''Megas XLR'' is an American

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

created by Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. The series revolves around two slackers: mechanic Coop and his best friend Jamie, who find a

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

robot from the future called MEGAS (''Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System'') in a

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

junkyard. Coop modifies Megas and replaces his head, the control center, with a classic muscle car, and names him XLR (''eXtra Large Robot''). Together with Megas's original pilot Kiva, they must defend Earth from the evil alien race called "the Glorft". The series is an homage and parody of mecha anime. Krstic was originally one of the co-creators of MTV's ''

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

''. Schaeffer and Krstic conceived the idea of an animated series where the main character would pilot a giant robot utilizing his video gaming skills. The pilot episode, ''LowBrow'', was shown in 2002 during Cartoon Network's ''Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest'', to determine which pilot would become a new Cartoon Cartoon; it was the most popular among viewers. It aired on the

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

block from May 1, 2004, to January 15, 2005, for two seasons (totaling 26 episodes), before being cancelled due to low ratings. Despite low ratings, the series was met with positive reception, and was ranked at No. 4 on ToonZone's "Toons of the 2000s: Top 5 Cartoon Network Originals". There have been various fan efforts and petitions to revive the show since its cancellation. ''Megas XLR'' was produced by Cartoon Network Studios; Titmouse, Inc. animated the main title and did animation work on Season 1.

Overview

In the year 3037,

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

is fighting a losing war against the Glorft, a hostile alien race led by Gorrath (

Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...

). In a last, desperate attempt to save the planet, the human resistance steals a prototype mecha robot from the Glorft and modifies it into a powerful war machine, renaming it Megas (''Mechanized Earth Guard Attack System''). Their plan is to use a time-traveling device called a time drive to send Megas and its assigned pilot, Kiva Andru ( Wendee Lee), two years into the past to the Battle of the Last Stand, which was the last major offensive fought by humanity against the Glorft. Humanity lost that battle, but the members of the resistance, particularly Kiva, believe that Megas can tip the scales and hand the Glorft a decisive defeat. Before the plan can be executed, however, an attack by the Glorft forces the human resistance to send Megas back in time before proper preparations are made. Megas' head is blown off in the attack and its time drive is damaged, and the crippled robot is inadvertently sent to a junkyard in 1930s

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. It remains there until a slacker mechanic named Harold "Coop" Cooplowski ( David DeLuise) discovers it in approximately the year 2004. Coop turns Megas into a hot rod project by giving it a flaming paint job, replacing its head with a classic muscle car (resembling a car from the '70s MOPAR family; most likely a

Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974 model years. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A platform, Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 unti ...

) and adding XLR (''eXtra Large Robot'') to its name. While Coop is showing off the robot to his best friend Jamie ( Steve Blum), Kiva travels to the 21st century to retrieve Megas and, upon discovering that only Coop can now pilot the robot due to his modifications to it, grudgingly agrees to train him in its use. However, Gorrath has followed her through time, forcing Kiva, Coop, and Jamie to team up and defend Earth against both Gorrath's forces and various other threats.

Episodes

Series overview

Pilot (2002)

Season 1 (2004)

Season 2 (2004–2005)

Production

Development

While playing video games, Jody Schaeffer and George Krstic came up with an idea of making an animated series in which the main character would use his video gaming skills to pilot a giant robot. The pilot short (''LowBrow'') was shown in 2002 as part of

's ''Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest'', a contest to determine which pilot would be selected as the next Cartoon Cartoon. It was the most popular among viewers, and was greenlit as a series. Much of the series is inspired by Japanese mecha anime which the two grew up watching, with the animation being inspired by both

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and Western animation. The humour often pays homage or mocks anime conventions.

Broadcast

After being delayed from its original debut in December 2003, ''Megas XLR'' finally debuted on the

block on May 1, 2004. However, due to low ratings, the series was cancelled after two seasons, with the final episode airing on January 15, 2005. Reruns continued to air sporadically from January 16, 2005, to September 24, 2005. During this time, the series was later moved to the graveyard slot of 3:30am on Friday nights/Saturday mornings, before being removed from the network altogether. The entire series is available at the Xbox Video.

Future

Possible revival

In late 2012, fans of the show on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

started using the hashtag #BringBackMegasXLR. The co-creator George Krstic and director Chris Prynoski announced they would bring back the show; seeing as ''Megas XLR'' had been written off by

, the studio Titmouse, Inc. would have to get the rights to the show. On April 29, 2013, George Krstic posted a tweet saying that he and Chris Prynoski were having a meeting at Titmouse to discuss bringing back the show along with '' Motorcity''. However, in a 2014 interview George Krstic was quoted as saying: "''Megas'' was written off as a tax loss and as such can not be exploited, at least domestically, in any way, or the network will get into some sort of tax/legal trouble." Because the show was used as a tax write-off the network would have to pay back the taxes they received from it and face large fines. It could also open the network up to tax fraud investigation. As of 8 February 2019, Krstic has stated that the rights to the series had successfully transferred ownership to Warner Brothers, though at this point it's too early and uncertain to tell what it could mean for the show's future. In June 2025, co-creator Jody Schaeffer revealed that through its iTunes release and international sales, the show was able to make its money back and had been greenlit for a reboot a few years prior. However, the project was scrapped amidst the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

Potential video game

In December 2012, a series of messages were posted on

by series director Chris Prynoski, hinting at production of a video game based on the series with Valve. No official comment on the project has yet been made by Valve or

. However, in 2015 Chris Prynoski mentioned on Twitter that he had been unable to sort out the licensing needed.

Reception

Critical reception

The series was well received. In a retrospective analysis of Dave Trumbore from Collider said "It's actually a really funny and well-done series, but also because a listener (MrJake!) called in to recommend it; our cartoon lawyers say we're legally obligated to cover it. Just happy it's a good toon this time!". Roy from Cinemahub.com gave the show 3.5 rating out of 5 (Great) and wrote "While it’s still hilarious and fun to watch, its action scenes fall short in comparison to present-day animated series." Noah Dominguez of CBR.com said "It's clear the creative team behind ''Megas XLR'' had a lot of fun making it. As such, the fans had a lot of fun watching it. Its over-the-top premise and delightfully self-aware humor were complemented nicely by the dynamic between Coop, Jamie and Kiva. Coop is the slacker who's actually fairly capable despite himself, Jamie offers comic relief and Kiva is the straight man who also has a nice fish-out-of-water angle to work with. Plus, let's not forget that the show had an absolute banger of a theme song in Ragtime Revolutionaries' "Chicks Dig Giant Robots."

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Cartoon Network, Television, United States, Speculative fiction, 2000s 2000s American animated television series 2000s American children's television series 2000s American comic science fiction television series 2000s American parody television series 2000s American time travel television series 2004 American animated television series debuts 2005 American television series endings Television series set in 2004 Television series set in the 2000s Television series set in the 31st century American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comic science fiction television series American children's animated science fantasy television series Animated television series about extraterrestrial life Animated television series about robots American anime-influenced animated television series Cartoon Network original programming American English-language television shows American teen animated television series Television series by Cartoon Network Studios Television series created by George Krstic Animated television series set in New Jersey