Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins

Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins is an adult animated comedy series on Syfy's late-night block, TZGZ created by Kelsey Stephanides and starring Anna Akana, Brianna Baker, Anika Noni Rose, and Estelle.[1] It follows two directionless young women who must figure out how to save the Universe. It is the pilot series of Magical Girl Friendship Squad, which began airing on Syfy's late night programming block TZGZ on September 26, 2020, with six 15-minute episodes in its first season.[2][3]

Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins
GenreAnimated comedy
Created byKelsey Stephanides
Written byDiana McCorry
Directed byKrystal "K" Downs
Starring
ComposerNoah Pardo[lower-alpha 1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producers
  • James Belfer
  • Adam Belfer
  • Daniel Shepard
  • Kelsey Stephanides
ProducerDiana McCorry
AnimatorKrystal "K" Downs
EditorBen Bishop
Running time4-5 minutes
Production companyCartuna
Release
Original networkSyfy
Original releaseJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Chronology
Related showsMagical Girl Friendship Squad
External links
Official website

Plot

The series is a female-driven comedy about Alex (Baker) and Daisy (Akana), two women in their 20s, who are given the duty of saving the universe, as soon as they get their lives together and pay their rent.[4]

Characters

Main

Recurring
  • Corporate executive (voiced by Daisy Hobbs)

Guests

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Origin Story"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
A magical red panda approaches Daisy and Alex, asking their help to save the universe.
2"Superparty"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Alex and Daisy begin using their powers to benefit themselves, but later get very drunk with those powers, leading to unforeseen consequences.
3"Parent Crap"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Daisy and Alex prepare themselves for their parents, who are visiting them both.
4"HeroCon"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Daisy and Alex get an invitation to a convention of superheroes from an anonymous source.
5"Transit of Verus"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Verus visits Alex and Daisy, letting them know about a secret.
6"The Emptier Will See You Now"TBATBAJanuary 1, 2020 (2020-01-01)
Daisy and Alex wake up and find themselves in the waiting room of the worst, and most sinister, villain in the entire universe.

Production

Development

Magical Girl Friendship Squad Origins is an anime-inspired animation created by Kelsey Stephanides.[9] The show began airing on Syfy's new adult animation block, TZGZ in January 2020.[2][10][11] This pilot series was written by Diana McCorry, who created Human Kind Of.[12] Stephanides stated that this series was a parody of the magical girl subgenre and set up the characters, which later were expanded upon in the main show.[13]

In 2015, while in school at New York University, studying Media, Culture and Communications, Stephanides, an avid fan of the magical girl genre, came up with the idea for the show.[14] After talking to her professor, James Belfer of Cartuna, he told her to pitch it to Cartuna, which loved the show. As a result, the production on the series began, meant to be a "short-form pitch to networks," and it was pitched around for years until 2019, when SYFY picked it up, wanting to reboot it, polish it more, and have longer episodes. That led to the creation of the main show, Magical Girl Friendship Squad. Stephanides also noted how this pilot show effected the main show, like the idea of Nut, an animal companion and partner which helps the protagonists, and is somehow the creator of the universe, saying it is "hilarious and adorable."

Release

After its release in January 2020, it continued to air on SYFY's programming block through the year.[12][15][16]

Crew

The show is produced by Cartuna, a New York animation studio.[6][17] Krystal "K" Downs is the animation director,[18] Kelsey Stephanides is the showrunner,[6] and Diana McCorry is development producer (and writer) of the show.[19] Like with the main show, Adam Belfer and James Belfer were executive producers, although for this pilot show, Daniel Shepard and Stephanides were also executive producers.

Casting

Anna Akana voiced Daisy in this series and would also do so in the main show, titled Magical Girl Friendship Squad.[6] Additionally, Brianna Baker voiced Alex, Anika Noni Rose voiced Nut, and Estelle was a guest star.

