Upon its premiere on Netflix in 2019, Tuca & Bertie was the animated talking bird sitcom we didn’t know we needed. Created by Lisa Hanawalt, an award-winning graphic novelist and illustrator who served as production designer and producer for the beloved Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, the series was met with rave reviews, and immediately earned a dedicated fanbase of cosplayers. If you have no idea who we are talking about, Tuca & Bertie chronicles the delightful friendship between Tuca (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), an impulsive toucan that balances a series of gig economy jobs while trying to maintain her sobriety, and Bertie (voiced by Ali Wong), an anxious song thrush that balances a boring desk job with dreams of becoming a baker. With its blend of character-based...
The Pitch: Birdtown’s most endearingly dysfunctional duo is back, and they haven’t really changed that much. Toucan Tuca (Tiffany Haddish) is the same boisterous, ebullient, troublingly irresponsible thirtysomething she always was; same with Bertie (Ali Wong), a neurotic songbird wrestling with deep-seated impostor syndrome and a stable, if unexciting, relationship with longtime live-in boyfriend Speckle (Steven Yeun). Bertie’s shopping around for the right therapist to figure out her myriad personal issues, including reeling from the sexual harassment she experienced at the hands of a celebrity chef she worked under last season. Tuca, for her part, wrestles with her neediness and insomnia, and the sudden responsibilities thrust upon her by a rapidly passing sense of adulthood. Togeth...
Tuca & Bertie officially have their wings back. Season 2 of the animated anthropomorphic sitcom has been revived by Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Created by Lisa Hanawalt, a producer and illustrator on BoJack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie enjoyed just one season on Netflix before being canceled July 2019. The pulling of the plug came as a shock, as the TV series earned rave reviews right from the get-go. At the time, Hanawalt blamed the cancellation on Netflix’s reliance on algorithm data. “T&B is critically acclaimed and has repeatedly been called one of the best new shows of the year,” she said. “None of this makes a difference to an algorithm, but it’s important to me and the way I want to continue making art in this world.” Adult Swim, the proud home of Rick and Morty, ...