OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes


OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is an American action-comedy animated television series created by Ian Jones-Quartey for Cartoon Network. The show is based on Jones-Quartey's pilot Lakewood Plaza Turbo, which was released as part of Cartoon Network's 2013 Summer Shorts project. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The web series premiered on Cartoon Network's YouTube channel and on Cartoon Network Video on February 4, 2016.
On March 9, 2017, nearly four years after the original short's premiere, Cartoon Network announced that the television series had been greenlit, and it premiered on August 1, 2017. The opening sequence was storyboarded by Japanese artist Hiroyuki Imaishi, co-founder of Studio Trigger.
On December 4, 2017, the series was confirmed to be renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 5, 2018. A third season, which was announced on June 26, 2019, premiered on July 7, 2019; the final episode aired on September 6, 2019.

Premise

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is set in the retro-futuristic year of 201X. The series follows the titular character, K.O., and his efforts to become the world's greatest hero while working at Gar's Bodega, a hero supply shop in Lakewood Plaza. Alongside him are his best friends and co-workers Radicles, a narcissistic alien, and Enid, a levelheaded big sister-like ninja, as well as other heroes who work in the area.

Episodes

Voice cast

To promote OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Cartoon Network's Chief Content Officer Rob Sorcher hinted many times in an interview that it would become a full series. Its multiple storyboard artists have also been seen on Twitter. On March 9, on PlayStation's Blog, Chris Waldron VP of Games & Digital Products for Cartoon Network announced a series in the works, along with a video game. The series was premiered by Cartoon Network on August 1, 2017. The first 6 episodes were released online on June 13, 2017.
The show was traditionally animated in South Korea by Digital eMation and Sunmin Image Pictures. Unlike many animated programs, which are inked on paper and then scanned for coloring, OK K.O.! was drawn in pencil. The animators pencil each frame on paper using a light table, and then color them digitally on a layer beneath the transparent line work, to retain a hand-drawn quality. For Jones-Quartey, it was important for the audience to "never forget that these are drawings." This was partially inspired by the first season of The Simpsons, which had a loose, rough quality to its animation. In addition, the show's design sense is inspired by Yoshi's Island.

Cancellation

On August 6, 2019, Ian Jones-Quartey announced that Cartoon Network opted to not renew the show for another season. The series finale aired on September 6, 2019.

Broadcast

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes had its worldwide television premiere in the US on Cartoon Network on August 1, 2017, and aired on sister network Boomerang from August 7 to September 1, 2017.

Home releases

Video game

A mobile game, OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo, was launched on Android and iOS on February 4, 2016 as a free game for those platforms. It is a beat 'em up developed by Double Stallion Games and published by Cartoon Network Games. The game's original score was composed by Mathieu Lavoie and FX Dupas at in Montreal, Canada.
Capybara Games developed a video game based on the show for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Entitled OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes, it was released on January 23, 2018, and a Nintendo Switch port was released on October 30, 2018.