''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

television series, created and executive produced for

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

by Seth Green and

Matthew Senreich Matthew Ian Senreich (; born June 17, 1974) is an American screenwriter, television producer, director, and voice actor best known for his work with animated television series ''Robot Chicken'', which he co-created with business partner and close ...

along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...

hobbyist magazine ''

ToyFare ''ToyFare'' was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment that focused on collectible action figures, busts, statues, and maquettes. It previewed new and upcoming lines and figures each month, as well as providing a price guide for ...

''. ''Robot Chicken'' has won two

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

s and six

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Production history

''Robot Chicken'' was conceptually preceded by " Twisted ToyFare Theatre", a humorous photo

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

appearing in '' ToyFare: The Toy Magazine''.

, an editor for ''ToyFare'', got in touch with actor Seth Green when the former learned that the latter had made action figures of castmates from '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and asked to photograph them. Months later, Green asked Senreich to collaborate on an animated short for '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', featuring toy versions of himself and O'Brien. This led to the 12-episode

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

series ''Sweet J Presents'' on the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

website Screenblast.com in 2001. Conan O'Brien is voiced by '' Family Guy'' creator

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series '' Family Guy'' (since 1999) and '' The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creat ...

in the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"). Continuing the concept of the web series, the show creators pitched ''Robot Chicken'' as a television series, the name being inspired by a dish on the menu at a

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined. (Other ideas for the series' name included ''Junk in the Trunk'', ''The Deep End'', and ''Toyz in the Attic''; some of these would be reworked into episode titles for the first season.) Some television networks and sketch shows rejected the series, including Comedy Central, '' MADtv'', ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', and even

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

. However, someone at that network passed the pitch along to its nighttime programming block,

, around the same time that Seth MacFarlane (various voices, 2005–present) told Green and Senreich to pitch the show to the channel. On February 20, 2005, the series premiered on Adult Swim. The show was created, written, and produced by Green and Senreich and produced by

ShadowMachine Films ShadowMachine is an American animation studio and production company for film, television, commercials and music videos. Since its early days producing the stop-motion animation show ''Robot Chicken'', the company has been producing such shows ...

(Seasons 1–5) and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios in association with Stoop!d Monkey, Williams Street, Sony Pictures Digital (Seasons 1–5) and Sony Pictures Television (Seasons 6–10). The show mocks

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

, referencing toys, movies,

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

s, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like ''Saturday Night Live''. It employs stop-motion animation of toys,

s, claymation, and various other objects, such as tongue depressors, ''

The Game of Life ''The Game of Life'', also known simply as ''Life'', is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as ''The Checkered Game of Life'', the first ever board game for his own company, the Milton Bradley Company. ''The Game of Life'' ...

'' pegs, and popsicle sticks. The show's creators were inspired by works such as ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became ...

'', ''

Pee-wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...

'' and '' The Kentucky Fried Movie''. One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as

Stretch Armstrong Stretch Armstrong is a large, gel-filled action figure that was first introduced in 1976 by Kenner. In 2016, at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the return of the Stretch Armstrong toy in its original 1976 design. Stretch Armstrong is m ...

requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...

for the humans, and

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

having problems in the bedroom). The program aired a 30-minute episode dedicated to ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' which premiered June 17, 2007, in the US, featuring the voices of ''Star Wars'' notables

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the '' Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...

(from a previous episode),

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

, and

Ahmed Best Ahmed Best (born August 19, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is known for providing motion capture and the voice of the character of Jar Jar Binks in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Best likewise collaborated with director Geor ...

. The ''Star Wars'' episode was nominated for a 2008

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007, to October 5, 2008. After an eight-month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on September 7, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended on December 6, 2009. In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total). Season five premiered on December 12, 2010. The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012. In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of ''Robot Chicken'', which began airing in September 2012. The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Season eight premiered on October 25, 2015. Season nine premiered on December 10, 2017. Season 10 premiered on September 29, 2019, containing the 200th episode. Season 11 premiered on September 6, 2021. The twelfth season is set to premiere sometime in 2023. Following the 2020 cancellation of ''

The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, 20 ...

'', it is Adult Swim's longest running series, both in terms of years and episodes.

