''Koala Man'' is a superhero

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

created by Michael Cusack for

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

. Developed by Cusack, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, the series premiered on January 9, 2023 on Hulu in the United States and on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

in Australia. the series pilot aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in 2018. The series is set in an alternate universe where the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

have been destroyed and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

is the world's last surviving

superpower Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to Sphere of influence, exert influence and Power projection, project power on a global scale. This is done through the comb ...

. A middle-aged family man serves as the resident superhero of

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...

, while having no

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. ...

abilities and devoting minimal effort to hide his

secret identity A secret identity is a person's code name, cryptonym, disguise, incognito, Cover (intelligence gathering), cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pi ...

Plot

The series takes place in an alternate universe called "Bushworld", where the sinking of the ''Titanic'' never happened, indirectly resulting in the

being destroyed (except

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, which became an island),

becoming the world's superpower, and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

becoming its

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. The story follows Kevin Williams, an average middle-aged family man who decides to issue justice to the town of

as the incredibly average superhero Koala Man. Possessing no powers and a simple costume, which is apparently enough to hide his

, Kevin encounters a variety of evildoers that wish to do harm to his town. Kevin is joined by his family who put up with his misadventures, including his down-to-earth wife Vicky, and his 14-year-old twin children, a popularity-obsessed daughter Alison and a nerdy son Liam who secretly possesses psychic powers.

Cast

Main

* Michael Cusack as Kevin Williams/Koala Man, a father and IT expert who moonlights as a low-rent superhero ** Cusack also voices: *** Liam Williams, Kevin's son who possesses psychic powers *** Damo and Darren, a pair of low-level criminals *** The Tall Poppy *** The Great One ***

, the Queen of Australia *** Huge Greg, Big Greg's older brother *** Additional Voices *

Sarah Snook Sarah Ruth Snook (; born 1 December 1987) is an Australian actress. List of awards and nominations received by Sarah Snook, Her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award. A gr ...

as Vicky Williams, Kevin's wife, who works at the school canteen * Demi Lardner as Alison Williams, Kevin's daughter *

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

as Big Greg, a beloved celebrity fishing expert and the head of the town council, who is Kevin's boss *

Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy TV series t ...

as Principal Bazwell/Christopher/The Kookaburra, the ineffectual principal of North Dapto High who is Vicky's boss and reveals himself as a supervillain.

Guest

Alexandra Daddario Alexandra Anna Daddario (born March 16, 1986) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough portraying Annabeth Chase in the ''Percy Jackson'' film series (2010–2013). She has since starred in '' Hall Pass'' (2011), '' Texas Chainsaw 3D' ...

as Herself *

Rachel House Rachel Jessica Te Ao Maarama House (born 20 October 1971) is a New Zealand actress and director. She is best known for her roles in the films of Taika Waititi. She has received numerous accolades including an Arts Laureate, NZ Order of Mer ...

as Janine, Vicky's friend and co-worker at the school canteen ** House also voices Louise, the owner of the local bowling club who harbors an attraction to Koala Man *

Angus Sampson Angus Sampson is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his performances as Tucker in the ''Insidious'' film series, Ray Jenkins in ''The Mule'' (2014), The Organic Mechanic in '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' (2015) and '' Furiosa: A M ...

as General Peckmeister, Wizened Garbage Man, Summer Santa and many more. * Jordan Shanks as the Town Shopkeeper, Chippy, Snuff film victim *

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

as King Emudeus *

Justin Roiland Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, and producer. He co-created the Adult Swim animated sitcom ''Rick and Morty'', for which he voiced the protagonists Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith from 2013 ...

as Chad Wagon, an American who wants to turn Australia into a second United States * Jarrad Wright as Spider, Kevin's boorish next-door neighbor ** Wright also voices: *** Maxwell, a wheelchair-bound septuagenarian with a long complicated history *** Maxwell's father *** Additional Voices * Michelle Brasier as McKayla Taylor Mercedes, a popular girl who speaks with a

vocal fry The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production ...

and Alison's initial nemesis ** Brasier also voices Tanya, a fish who is Huge Greg's wife *

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...

as Mindy, a koala that Kevin found and cared for before she died after being hit by a car before the events of the series. *

Claudia O'Doherty Claudia O'Doherty (born 29 November 1983) is an Australian actress, writer, and comedian. She won the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy Award and the Brisbane Comedy Festival Award for her debut show ''Monsters of the Deep 3D''. She has appeared ...

as Rosie Yodels/Rosie 2, the most popular girl in school ** O'Doherty also voices: *** Rosie 1 and Rosie 3, Rosie's sister clones who want to take over Australia *** Additional Voices * Natalie Tran as Lulu Liu, Neighbour * Nisrine Amine as The Egyptian Mummy, a survivor of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' who became US president and fled to the Moon *

Anthony Salame Anthony Salame is an Australian comedian and former radio host, who has also had appearances in multiple Australian television series. Early life Anthony is the son of Lebanese people, Lebanese migrants. He grew up in Sydney, Australia. Career ...

, Jordan Shanks, and Steph Tisdell as The Tradies, corrupt tradespeople who secretly run every working aspect of Dapto and possess supernatural abilities. * Michelle Brazier, Leigh Joel Scott, Anthony Salame, and Ian Zaro as The Tigglies, villainous parodies of the Wiggles who kill their victims, which are children, by draining them of their youth. *

Liam McIntyre Liam James McIntyre (born 8 February 1982) is an Australian actor, best known for playing the lead role on the Starz television series '' Spartacus: Vengeance'' and '' War of the Damned'' and as Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard on ''The Flash''. He ...

as Emus *

Nazeem Hussain Nazeem Hussain is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known as the creator and star of two television comedy shows, '' Legally Brown'' and '' Orange Is the New Brown''. He has also has multiple comedy sp ...

as Clarko *

Nina Oyama Nina Oyama (born 18 August 1993) is an Australian comedian, writer, actress and director. She is well known for her roles in ''Utopia'', ''Taskmaster Australia'', and ''Deadloch''. Early life and education Oyama was born on 18 August 1993 ...

as Little Nina

Episodes

Production

It was announced in March 2021 that

had given a series order for the show. Michael Cusack, who is the creator, voices the titular character, with

and Demi Lardner joining the voice cast. In October 2022,

and Jarrad Wright joined the cast, with

and

announced to be making guest appearances. On January 25, 2023,

was removed from the show, alongside sister show ''

Solar Opposites ''Solar Opposites'' is an American adult animated science-fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan for Hulu. Originally created for the Fox Broadcasting Company, the project was shelved before being acquired by Hulu and given a ...

'', after he was charged with felony domestic abuse. Both shows are produced by

20th Television Animation 20th Television Animation (formerly known as Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio and production company that creates, develops, produces, publishes, and distributes primarily adult animated television series and specials. ...

and distributed by Disney Entertainment Distribution.

Release

The series premiered on January 9, 2023, on

in the United States, in Australia and other international territories on

via Star Hub and Latin America on

Star+ Star+ (Star Plus; stylized as ST★R+) was a short-lived subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service available in almost all Ibero-American states. The service was owned by The Walt Disney Company through the Disney Entertai ...

Reception

The series received generally positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it holds an approval rating of 87% based on reviews from 15 critics, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus states: "While ''Koala Man'' can feel like a hodgepodge of quirky ideas, its distinctive Australian identity gives it a pungent personality."

References

External links