Nomad of Nowhere

A magical being in the form of a nomad moves across a desolate Western environment, but he on the run due to bounty hunters and others who want to capture him and score big when they catch him once and for all...[14]

On January 17, 2018, Collider published an article about the show, describing it as a "western adventure that takes cues from Samurai Jack," quoting show director Jordan Cwiecz as describing it as a "western/fantasy mash-up about a mysterious nomad traversing a western wasteland that hasn’t seen magic in 100 years," saying that people should think of it "as two-parts Samurai Jack and True Grit with just a dash of The Lord of the Rings" with humor, fun, and much more.[15] Ten days later, the first promotional video was shown at the end of Volume 5 of RWBY, featuring the logo of the show, the hands of the Nomad, and sentient rocks.[16] The following month, on February 2, RoosterTeeth released the second promotional video[17] and released a third one the next month, on March 9.[18][19]

On March 17, Jordan and Yssa, directors for the show, challenged two others to draw characters from Nomad of Nowhere in an episode of "Drawfree" hosted on the RoosterTeeth YouTube channel.[3] A few days later, Jordan was interviewed by Collider, calling the series a slapdash of "a bunch of spaghetti westerns got mashed up with all your favorite fantasy series to create one epic adventure," saying the idea of the show came from Georden Whitman, a production artist for a show named Camp Camp, and inspired by his college animation titled Sir Knight of Nothing.[20] He also said that his main source of inspiration came from live-action drama like spaghetti westerns and Deadwood which have nostalgia and themes of despair in harsh lands with hard lives. Jordan also described the show as ambitious, challenging, and unique, allowing for an exploration of animation styles, inspired by Disney art books, Studio Ghibli, and more, calling it a show that "has the ingredients of things like Samurai Jack and Trigun while still having the legs to stand on its own pretty much sums up what we strive to do."

A month later, Jordan wrote a post announcing the mid-season break of the show,[21] and the RoosterTeeth Twitter noted that the show would begin airing episodes again on August 17.[22]

In his first review of the show, Dave Trumbore of Collider called the show excellent, saying that whilt it has a Western plot, it has "more of a fun, playful feel," especially when it comes to the Nomad.[20] In a later review, he called the series a story which brings together the Wild West, cartoonish magic, and classic 20th century cartoons, serving as a magical and adventure tale which features a "very silly collection of characters" who encounter the nomad, stating that it is "just a bit different from the rest" of the cartoons out there.[23] Padraig Cotter of Screen Rant described the show as a "mixture of fantasy and western" with a "quirky sense of humor and blend of genres," saying it has earned a loyal fanbase, and even said that some compared it to Trigun and Samurai Jack.[24] Other reviewers called it a "charming/comedic adventure" which reminded them of "Looney Tunes era cartoons with hilariously directed sound effects" and has great voice acting,[25] pointed to its Western genre themes,[26] and praised Rooster Teeth for branching "into new avenues," citing the show as one example of this.[27]

Although the Season 1 finale, which ended with a "bang,"[28] teased that the show would continue into a second season, Georden Whitman publicly criticized RoosterTeeth, who left RT before Season 1 ended, citing "creative differences,"[29] giving the show's writers "the outline of the whole story, including the ending."[30] Responding to claims that RoosterTeeth engages in "heavy crunch periods," resists providing benefits, has work weeks which are eight hours, and other issues,[31] he said the company lied to people, letting people go with promises they would become full-time workers, did not improve its work conditions, and claimed they "sweep problems under the rug, [like] they want people to forget."[32][33][34][lower-alpha 1]

Due to this criticism and the fact, it is unlikely the show will be continued in a second season, with Whitman saying it likely won't happen because he hadn't heard anything from RoosterTeeth, as of November 2019, about it, instead saying he will be working on comic titled "Knight of Nothing".[35] On April 26, 2020, he tweeted about it again, saying that he doubts they would create a second season without telling him, saying he would appreciate negotiating with them if they wanted to, but said the next season would have to be "done right."[36]

On July 11, 2020, on an episode of the podcast Talk CRWBY to Me, Miles Luna revealed writer Kiersi Burkhart originally joined Rooster Teeth to work on Season 2 of Nomad of Nowhere and the process went "pretty far along," but production was halted when it was decided continuing the series at the time was not advisable.[37] The timing of Season 2 pausing production, and Burkhart's subsequent move to RWBY Volume 7, suggests the controversy surrounding Gray Haddock and Georden Whitman's outspoken criticism of Rooster Teeth influenced the decision. In a September 2020 Tumblr post, RT Animation director Jordan Cwierz explained Rooster Teeth does not cancel shows it owns, but under the company's restructuring shows like Camp Camp now fall under the RT Studios label, meaning they are no longer produced on their own and are being shopped to partners.[38] Cwierz added that the same applies to shows like Nomad of Nowhere, although his only comment was that they were "trying to make" more episodes.

• Rooster Teeth
• List of animated series with LGBT characters: 2015-2019
• History of animation

• Official website
• Episodes 2-12 on RoosterTeeth YouTube page
• Nomad of Nowhere at IMDb
• Reviews of Nomad of Nowhere episodes on BubbleBlabber