SYFY’s TZGZ announces first two shows and premiere dates and they don’t look good

SYFY announces first two shows for adult animation block

SYFY is trying to take away viewership from the far more popular and better built Adult Swim block of shows. The science-fiction network has gone animated for their new TZGZ block of shows, which are all going to be adult-oriented cartoons. They’re premiering the first two shows, Magic Girl Friendship Squad, and Wild Life on Saturday, Sept 26, at 12 AM ET and 12:15 AM ET respectively.

Magic Girl Friendship Squad features Ana Gasteyer, Quinta Brunson, and Anna Akana and focuses on two mid-twenty-year-olds, swearing, doing drugs, and trying to save the world. Wile Life is much the same, crudely drawn animals doing things humans do. It stars John Reynolds, Claudia O’Doherty, Baron Vaughn, Reggie Watts, SkittLeZ Ortiz, and Natalie Palamides

Neither show looks particularly good. The humor, which is subjective, is very geared toward one group of people specifically and the animation for both shows feels unoriginal. We’ll have to see how they go but this seems more like a failed experiment, more akin to Alien News Desk which absolutely tanked in the ratings.

"SYFY TO DEBUT FIRST TWO ‘TZGZ’ ANIMATED ORIGINALS, MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD AND WILD LIFE, ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26Voiced by Quinta Brunson, Ana Gasteyer, Claudia O’Doherty, John Reynolds and More, New Originals to Premiere Back-to-Back in Late-Night Animation Block Starting at Midnight ET/PTNEW YORK, NY — August 20, 2020 — This fall, make sure to clear Saturday nights to hang with your new animated friends on SYFY: two twenty-somethings from MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD saving the universe (yes, PLEASE save it!) and an eccentric group of animals from WILD LIFE just chillin’ post-apocalypse (this one feels especially relatable). On Saturday, September 26 at midnight ET/PT, the network’s first two originals for its late-night adult animation block TZGZ will premiere back-to-back (MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD at midnight, and WILD LIFE at around 12:15AM ET/PT).What else do the two series have in common? Pandas. Discover why below…ABOUT MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD:When a little red panda named Nut (Ana Gasteyer) arrives in the apartment of two directionless twenty-somethings and gives them the ability to transform into badass magical girls, Alex (Quinta Brunson) and Daisy (Anna Akana) are forced to get their shit together in order to save the Universe from otherworldly threats. Through a journey of love and friendship and with the help of their magical objects (birth control and a bong), Alex and Daisy learn to wield their new powers and protect their mysterious panda friend who claims to be the creator of the Universe.The 6-episode, 15-minute long anime-inspired comedy also stars Matteo Lane. Christine Baranski, Eric Bauza, Helen Hong, Manny Jacinto and Sarah “Squirm” Sherman recur. Guest stars include Paget Brewster, Patti Harrison, Jamie Loftus, Vella Lovell and Jason Mantzoukas.Produced by Cartuna, the MAGICAL GIRL FRIENDSHIP SQUAD franchise, which includes a shorter-form version “Origins,” is created by Kelsey Stephanides, who also serves as showrunner. James Belfer, Adam Belfer and Max Benator executive produce, along with Hallie Cantor who is also the lead writer.A"

"ABOUT WILD LIFE:WILD LIFE is a comedy about a gang of zoo animal friends hanging out after the apocalypse. There’s the pacifist cheetah Glenn (John Reynolds), bubbly dolphin Marny (Claudia O’Doherty), hyper fox Hudson (Baron Vaughn), psychedelic koala Darby (Reggie Watts), self-care loving panda Debbie (SkittLeZ Ortiz) and energy drink-guzzling sloth Viv (Natalie Palamides). Together, they come up with elaborate schemes to entertain themselves and just keep from going insane. From taking trips to a mutant-infested mall for hood ornaments to stumbling upon an old broadcast studio and creating their own shows, these critters are always up to something.The 6-episode, 15-minute series is executive produced by creator Adam Davies, as well as Alex Plapinger, Dylan Dawson, Valparaiso Pictures and Octopie."

Both series feel like things that would’ve been on Adult Swim ten years ago, and for that reason neither seem like it has much interest going forward. Most of SyFy’s audience is older and this won’t appeal to them. More than likely this will bomb in the ratings much like Alien News Desk.

If you’re confused about why the block is called TZGZ, it’s because TZGZ comes after SYFY. That’s the real reason.

Only time will tell. Do either show look good to you? Is this the direction SYFY should be going in?