CELEBRITY

Adult Swim Picks up ‘Tuca & Bertie’ Starring Tiffany Haddish

Mike Smith/NBC

Netflix canceled the critically-acclaimed adult cartoon in 2019, but Adult Swim will bring back Tuca & Bertie for season two in 2021.

When the Netflix original show Tuca & Bertie premiered in 2019, viewers were delighted. The lively adult cartoon offered many of the qualities that keep good shows going: exciting visuals, funny dialogue, and three-dimensional characters.

The show quickly gained the praise of viewers and critics, reaching 98% critic approval on Rotten Tomatoes, but Netflix’s algorithm disagreed. Without giving a specific explanation, Netflix canceled Tuca & Bertie only a few months after the first season premiered.

After nearly a year of fan disappointment, Adult Swim will pick up where Netflix left off. Tuca & Bertie will be reinstated for a second 10-episode season in 2021. The original cast will return full force, with comedians Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong starring as titular BFFs (bird friends forever) Tuca and Bertie.

The show’s creator, Lisa Hanawalt, expressed her excitement about the show’s revival on Twitter this week. Hanawalt is also known for her work as production designer and producer of the darkly comedic cartoon Bojack Horseman

Though lighthearted in delivery, the show explores complex ideas about healthy and unhealthy relationships. In the first season, newly-sober Tuca must come to terms with Bertie’s personal and professional growth, which seems to threaten their friendship. Meanwhile, Bertie works to overcome her everyday anxieties, from sexual harassment at work to doubts in her relationship with her boyfriend, Speckle.

Fans will have to wait another year to see what happens next. For those who lamented the show’s cancelation, the resurrection of Tuca & Bertie will be worth the wait.