Features The Road to the Knuckles TV Show: From Announcement to Launch

[Dreadknux]

Today's the day! Knuckles the Echidna will get his very own TV show starting today on streaming service Paramount+, and we're all very excited about it here at the Sonic Stadium (as you can probably tell with our themed Knuckles Week). We figured that, to coincide with the launch of the show, we'd run through the entire journey of Movie Knuckles' six-episode adventure, from announcement to release - why don't you come along and reminisce with us?

The Announcement

While it doesn't feel like that long ago, the Knuckles TV show was in fact announced well over two years ago! In an apparent nod to the whole "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" lock-on cartridge, Paramount had revealed in February 2022 that not only was a third Sonic the Hedgehog movie was being made, but a spinoff TV series focusing on cinematic universe newcomer, Knuckles!

As you can see from the comments/topic linked above, the 'Sonic 3 and Knuckles' one-two punch did not go unnoticed, and following the launch of Sonic 2 hype levels were through the roof. The comments continued for months as it was used as a hub for fun speculation and discussion of new tidbits of information - it's worth browsing through for a full sweep of updates on the Knuckles show!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and its Explosive Success

Of course, there wouldn't have been a Knuckles spinoff in the works if Paramount hadn't (correctly) guessed that there would be a lot of love and hype for the rad red echidna. And what was there to dislike? The feisty rival was adapted incredibly well for his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which launched in theatres April 2022 (some months after the Sonic 3 & Knuckles reveal, which was bold...), and his characterisation was performed by none other than TV and movie superstar Idris Elba!

  / $401m! surpassing original film and becoming biggest game movie in US

The momentum of the incredibly-successful first Sonic movie, coupled with the introduction of Knuckles, his explosive battles with Sonic, the many game references and the engrossing storyline surrounding the Master Emerald (and GUN's sneaky entrance to the movie universe), led to a super-charged performance for Sonic 2. The sequel blasted past almost every significant milestone to become the 4th highest-grossing video game movie at final count, with over $400 million at the box office globally. It also won several awards and accolades, including at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (and as they say, there are no better critics out there than kids!).

The phenomenal success of the Sonic movies is important in the context of the Knuckles series, because not only did the non-chuckling echidna play a significant role in Sonic 2's performance, he became the first(?) subject of a spinoff series on the back of it. And it seems that Paramount was always planning to complement the Sonic movies with spinoffs of some kind, given the below news story that outlines the studio's concept for a hedgehog-themed "Cinematic Universe".

Plans like these are always made years in advance, so we can see the genesis of the Knuckles TV show somewhere within the quotes of this story. And without Knuckles' (and Elba's) star power, we wouldn't have had a TV series announced for the echidna in the first place.

Knuckles Shines in Other Sonic Media 

While the world waited for more Knuckles, SEGA and its media partners elsewhere were willing to pick up the slack. Perhaps most interestingly of these was a promotional animation produced to coincide with the launch of Sonic Frontiers in late 2022, which focused entirely on Knuckles' solo adventure leading up to the game's plot.

It's interesting because a prologue of this quality wasn't entirely necessary, particularly for a game where you only play as Sonic (at least, at launch), but once you realise it was produced by Tyson Hesse (who now has a direct hand in the development of the Sonic movie character design) and his partner studios, and the thirst for more Knuckles content post-Sonic 2, it all starts to make sense.

Knuckles was also arguably one of the standout characters in multi-dimensional animated romp, Sonic Prime, where he assumed the role of freedom fighter in one universe and lazy-but-good-natured pirate in another. Still think 'Knuckles the Dread' feels a little too close to my own username, though. I'm gonna have to ask SEGA and Wildbrain for a commission.

Knuckles TV Show Production Begins

News of the Knuckles spinoff show wouldn't surface until April 2023, a full year (plus change) after the TV series' original announcement. That Spring, filming had officially begun, with Sonic movie director Jeff Fowler personally involved in the show's production. Everybody saw the hat against the clapboard for the first time. And everybody screamed.

Filming lasted a couple of months, with the end of shooting confirmed by Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi (who managed to bag a role on the show - good for him!) in June 2023. Around that time, new information about the project began popping up - not least the confirmation from Mescudi himself that the show would come to the Paramount+ streaming service that fall (which inevitably didn't happen, as we're now talking about the show's launch in 2024 obviously).

Alongside a new logo from Paramount's press site, media outlets started reporting on the names of various co-stars that were attached to the series. Alongside the already-known cast at this point of Idris Elba (as Knuckles), Adam Pally (Wade Whipple), Mescudi, Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt and Ellie Taylor (with guest appearances of Tika Sumpter and Rory McCann), a number of other cast members were confirmed in June including legendary sci-fi actor Christopher Lloyd.

Storyboards and Storylines

The rest of 2023 would be a bit quiet for TV show news besides the odd tidbit here and there, and the 'Fall 2023' release slate came and went without much of a fanfare. Indeed, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and writers strike had gripped Hollywood for most of the Summer, and so multiple projects (not just Knuckles) ended up getting delayed.