Format

The sketch series has an iconic opening sequence involving a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly am ...

and a

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

set to theme music by Les Claypool of Primus. On a dark and stormy night, the scientist finds a chicken that has been the victim of roadkill, and takes it back to his laboratory to refashion into a cyborg. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns his laser eye towards the camera and the title appears, just as Les Claypool cries (a line from ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

''), "It's alive!" The Mad Scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, uses calipers to hold his eyes open and forces him to watch a grid of television monitors showing different content (akin to imagery from ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

''). The sketches are interspersed with static, resembling the act of

channel surfing Channel surfing (also known as channel hopping or zapping) is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable ...

. While the sketches lampoon various aspects of pop culture quite randomly, they frequently parody

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

superheroes as well as many other franchises. Original characters include the Nerd, the Humping Robot, and the show's creators as themselves (often facing potential cancellation at the end of a season), as well as the Mad Scientist and the Robot Chicken.

Alternate opening sequences and related sketches

In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims in the "Best Robot Chicken Ever" sketch that the opening sequence tells the viewers that they are the chicken, being forced to watch the skits. The frame story of the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist would not continue beyond the opening sequence until the 100th episode, entitled "Fight Club Paradise", when the chicken finally makes his escape and later kills the Mad Scientist when he takes his hen wife in response, fighting and killing several characters from previous skits (most of them being implied to be the Mad Scientist's henchmen) in the process. Beginning in the sixth season (after the events of the show's 100th episode), the opening sequence features a role reversal. The Robot Chicken comes upon the body of the Mad Scientist, which has been decapitated. He turns him into a cyborg with a laser eye (this time blue instead of red, reflected by a title background color change). The chicken then straps the scientist to the same chair he was strapped to and forces him to watch the same TV monitors while the chicken and his wife share a kiss. In the seventh-season episode "Chipotle Miserables", the Mad Scientist's son rips out his father's remaining eye to open a door controlled by an optical biometric reader, then creates a posse of reanimated cyborg animals, as well as a cyborg

homeless person Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

. The posse then proceeds to kidnap all five then-living US presidents:

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, George H. W. Bush,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, George W. Bush, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. The Robot Chicken and the now-reformed Mad Scientist team up to rescue the presidents, after which, the Mad Scientist punishes his son by forcing him to watch the TV monitors and the Robot Chicken flies away, free. Beginning in the eighth season, a new opening sequence features the Robot Chicken frozen in a block of ice under snow, being uncovered by robots. Taken to a futuristic laboratory, the Robot Chicken is taken out of suspended animation by a masked scientist, revealed to be a descendant of the Mad Scientist who first reanimated the Robot Chicken. The descendant mad scientist then proceeds to force the Robot Chicken to watch a wall of projected images with different shows. In an extended version (seen in the Season 8 episode "Garbage Sushi" and the Season 9 episode "3 2 1 2 333, 222, 3...66?"), the sequence begins with a destroyed

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, ...

buried in snow (a reference to ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'') when two drones are flying together until one scans the frozen Robot Chicken. In the ninth-season finale, the Nerd dies from a cliff-jump stunt in an attempt to get the show renewed. Beginning in the tenth season, a new opening sequence features the Nerd being turned into a cyborg by both the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist and being forced to watch the skits while they

high five High five is a friendly gesture in which one individual slaps another's hand. High five (and variants such as Hi5, Hi-5, and Hi-Five) may also refer to: Music * Hi-5 (Australian group), an Australian children's musical group * Hi-5 (Greek band) ...

. The letters "TEN" in the title are highlighted to mark the show reaching ten seasons. In the 200th episode, as the title is shown, David Lynch shouts "Robot Chicken!" in an off-screen voice. In the eleventh season, a new opening sequence features the Mad Scientist launching the Robot Chicken off a space station in a capsule. The capsule then crashes on the ground where the Robot Chicken meets another cyborg chicken, only in an elderly state (alluding to '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''). The monolith-shaped TVs in the house show a baby Robot Chicken floating through space. Starting with the episode "May Cause a Whole Lotta Scabs", an extended version (set in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio) begins with a tribe of

hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...

s watching the skits on the TVs while a hominid version of the Nerd bites a remote control to turn on the TV monitors. Suddenly, a hominid tries to take the remote, but the hominid Nerd kills it and gets the remote back, segueing into the opening sequence.