Reception

Reception to the show has been mostly negative. Joyce Slaton on Common Sense Media who called the humor mature and filled with "iffy topics," and strong language, with the protagonists, Daisy and Alex, doing drugs, drinking, and joking about smoking pot.[20] She also noted that one of the pair, Daisy, woke up "with a woman in her bed" and vomiting after an "intense hangover," while describing their battles with creatures "played for laughs," along with bursts of sci-fi/fantasy and blood. She further explained how the protagonists often treat people with kindness while villains are "dispatched quickly and with no emotions." She also noted that Daisy is a white woman and Alex a woman of color, with both having atypical "body types for anime," wearing costumes moduled on Sailor Moon, before they wear comfortable garments on top. Slaton finally stated that the show is going for an Adult Swim vibe, with episodes that are under five minutes, and noted the "agreeably loopy surreal fantasy" of the show.

Notes
  1. It calls him a sound designer, but this is close enough

References
  1. Schwartz, Jon (January 17, 2020). "Syfy Orders Additional Animated Pilots For TZGZ ; Magical Girl Friendship Squad Ordered To Series". BubbleBlabber. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  2. Petski, Denise (May 13, 2020). "'Magical Girl Friendship Squad': Quinta Brunson & Anna Akana Lead Ensemble Cast Of Syfy's TZGZ Anime-Inspired Comedy". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  3. Petski, Denise (August 20, 2020). "'Magical Girl Friendship Squad' & 'Wild Life' Get Premiere Dates On Syfy's TZGZ Adult Animation Block". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (January 17, 2020). "Syfy Ramps Up Animation Push With First Original Series & Pilot Orders For New TZGZ Block". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  5. Schwartz, John (January 12, 2020). "Review: Magical Girl Friendship Squad "Origin Story"". Bubble Blabber. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  6. Stephanides, Kelsey (September 23, 2020). "Magical Girl Friendship Squad's Anna Akana on What Drew Her to the Show" (Online). Interviewed by Tim Brinkof. BubbleBlabber. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  7. Ashton, Will (September 26, 2020). "Where You've Seen The Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Cast Before". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  8. Lee, Arvoy (September 26, 2020). "Review: TZGZ's 'Magical Girl Friendship Squad' on SYFY". TV Source Magazine. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  9. Oller, Jacob (August 20, 2020). "WIRE Buzz: TZGZ sets 2 new series premieres; Moonbase sci-fi comedy to Showtime; American Reaper". Syfy. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  10. "Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins [promo clip]". Facebook. SYFY. January 9, 2020. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  11. Milligan, Mercedes (May 13, 2020). "SYFY Greenlights 'Devil May Care', 3 More Pilots for Adult Toon Block TZGZ". Animation Magazine. Animation Magazine Inc. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  12. Bullard, Benjamin (June 16, 2020). "SYFY sets cackle-worthy cast for TZGZ's Magical Girl Friendship Squad". Syfy. NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  13. Stephanides, Kelsey (September 24, 2020). "INTERVIEW: MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD creator Kelsey Stephanides on the new Syfy animated series" (Online). Interviewed by Kay-B. Comics Beat. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  14. Stephanides, Kelsey (September 21, 2020). "INTERVIEW: Kelsey Stephanides Invite You To Join "Magical Girl Friendship Squad"" (Online). Interviewed by Jackson Murphy. Animation Scoop. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. Zahed, Ramin (June 15, 2020). "Syfy Beefs Up Its TZGZ Animation Block". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  16. Sarto, Dan (July 22, 2020). "John Cena's Mutha Truckin' 'Dallas and Robo' Headed to SYFY's TZGZ Animation Block". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  17. Milligan, Mercedes (June 15, 2020). "SYFY Greenlights 'Devil May Care', 3 More Pilots for Adult Toon Block TZGZ". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  18. Downs, Krystal (July 22, 2020). "Magical Girl Friendship Squad". Working Not Working. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  19. Downs, Krystal (July 22, 2020). "Magical Girl Friendship Squad". Krystal Downs Official Website. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  20. Slaton, Joyce (September 27, 2020). "Magical Girl Friendship Squad [Review]". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
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