The third season of SuperMansion starts on Sony Crackle May 7. Dr. Devizo, voiced by Chris Pine, is declared a hero and he and the Injustice Club are made members of the League of Freedom. “The good guys have to live with the bad guys,” explained Zeb Wells, who created the show with Matthew Senreich.
The animated series has always attracted some biggish names to voice characters, including Bryan Cranston and Keegan-Michael Key. This season sees Minnie Driver join the cast. Driver will voice Debbie Devizo, Dr. Devizo’s ex-wife. “I am thrilled to put on my superhero cape,” Driver said.
“We’re all super-excited about Minnie joining,” Wells added. “She brings a lot of humor and a certain gravitas.”
How does SuperMansion end up attracting boldface names? Well, Cranston is an executive producer of the show, besides voicing Titanium Rex. “They just like what they’ve been reading,” Senreich said of the scripts. “They get excited about playing these characters.”
“And there’s no hair and makeup,” Wells added.
Season three sees the mythology surrounding the League of Freedom get a bit deeper. “You can watch it for the superhero mythology, or you can watch to see some superheroes farting around,” Wells said.
Indeed, SuperMansion remains zany as ever. “I don’t think anyone can predict the way it plays out,” Senreich said. “That’s what makes it so fun.”
And BattleBots starts on Discovery Channel May 11; it pits the most badass robots against each other in battle. Tombstone, Minotaur, Witch Doctor, Bronco and Bite Force are among the battling bots this season.
BattleBots previously aired on Comedy Central, ABC and Discovery sibling Science Channel. Why is it right for Discovery? Wyatt Channell, executive producer, describes the show as a “remarkable mix of things,” including intriguing builders, who drive the bots, and “tremendously kinetic, engaging battles,” he said. “And it’s just a lot of fun.”
Discovery is doing 20 episodes, which were shot in an airplane hangar in Long Beach, Calif., over the course of two weeks. Five days after they premiere on Discovery, episodes run on Science. Channell described the Science episodes as “the same plus more” — repeats, but with additional stuff, such as a bout you didn’t see on Discovery or behind-the-scenes info.
This year’s competition features a mix of horizontal and vertical spinners, and bots with flippers. Of the latter, Channell noted the “hang time of various bots caught on the wrong end of flippers.”
Discovery is doing the BattleBots Twisted Metal Giveaway, where fans of the series have a chance to win a piece of a bot that was presumably smashed to bits in a battle. “A lot of the shrapnel is surprisingly iconic,” Channell said.