Characters

While ''Robot Chicken'' uses a variety of famous real people and fictional characters, it also has original characters created exclusively for the show. * Robot Chicken (vocal effects provided by Seth Green) – The show's titular character (although his name is only simply as the "Chicken" according to a maid in the 100th episode). He is a cyborg chicken with a red laser eye. First seen as a roadkill chicken on Highway 9W while he originally lived on Old Man McLauchlin's farm, the Mad Scientist revived him as a cyborg and experiments on him by forcing him to watch sketches on numerous TV monitors. In the 100th episode, he gets freed by a maid and later kills his creator after he kidnaps his wife. He later revived the Mad Scientist as a cyborg and reverses the roles, forcing him to watch sketches. * Cluckerella (vocal effects provided by Seth Green) – The Robot Chicken's wife. She wears a dress and has blonde hair and red lipstick. She gets kidnapped by the Mad Scientist during the 100th episode, causing the Robot Chicken to go to the lab and kill him to rescue her. In the Season 7 finale, it is revealed that Cluckerella has left. * The Mad Scientist (voiced by Les Claypool for the laughter and line in the opening and David Lynch for the speaking voice from Season 10 onwards) – A scientist who revived the Robot Chicken. He has wild white hair and a diabolical grin. His real name is revealed to be Fritz Huhnmörder (German for "chicken murderer") in the Season 3 episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn". He was killed by the Robot Chicken after the events of the 100th episode only for him to be revived as a cyborg in the sixth season's opening sequence, and then gets his revenge by forcing the Mad Scientist to watch the same sketches that he had previously forced the Robot Chicken to watch. In the Season 10 episode "Fila Ogden in: Maggie's Got a Full Load" with the ''

''-styled opening, the Mad Scientist's nickname is Rick Sanchez, named after another Adult Swim mad scientist character due to his resemblance to the same character. He actually has five kids, in which they include his crazed son, a teenage daughter who is goth, an eight-year-old daughter, and infant twins: a boy named Damien, and a girl named Rhiannon. Additionally, he also has a wife named Kathrine. It also reveals that the Mad Scientist's birthday is on January 21st. * Mad Scientist's Son (voiced by Zachary Levi) – The Mad Scientist's 32-year-old twisted son, who steals his cyborg-making tools as part of a plot to kidnap all living US presidents for ransom. However, he ends up being defeated by the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist, who then forces him to watch the sketches as punishment. According to the script of the Season 7 finale, his real name is revealed to be Tony Huhnmörder-Anderson. * The Nerd (voiced by Seth Green) – A 26-year-old nerdy man (although that's debatable since he still goes to high school and lives with his parents) with square-framed glasses who lisps. He appears in many episodes and often ends up in wild situations in famous media. Although his name was mentioned as "Gary" in the Season 1 episode "Joint Point", recent Adult Swim commercials for some later episodes give his name as "Arthur Kensington, Jr.". He dies in the Season 9 finale only for him to get revived as a cyborg in the tenth season's opening sequence. * Bitch Pudding (voiced by Katee Sackhoff) – A fictitious addition to the ''

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 19 ...

'' universe. Bitch Pudding is a foul-mouthed, crass and violent 18-year-old woman and a former resident of Pastryville who has a penchant for insulting, tormenting, and sometimes even killing others. In her debut appearance in the Season 4 episode "P.S. Yes, in That Way", she seems to be 8 years old for early episodes, but in later episodes to show her as a young adult when she gets a growth spurt. In Season 7, she became the first of the series' recurring characters to have their own first single storyline special, titled the "Bitch Pudding Special". * Unicorn (voiced by George Lowe) – A white homosexual

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

who is a complete pervert. In his debut appearance in the Season 2 episode "Suck It", he appears before the Nerd, who had just daydreamed about unicorns being real. When his magic horn is polished, it gives "magical unicorn mayonnaise". * Mo-Larr: Eternian Dentist (voiced by Michael Ian Black) – A fictional addition to the cast for the show's ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or '' She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...

'' parodies. Mo-Larr is the resident

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial c ...

of Eternia. He is willing to resort to drastic measures in order to perform his dental work on unwilling patients such as Skeletor, even going so far as to ensnare Beast Man in dental floss and stick a dental drill into Grizzlor's eye. His real name is revealed to be Moe Larrstein in the Season 5 episode "Terms of Endaredevil". * Composite Santa Claus (voiced by Christian Slater) – A genocidal monster who is half

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

, half snowman, and is based on

Composite Superman The Composite Superman is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Superman and Batman. The character first appeared in ''World's Finest Comics'' #142 (June 1964) and was created by Edmond Hamilton and Curt Swan. Fictional character biography Jose ...

