself in "Asbestos I Can" (Season 6, Episode 1) and performed the theme song in "Trucked Up!" (Season 6, Episode 10).
- Larry Wachs voiced a clown in "Clowny Freaks" (Season 5, Episode 8)
- Jesco White voiced Ga-Ga-Pee-Pap Cuyler in "Dead Squid Walking" (Season 5, Episode 3)
- Mamie White (Jesco's real-life sister) voiced Krystal's cousin in "The Many Loves of Early Cuyler" (Season 5, Episode 2)
- Widespread Panic performed the main title theme and voiced themselves in "Need for Weed" (Season 5, Episode 1)
- Jon Wurster (as Roy Ziegler) voiced Dakota the Hippie in "Earth Worst" (Season 3, Episode 6) and Skyler The Blue Blood Sucking monster in "The Tiniest Princess" (Season 2, Episode 12).
Musical guest performances
- Drive-By Truckers performed in "America: Why I Love Her" (Season 5, Episode 10)
- Jackyl performed "Raised By Jackyl" in "America: Why I Love Her" (Season 5, Episode 10)
- Rhett Miller performed as an al-Qaeda representative with a hook hand in "America: Why I Love Her" (Season 5, Episode 10)
- Soilent Green performed the main title theme on "Lerm" (Season 4, Episode 1)
- Split Lip Rayfield was credited in writing Rusty's bluegrass Hell Jams in "Mephistopheles Traveled Below to a Southern State Whose Motto Is 'Wisdom, Justice and Moderation'" (Season 3, Episode 5)
- Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Lucinda Williams, Will Oldham, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Hayes Carll performed as various singing forest animals in "America: Why I Love Her" (Season 5, Episode 10). This was the first 30-minute episode in the series' history.
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- Billy Joe Shaver
- Against Me!
- Alabama Shakes
- The Baseball Project
- The B-52's
- Black Lips
- Blackberry Smoke
- The Both
- Camper Van Beethoven
- Cannibal Corpse
- Clutch
- Hayes Carll
- Neko Case
- Centro-Matic
- Jimmy Cliff
- Elizabeth Cook
- Steve Earle
- Jimmie Dale Gilmore
- Jan Hammer
- Unknown Hinson
- In Search of Sight
- Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
- Jackyl
- The Jayhawks
- George Jones
- King Khan and the Shrines
- Matthew Kaminsky, organist for the Atlanta Braves
- Lambchop
- Chuck Leavell & Francine Reed
- Let's Active
- Lera Lynn featuring Joshua Grange
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Max Q
- The Milk Carton Kids
- Father John Misty
- Bob Mould
- Willie Nelson
- John Prine
- Pueblo Cafe
- Todd Rundgren
- Rebecca Schiffman
- Ty Segall
- Sturgill Simpson
- William Shatner
- Shovels & Rope
- Todd Snider
- Soilent Green
- T-Pain
- Trampled by Turtles
- Sharon Van Etten
- Kurt Vile
- Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
- Western Crooners
- Widespread Panic
- Lucinda Williams
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Yelawolf
- Dwight Yoakam
- ZZ Top
- Shawn Coleman
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Soundtrack
In January 2012, a free 35-track soundtrack was released on the Adult Swim music site entitled The Squidbillies Present: Music for Americans Only Made by Americans in China for Americans Only God Bless America, U.S.A.[24]
Another album, entitled Squidbillies Double Platinum Gold, was released on vinyl in July 2019.[25]
Home releases
| Season | Episodes | Volume | Release date | Extras | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | ||||||
| 1 | 2005 | 6 | 1 | October 16, 2007 |
| |
| 2 | 2006 | 14 | ||||
| 3 | 2008 | 20 | 2 | April 21, 2009 |
| |
| 4 | 2009 | 10 | 3 | July 6, 2010 |
| |
| 5 | 2010 | 10 | 4 | June 21, 2011[26] |
| |
| 6 | 2011 | 10 | 5 | August 7, 2012[27] |
| |
| 7 | 2012 | 6 | 6 | March 17, 2015[28] | None | |
| 8 | 2013 | 9 | ||||
The series is also available on HBO Max since September 1, 2020. However, seasons 1-12 were removed from the platform in 2023. These seasons are expected to return to the streaming service soon, with "Gimmicky Magazine Show Spoof Parody About Dan Halen" returning to its regular fit-to-screen format.[29]
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