I would say 2016-2017 was probably the height of the animated docu-series flood that seemed to be on every cable TV network at the time. That’s not to say that there weren’t one or two since, but there was a solid year or two where EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, had an animated docu-series. Networks like MTV, Fuse, Vice, Cinemax, Comedy Central, and others all had some sort of an animated docu-series that usually featured extravagant stories that were so nuts that they had to be animated.
I’m not sure Roku Channel’s Confessions From The Hart is quite so crazy that an animated adaptation was needed, but fans of Kevin Hart know that the stand-up is one of the best storytellers in the world today. Kevin has stories, it’s the basis of almost every act he’s ever had, he’s always been open about the good and the bad, controversies, and everything else in between and they are usually home runs. Personally, I don’t even know if Confessions From The Hart bats a perfect game, but some of the stories were very very funny, my personal favorite being his bit with the legendary Keith Robinson.
As for the aesthetic of the show, we almost get marionette looking character models with awkward mouth movements on animated faces that look not a bit like their real-life counterparts. The good news is, with a bit of cash infused into the series, I think there’s something here for a long-term series. If Kevin wanted to continue to go the route of an animated docu-series, I think Kevin’s one of those gifted storytellers that can come up with a thousand episodes worth of silly stories.