‘Tuca and Bertie’ Is Back! Adult Swim Picks Up Season 2 of Lisa Hanawalt’s Acclaimed Animated Series

Ben Travers
·3 min read

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You can’t keep a good bird down.

Adult Swim has announced that “Tuca and Bertie” — Lisa Hanawalt’s critically hailed animated series — will return for Season 2 on the WarnerMedia network. “Tuca and Bertie” Season 2 will consist of 10 episodes, and the main voice cast will be returning, including Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, and Steven Yeun. “Tuca and Bertie” Season 2 is slated for release in 2021.

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“I’ve been a fan of Adult Swim shows since my teens, so I’m thrilled to bring my beloved fowl to the party and be a new voice for a fresh decade of absurd, irreverent, yet heartwarming adult animation,” said Hanawalt.

Hanawalt’s first season tracked two bird besties: Tuca (Tiffany Haddish), a cocky, care-free toucan, and Bertie (Ali Wong), an anxious, daydreaming song thrush, who live in the same apartment building — along with Bertie’s boyfriend, Speckle (Steven Yeun), a jovial, optimistic robin — and encourage each other to follow their dreams. “Tuca and Bertie” made a name for itself with inventive animation, inspired ideas, and a deep empathy for its central characters.

“Tuca and Bertie” is created and executive produced by Hanawalt, with Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen, Haddish, and Wong also serving as executive producers, The series is produced by Michael Eisner’s The Tornante Company and the animation will be done at Shadowmachine.

“Tuca and Bertie” originated as a Netflix original series, premiering in May 2019. Despite glowing reviews — including a spot on IndieWire’s Top 10 list of 2019 and the Best Animated Series of All-Time — a stellar cast, and an impressive awards haul, “Tuca and Bertie” was canceled in July, prompting calls for another network to save the series via critics’ essays and online petitions.

Adult Swim has built a name for itself as an avid supporter of original voices and has grown a loyal following as a result. Adult Swim is the No. 1 network with persons 18-34 and 18-49, and is seen in 94 million U.S. homes. Moreover, IndieWire’s Season 1 review described “Tuca and Bertie” as “bright, encouraging, and outrageous, watching ‘Tuca and Bertie’ can feel like watching a particularly excellent Saturday morning cartoon” — given its mature themes, its shift to Adult Swim’s nighttime programming docket seems like a perfect fit.

In Adult Swim’s release, the WarnerMedia network said the renewal came with an option for more. No exact release date has been set. “Tuca and Bertie” Season 2 is slated for 2021.

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