Duncanville centers on the life of Duncan Harris, an average 15-year-old boy, who is always one step away from making a bad decision. Along with Duncan lives his mom, a parking enforcement officer, who dreams of being a detective someday and always has to watch Duncan; his dad, who tries to be a better father figure to Duncan than his father was to him; his sister Kimberly, who is a normal teenager going through normal teen-phases; and his other adopted Asian sister Jing, who is an intelligent 5-year-old who is always giving Duncan advice. Mia is Duncan's on-and-off crush.
Cast
Main
Amy Poehler as
* Duncan, an average teen who is average in every way who has a dream world where he is everything but. He has a crush on Mia and refers to his best friends for advice and help.
* Annie, mother to Duncan, Kimberly, and Jing, and Jack's wife who is a meter maid that strives to be a detective.
* Leslie Knope, who will have a brief cameo in an upcoming episode.
Ty Burrell as Jack, The rock-obsessed plumber dad who tries to be a better father than his father had been.
Riki Lindhome as Kimberly, Duncan's angsty, awkward 12-year-old sister who struggles to be popular but fails and is bullied and as such, bullies Duncan in return. She's in middle school.
Zach Cherry as Wolf, Duncan's monotonous friend and the object of Kimberly’s affection. He has issues at home and acts aloof and disinterested in things.
Yassir Lester as Yangzi, Duncan's friend who supports various brands on Twitter and thus gets a lot of free stuff from these brands. He is also a trendsetter.
Betsy Sodaro as Bex, Duncan's tomboy friend who is seen as one of the boys. She later rebuffs this and says how could she be a boy when she has boobs.
Rashida Jones as Mia Abara, Duncan's friend and secret crush who is very liberal and likes hanging out with Duncan and his friends.
Joy Osmanski as Jing, Duncan and Kimberly's adopted five-year-old Asian little sister who has an open crush on Duncan.
Wiz Khalifa as Mr. Mitch, the relatable, immature but rather likeable, teacher who teaches Duncan, Yangzi, Mia, Wolf, and Bex.
On August 17, 2017, it was reported that Fox had ordered a script and pilot presentation for an animated comedy developed by Amy Poehler and written by Poehler, Mike Scully and Julie Scully. On October 26, 2018, it was announced that the network had ordered a 13-episode series, with featured voices Poehler, Rashida Jones and Wiz Khalifa. On May 8, 2019, Ty Burrell was announced as a series regular, and on June 6, 2019, Riki Lindhome was announced as a regular. The series is executive produced by Poehler through Paper Kite Productions, the Scullys through Scully Productions, and Dave Becky through 3 Arts Entertainment. Production companies also involved with the series include Bento Box Entertainment, Universal Television, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television. In April 2020, the series joined the rest of Fox's Animation Domination lineup in a partnership with Caffeine for the AniDom Beyond Show, a recap series hosted by Andy Richter. The hour-long program featured interviews with guests and live interactivity with fans online, with recaps for the episodes that aired through April and May. The Duncanville episode aired on April 16, 2020 featuring Mike Scully and his wife Julie Thacker Scully. On May 18, 2020, John Viener joined the series with other writers from the Fox Animation Domination lineup. On April 6, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, scheduled for a 2021–22 television season release. On July 16, 2020, Jones, Osmanski and Khalifa were promoted to series regulars for the second season.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 89% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.33/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". IndieWire gave the show's first two episodes a B– grade, stating Duncanville needs more time to find out what it wants to be. Sulgana Misra of The A.V. Club gave "Pilot" a B, praising Poehler's charm and the family dynamics of the show but criticizing the main character's lack of interesting motivation.
