Season Review: Fired on Mars Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Jeff Cooper (Luke Wilson) has it all: a fulfilling career as the graphic designer for space start-up Mars.ly, a relationship with his soon-to-be Red Planet-bound girlfriend, Hannah (Chase Bernstein), and… well, maybe that’s it. But when his bosses unceremoniously eliminate his role, Jeff finds himself jobless and unable to return to Earth. Adrift in the sprawling office colony, Jeff is forced to reinvent himself as he attempts to find meaning in a dangerous, alien, yet all-too-familiar corporate landscape.

Our Take:

Warner Brothers has been infamously taking the long rough road since it merged with Discovery last year, especially regarding its streaming service HBO Max. They recently planned to relaunch the service this month under the most generic name in streaming history: MAX. I’m not joking. They just dropped the “HBO” brand in the title and left it at that. Although, that doesn’t come close to being as atrocious as the service deleting some of their popular recent animated content like Infinity Train.

But before we see how this name change plays out for the company, HBO Max has another adult animated series for us to endure. This show transports us to a galaxy close to Earth, but unfortunately, it doesn’t involve any space battles or thrilling lightsaber duels that we sci-fi fanatics are into. Instead, it’s a down-to-earth, or in this case “down-to-Mars”, workplace series where being terminated from the job is the least of one’s problems. Even on the Red Planet, there’s no escaping from being fired from your job for no reason.

There are two things that got me curious about Fired on Mars based on my research. One is that it’s based on the 2016 short film of the same name written and directed by Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey. Sherman and Vokey also created the eight-episode series adaptation, meaning it had a higher chance of being more faithful to the source material. The other is that it has Luke Wilson voicing Jeff, replacing Sean Wing from the short film. I’ve only seen a few movies starring Luke Wilson compared to many involving his brother Owen Wilson. Still, I enjoyed the actor enough to see him in this sci-fi animated series. 

The thing to know about Fired on Mars is that despite being labeled as a comedy, it’s more like a workplace drama depicting a man’s search for a new purpose in the company. After being removed from his favorite job, Jeff’s life began to descend, making him question his role in his new life on Mars. It doesn’t help that he feels invisible and under-appreciated by his coworkers, including his bosses, Darren (Tim Heidecker) and Brandon (Sean Wing). Even though it has some humorous moments, they’re more grounded in realism and awkwardness instead of wacky and surreal.

Adult animation goes in several directions. It can display comedies with only graphic violence, language, and sex. However, adult animation is also used to portray dramatic scenarios through storytelling and characters, which, if done correctly, can open people’s eyes to what animation can really do. Fired on Mars attempts to provide the latter type while offering the humor we expect from other workplace shows. As my first introduction to the source material it’s based on, the series offers an intriguing depiction of purpose, depression, and corruption in a work environment.

From its first episode, I was immediately invested in Jeff’s story within a space-bound business company, mainly due to Luke Wilson’s subtle performance and the character’s flawed personality. But, of course, since the series is a bit more somber than energetic, its gradual pacing might test specific viewers hoping for some lighthearted sitcom-like laughs. But once you stick with this job after Jeff loses his, you might be pleased with what the show offers regarding its seasonal plot and thematic material.

As I mentioned before, the series explores Jeff’s journey of self-purpose in Mars.ly, which resulted in several accidental mistakes that caused his coworkers to be assholes toward him. However, as the season reached its second half, Fired on Mars further expanded on its work corruption element, with Jeff joining a secret group called “The Buckies” to escape the company. This gives the show the challenge of providing substance and intrigue in its somber concept. You have Jeff’s awkwardness and depression being caused by things not going his way and a few of his coworkers. I’m serious. Jeff gets constantly hit from one problem to the next, even after finding a silver lining, including his girlfriend Hannah announcing she’s not coming to Mars. This resulted in Jeff getting depression almost every time, which could make the show repetitive for some viewers.

Thankfully, the repetitiveness became less of an issue as it progressed since the season consisted of eight episodes instead of the usual ten or twelve. But, of course, there’s also a matter of its characters, with most of them being flawed assholes. Despite being a constantly depressed worker who makes mistakes, Jeff is selfless for putting others first instead of himself. For example, in its third episode, “12 Rules of Extraordinary People”, Jeff takes responsibility for the birthday mishap after executive assistant Jaxton Olivier (Cedric Yarbrough) takes the blame to protect him. This example showcased Jeff as a bright spot in a corrupted workplace full of employees who only care about themselves. It is portrayed in a thematic sense instead of having it for tastelessness and shock value. This allowed the deadpan humor to be more genuine than forced, leading to moments that were funny enough to overshadow its depressing tone.

As I mentioned earlier, Luke Wilson offers a subtle yet effective vocal performance as Jeff by combining his friendly nature with awkward humor. As for the rest of the supporting cast, they were decent enough to help Wilson carry the series despite some of their characters being selfish jerks. Cedric Yarbrough was decent as Jaxton Olivier, who mentors Jeff and has a secret past. Amara Karan offers plenty of suitable moments as Crystal, a scientist and member of The Buckies. I would also credit Thomas Haden Church for providing some engaging stakes in the final two episodes regarding his performance as Trevor Sullivan, who’s tasked to investigate the locust incident Jeff caused.

Regarding the animation, the show has a simple yet detailed style that’s far from an achievement. However, it works in displaying the adult drama and emotional complexity of a person’s downfall in a harsh work environment. I recently discovered that people are comparing it to King of the Hill regarding its animation style, in which the characters look detailed in their facial expressions. I haven’t watched King of the Hill much, but I can understand where they’re getting at in this comparison. 

Overall, Fired on Mars earns a promotion in the animation department for delivering a thought-provoking yet somber reflection of an employee’s complicated quest for purpose amid company corruption. The moments involving a depressed Jeff can be repetitive for viewers hoping for a laugh-a-minute adult comedy series, and its supporting characters can sometimes be unlikable. But I think that’s entirely the point of the series. It’s supposed to reflect on the toxicity and depression of a work company to emphasize its commentary. However, it must also have a proper balance of sadness, storytelling, and deadpan humor to make its tone watchable. While far from a masterpiece regarding adult animation, the series did enough with its balance to keep itself from getting fired. So if you’re tired of lazy and tasteless adult animation ripoffs of Family Guy or South Park, this series is worth watching and supporting so we can get more adult-animated shows like this.