. In the Season 4 episode "In a DVD Factory", his backstory is revealed: he has been created by a diabolical scientist from the combined DNA of Santa and Frosty the Snowman. After he awakens, he shoots the scientist and his two assistants with an automatic rifle, killing the latter two, and goes on a rampage, waging war on all non-Gentile religions. * Little Drummer Boy (voiced by Seth Green) – An

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

-style

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

whose drums can summon demons when beaten. * Humping Robot – A mute

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

looking for love, who is first seen humping a

washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

in the Season 1 episode "Atta Toy". He has also been seen humping church bells, jukeboxes, and slot machines, among other metallic objects. In the Season 3 episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn", he is revealed to be a father of his unknown robotic family, according to the gravestone of him. * Sunshine Cowboy – A mute

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...

in a summer vacation outfit that is shot every time he appears on screen. * Pablo Rodríguez – A mute Mexican test pilot who was rebuilt into a cyborg after he hit a cactus while riding a donkey in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and made a dynamic leap over a border fence. He is nicknamed "The Six Million Peso Man", a parody of ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin ...

''. * MC Broccoli (voiced by Breckin Meyer) – An anthropomorphic broccoli who is a rapper. * Daniel a.k.a. "Gyro-Robo" (voiced by Seth Green) – A negative-minded teenage nerd who hosts a web series (entitled the "Gyro-Robo News Hour") where he complains about inaccuracies in media – and not even ''Robot Chicken'' is immune from his criticism. He masturbates frequently and is often targeted by the local bully, Munson. * Munson (voiced by Breckin Meyer) – A jerkish teenager who bullies nerds, especially Daniel. * Gary the Stormtrooper (voiced by Donald Faison) – A fictional addition to the cast for the show's ''

'' parodies. Gary is a clumsy, bit incompetent and well-meaning 29-year-old

stormtrooper Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party *8th In ...

who usually messes things up due to his clumsiness. Despite that, he is able to make his work right. In the special ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II'', he is revealed to be a married family man who lives with his wife Beverly (voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook) and his young daughter Jessica (voiced by Adrianne Palicki), who according to his wife, hardly ever sees him due to his work; but is making efforts to be involved more in her life. In the special ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III'', he also revealed that his family live on

Alderaan Alderaan () is a fictional planet featured in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as a terrestrial planet with humanoid inhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet of Princes ...

. * Aliens (voiced by Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Adam Talbott,

Patrick Pinney Patrick Cullen Pinney (born June 30, 1952) is an American television, film and voice actor. Early life, family and education Pinney was born in San Francisco County, California. His mother's maiden name is his middle name. He attended college a ...

, and Patrick Stewart) – A race of wacky grey aliens who have a tendency to bungle their plans and efforts, usually resulting in them letting out a frustrated scream of "Dammit, dammit, dammit!". * Bloopers Host (voiced by Jamie Kaler) – The host of the "Bloopers!" sketches, which parodies the early years of '' America's Funniest Home Videos'', substituting home videos for humorous television and film outtakes (although home videos have been shown on two occasions, the latter of which are from his own life). At the end of almost every sketch he appears in, he commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

in various ways, including hanging himself, swallowing whiskey and pills, putting a toaster in a bathtub, and suffocating himself with a plastic bag. * Gummy Bear (voiced by Michelle Trachtenberg) – An anthropomorphic gummy bear who is doomed to scream in pain from stepping on a bear trap. In her debut appearance in the Season 3 episode "Tapping a Hero", she doesn't mind the taste of her own leg after she bites it off to free herself only to step on another bear trap again.

Episodes

Voice cast

Besides the celebrities and many famous voice actors that have contributed to this show, main and major recurring actors/writers are: *

Jordan Allen-Dutton Jordan Allen-Dutton (born April 16, 1977) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for co-creating the play, ''The Bomb-itty of Errors,'' and for his writing on the stop motion television series, ''Robot Chicken''. Biograph ...

* Candace Bailey * Carlee Baker * Abraham Benrubi *

Rachel Bloom Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (2015– ...

* Alex Borstein * Leah Ann Cevoli * Rachael Leigh Cook * Dave Coulier *

Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. Often regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prom ...