As a result, it wasn't until December that some technical and story-related information on 'Knuckles' would come to light, largely thanks to some good old-fashioned Hollywood industry leaks! First, it was revealed that the show would be a six-episode adventure, then details from a number of episode storyboards had leaked (be careful reading this one for potential spoilers - not just for Knuckles but for the Sonic 3 movie too!), and episode titles were shared online that offered some clues as to what might happen throughout the show. All in January 2024, too!

Super Knuckles Sunday

Paramount went big on the Superbowl in February 2024, and used the American sporting event to promote 'Knuckles' in a number of different ways. Firstly, there was this teaser video promoting the Paramount+ streaming service in general, which featured a CG Knuckles getting involved with other Paramount-owned characters in solving the problem of getting over a mountain. Patrick Stewart ends up man-handling Arnold, from Hey Arnold. It doesn't go well (for them - for us, it was hilarious).

Then, news came that actual footage from the show would be revealed for the first time during the Superbowl. But then in an exciting twist, Paramount released the ads for Knuckles that they were going to run during the event a few days early online - so thankfully we didn't have to stay up all night to watch some guys kick an egg-ball around a field for god knows how long. A week or so later, a fresh trailer dropped with a couple more seconds of footage, just for the die-hards out there (like us).

march/april

Promotional activity ramped up last month, as the Knuckles TV series' new launch date of 26 April drew ever nearer. Idris Elba even got involved, rating the performances of his co-stars as they try their 'best' to pull off a Movie Knuckles voice impression. Some of it is hilariously painful, and worth a watch.

New press images and posters have constantly been pumping out over the last couple weeks, but if you asked any terminally-online Sonic fan what one of the most impactful marketing stints has been for the show, they would tell you that it was Knuckles' cameo in the WWE pay-per-view event NXT Stand and Deliver!

Not only does the mad echidna face off against a WWE Superstar or two, start invading the Ring and getting into the crowds, but his appearance also gave us this most beautiful image that shall forever be enshrined into our hearts:

the launch

This past week, Knuckles has been on something of an international tour, attending premieres in both London and the US ahead of the series' Paramount+ launch on April 26. You can check out the photos of Idris Elba, Adam Pally and more on the UK red carpet in our roundup article below, and you can see clips of the show that have since been released to hype the show right here. As well as new poster and screens here.

And Now We're Here!

And that's the timeline of events that have led us to this point - the launch of the Knuckles TV series on Paramount+! It's been a long two-year road, but Knuckles fans will finally get their chance to see their favourite echidna in action in a whole new adventure. 

Who's excited? Are you planning any watch parties? Or just curling up on the sofa/in the bed with a bunch of snacks, ready to binge the entire show? Let us know in the comments section below!

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[Maple Syrup]

I don't have Paramount+ but I may binge watch it with my neighbors!

[Cyb3rkn1ght]

Oh yeah

its knux time

[The DOMinator]

16 minutes ago, Maple Syrup said:

I don't have Paramount+ but I may binge watch it with my neighbors!

By that, do you mean you don't have a device that's compatible with the app, or do you mean that you've used the free trial already? If it's the latter, I may be able to help circumvent your issue.

[Maple Syrup]

4 minutes ago, The DOMinator said:

By that, do you mean you don't have a device that's compatible with the app, or do you mean that you've used the free trial already? If it's the latter, I may be able to help circumvent your issue.

I don't have Paramount+ on my TV. And i'm not the kinda person to go crazy over free trials...

[The DOMinator]

6 minutes ago, Maple Syrup said:

I don't have Paramount+ on my TV. And i'm not the kinda person to go crazy over free trials...

I was going to say how Paramount has been offering free 30 day trial codes for the past few months that can keep being used, but that's understandable. My pet peeve with free trials is how they always seem to ask for your credit card information, regardless of whether or not you'll be using the service afterwards. And even then, they always seem to have a nasty habit of coming back to bite you in the butt if left unattended.

[TAILSGONETOOFAST]

ECHIDNA FOREVERRRRR

[Nemutron]

paramount+ is not anavible in Ukraine, оur streaming services will either upload the series only tomorrow or not at all((((

[BartIsSmart]

Well i hope the show is great for yall! Paramount + isn't avilable in Poland but it should be in other streaming services at the end of the month with dubbing! (if it won't appear im digging the *cough* dark *cough* web or just begging my aunt from America to buy the subscription and record episodes for me)

[Minu Yang]

I just seen the Knuckles Tv Series and....I FREAKING LOVE IT!!!  I had to find a different method to watch all the episodes....BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!  I'M GONNA WATCH IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!  Then maybe I will watch Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles video game play through on YouTube!!!

[DaddlerTheDalek]

I saw it and it was really fun, but far from perfect.