The year 2022 saw an exponential growth for “Made for TV Specials”, particularly for streamers. Anime has been kinda doing this for years, what with OVAs, compilation films, and the occasional blockbuster that somehow continue to fly right over the heads of all of the Hollywood studios, but now TV media conglomerates are seeing the low risk/high rewards of going this route, and it’s working. That said, some are doing it better than others. Disney+ largely uses The Simpsons to sell it’s legacy franchises, hence why they aren’t on this list. What ARE on this list, are best adult animated made for TV specials for 2022.
5) The Owl House
This is how you hook your audience! The tone is perfect for the subject matter and the situation Luz finds herself in. The episode looks and sounds great, and my only major issue, unsurprisingly, involves pacing. What has the potential for 20 half-hour episodes was somewhat streamlined into the runtime of a feature film. And with the last two “special” episodes coming later in 2023, we can expect one hell of a conclusion after that massive cliffhanger.
4) Entergalactic
It’s a bold, stylish, sexy movie, that doesn’t want to compromise on anything, and I absolutely love that about it. It’s not some cynically made cash grab from a bunch of heartless suits, it’s an authentic tale full of love and passion, and one I whole-heartedly recommend.
3) Smiling Friends Go To Brazil
Smiling Friends is still so fresh in its life that any new content is going to come as a treat. The first season felt full enough that a “bonus” episode is hardly necessary, but “The Smiling Friends Go To Brazil!” is as strong as any other installment from the show’s first season. This isn’t some pivotal story that will bridge the gap between the series’ two first seasons and those that miss this entry won’t be lost when new episodes properly come around. “The Smiling Friends Go To Brazil!” is more of this burgeoning surreal comedy series at its best and most bizarre. This isn’t a disposable episode that was churned out at the last minute, nor is it some super-sized celebration that’s worthy of the moniker of “special.” That being said, it’s proof that Smiling Friends has plenty of fuel left in its tank and that sillier–and possibly more international–hijinks are to come. There are a lot of frowns in the Southern hemisphere.
2) South Park The Streaming Wars Part Two
Awesome: Not quite perfect, but you should watch whatever this is even if you think you’re not a fan of the franchise or are familiar with the subject matter”, noting how he particularly enjoyed the releases of adult animation specials on Paramount+. He stated in his review: “In the last 45-days, Paramount+ has sandwiched two South Park movies with a new Beavis and Butt-Head movie in the meaty middle, making this the most fulfilling event-filled summer yet for adult animation. I don’t know if more specials are hitting by the end of the summer as of this writing, but I’m loving this back and forth between Mike Judge and Matt/Trey as it’s making both creative camps come forward with their best stuff. As stupid as it is that Cartman gets boobs in South Park The Streaming Wars Part One, it’s equally as dumb for Beavis and Butt-head to be sent to space. South Park The Streaming Wars Part Two answers back with a piss-filled tour de force that will have people talking for weeks…just in time for Paramount+ to hit us with hopefully another adult animated comedy special of some kind.
1) South Park: The Streaming Wars Part One
South Park: The Streaming Wars continues to showcase the franchise creators’ advanced forward thinking that seems to just be far beyond reach of what we deem reality.” Schwarz also compared the episode to the episode “Dead Kids”, stating “South Park: The Streaming Wars also features a litany of hilarious gags that, like ‘Dead Kids’, help you forget the seriousness of the matter at hand, but the signs are still all there.”