* Hugh Davidson *

Mikey Day Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host of the Netflix show '' Is It Cake?'' He joined '' Saturday Night Live'' as a writer in its 39th season, became a featured player in ...

* Deirdre Devlin * Madison Dylan * Eden Espinosa * Donald Faison *

Mike Fasolo Mike Fasolo (born January 28, 1969) is an American writer best known for his work on the television show ''Robot Chicken''. Fasolo was born and raised in the small town of Tuxedo, New York. He graduated from Tuxedo High School and earned his BA ...

* Lynn Favin *

Keith Ferguson Keith Ferguson may refer to: *Keith Ferguson (voice actor) (born 1972), American voice actor *Keith Ferguson (American football) (born 1959), former American football defensive end *Keith Ferguson (musician) Keith Ferguson (July 23, 1946 – Apr ...

* Shelby Fero *

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' and its film continuation ''Serenity (2005 film), Serenity'', ...

Tamara Garfield Tamara Garfield is an American actress, comedian, director and screenwriter. She is a recurring actor on Adult Swim's ''Robot Chicken''. Tamara is the voice of the lead girl dog "Callie" in the feature film ''Rescue Dogs''. Career Garfield appe ...

* Sarah Michelle Gellar * Doug Goldstein *

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series '' Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fa ...

* Melissa Goodwin Shepherd *

Clare Grant Clare Camille Johnson (born August 23, 1979), known professionally as Clare Grant, is an American actress, model and producer. She co-founded Team Unicorn, which has produced several web series and music video parodies including " Geek and Gamer ...

* Seth Green * Jim Hanks * Jamie Kaler * Mila Kunis * Jordan Ladd * Matthew Lillard * Jamie Loftus * Whitney Loveall * George Lowe *

* Rachael MacFarlane * Harmony McElligott * Breckin Meyer *

Dan Milano Daniel Milano (born September 10, 1972) is an American voice actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He was one of the creators of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox sitcom ''Greg the Bunny'' and performed the title character Greg as well as Warre ...

Chad Morgan Chadwick William "Chad" Morgan OAM (born 11 February 1933) is an Australian country music singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his ...

* Adrianne Palicki *

* Tom Root * Katee Sackhoff *

* Mehar Sethi * Tom Sheppard * Kevin Shinick * Amy Smart * Adam Talbott *

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...

Erik Weiner Erik Weiner is an American actor, writer, comedian, and producer best known for co-creating the play '' The Bomb-itty of Errors'' and his role as Agent Sebso on HBO's ''Boardwalk Empire''. Career In 1999, he co-created and starred in '' The Bom ...

* Zeb Wells * Victor Yerrid

Syndication

All ''Robot Chicken'' episodes from seasons 1 through 11 are available on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

Home media

Revolver Entertainment Revolver Entertainment is a film distributor in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Justin Marciano founded it in 1997 in the UK and Revolver UK entered administration in April 2013. Justin's brother, Seb Marciano formed Revolver Ent ...

have released the first four seasons and all three ''Star Wars'' specials on DVD in the United Kingdom. A box set including the first 3 seasons and a box set including all three ''Star Wars'' specials have also been released. Madman Entertainment has released the first 9 seasons of ''Robot Chicken'' and specials on DVD in Australia and New Zealand.

International broadcast

The series airs in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

as part of E4's

block, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

(previously

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

Teletoon at Night Teletoon at Night (stylized as TELEToON AT NiGHT and formerly known as Teletoon's Adult Block, The Detour On Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a Canadian English language late night programming block that aired on Teletoon, which is owned by Te ...

block from 2006 to 2019) and also in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

on Télétoon's Télétoon la nuit block, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

on The Comedy Channel's

block, in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

on WarnerTV Comedy's Adult Swim block (previously

TNT Serie WarnerTV Serie (until 24 September 2021: ''TNT Serie'') is a German pay television channel dedicated to broadcast television series. The channel was rebranded into WarnerTV Serie on 25 September 2021. Distribution The station was operated by Tu ...

's Adult Swim block from 2009 to 2017), and in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

on the I.Sat Adult Swim block (after the Adult Swim block was canceled from Cartoon Network Latin America in 2008). Many of the show's sketches from ''Sweet J Presents'' were redone for ''Robot Chicken''.

References

External links