For those who don’t believe in (or prefer) the naughty list, “Santa Inc.” just might be for you.
The animated show looks like a Rankin-Bass classic, but the dialogue is more at home in a Seth Rogen film. Which is why it’s perfect that Rogen is playing Santa Claus himself.
The HBO Max series follows the elf Candy Smalls (voiced by Sarah Silverman) who wants to dismantle the hegemonic white patriarchy that has ruled the north pole for so long. The North Pole is asking itself who will be Saint Nick’s successor. She and her friends Goldie (an openly bisexual reindeer voiced by Gabourey Sidibe), and Cookie – a gingerbread woman (voiced by Leslie Grossman) attempt to figure out how to position Candy to become the first female Santa.
Craig Robinson, Maria Bamford, Nicholas Braun, and Joel Kim Booster are rounding out the voice cast of “Santa Inc..”
The official show description is:
“This eight-episode, half-hour adult animated series tells the story of Candy Smalls, the highest ranking elf in the North Pole. When the successor to Santa Claus is poached by Amazon on Christmas Eve, Candy goes for her ultimate dream – to become the first woman Santa Claus in the history of Christmas.“
You can find the trailer here:
Animation for Adults
Rogen and Silverman are no strangers to animation. He and producing partner Evan Goldberg put out the VERY R-rated “Sausage Party” in 2016. Goldberg joins “Santa Inc.” as a producer as well. Silverman has been in the much more family friendly “Wreck-It Ralph” series and “Space Jam: A New Legacy”. Okay that second one is half animated but still.
Alexandra Rushfield will serve as showrunner. She developed the series “Shrill” for Hulu and has worked on Netflix’s “Love” and “Parks and Recreation”.
“Santa Inc.” will have eight episodes that will debut on HBO Max on Thursday December 2nd, 2021.
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