That’s right, the Cartoon Network show that many JCHS students grew up watching is returning. After several years off the air, the popular show is getting a revival under the new name, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, and will be streamed on Hulu.
The original series on Cartoon Network ran from 2011 to 2019, with 6 seasons, and although now under a different name, the series will still center around the Watterson family we all know. The show follows the misadventures of Gumball Watterson, a blue cat, his brother Darwin, an orange fish, along with the rest of his family in the fictional town of Elmore. The new series is from the original creator and executive producer, Ben Bocquelet, as well as produced by Hanna Barbera Studio Europe. Additionally, the voices of Gumball’s parents, Nicole and Richard, will remain the same voice actors, Teresa Gallagher and Dan Russel, the Watterson children’s voices however will be voiced by new cast members.
Many JCHS students have grown up watching this show, and overall, it is a favorite of Gen Z. In fact we asked juniors Charlotte Malia and Morgan Glenn if they watched the show as a kid and their opinion. Their responses were very similar and essentially stated they both watched it a lot as kids, and found the unique humor way more entertaining than other shows on at the time. They stated that it is still definitely one of their favorite shows and never seems to get old. As for the show’s resignation with Gen Z, the show has gained quite the recognition on social media and continues to be an active fanbase. The hashtag, “TAWOG”, standing for The Amazing World Of Gumball, is included in almost 100k TikTok videos and over 80k instagram posts. Gumball is also the source of several online memes beloved by Gen Z. Such as the song within the show, “#Trending” from episode “The Web” in season 6, which coincidently went viral on tik tok several years ago. The show also is known for the song “Goodbye” from the episode “The Uncle” from Season 5 that has received over 16 million views on Youtube. The show has also managed to achieve several awards, which some may find surprising for a kid’s show. In 2012 the series won both an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production and an ASTRA Award for Most Outstanding Children’s program, and in 2013 the series received an International Emmy Award for Best Kids: Animation.
The official trailer for the new show was released on May 20th, which can be viewed on the Cartoon Network Official Instagram and TikTok account. Within the 60 second video, the town of Elmore is seen completely covered in dust, and Gumball and Darwin can then be seen waking up to an alarm, when they realize they are late for school. When the question, “How late?” is asked by Gumball, Darwin responds, “About seven years,” poking fun at the show’s long hiatus. Attached to the TikTik video was the hashtag “WWWOG”, an acronym for the show’s new name, which has already amassed hundreds of videos including the hashtag.
Although an exact release date has not been revealed, it is known that the show will premier later this year. The show will air on Hulu as well as HBO Max. Therefore, whether or not you’re an old fan of the show, the return of The Amazing World of Gumball is definitely something to look forward to within the coming months!
