The Tick is an American web television series created for Amazon Video by Ben Edlund, based on his comic book character of the same name. Its pilot premiered on August 18, 2016. A "half-season", through to the sixth episode, was released on August 25, 2017, and another six episodes were released on February 23, 2018. On January 17, 2018, Amazon ordered a second season of ten episodes, which premiered on April 5, 2019. Edlund revealed on Twitter that Amazon Video has declined to renew the series for a third season. On June 14, Edlund said that he was unable to find a "new home" for the Tick, ending the series with two seasons.
Premise
The Tick is a nigh invulnerable superhero in a blue tick suit who arrives in the city to help combat crime and uncover the mysterious figure behind the city's underworld. He befriends a nervous and mild-mannered young man named Arthur who becomes his sidekick. They come to realize that an apparently long-dead supervillain called "The Terror" may still be pulling the strings in the city's underworld.
In March 2016, it was announced that Amazon Video had ordered a pilot for a The Tick reboot with Peter Serafinowicz starring as The Tick along with Griffin Newman as Arthur. Co-starring in the pilot would be Valorie Curry as Arthur's sister Dot and Brendan Hines as Superian. In April 2016, Jackie Earle Haley was cast as The Terror. In September 2016, Amazon Prime picked up the show for a full season of 12 episodes. Amazon ordered a second season of 10 episodes, which premiered on April 5, 2019. Amazon cancelled the series after two seasons. Creator Ben Edlund intended to shop the series around to other streaming services, but eventually announced he could not find a new home for the show before the contracts for the actors expired, thus officially ending the series.
Release
The pilot of The Tick premiered on Amazon Video on August 18, 2016. The first six episodes of the first season were released on August 25, 2017. The remaining six episodes of the first season were released on February 23, 2018. The entire second season was released on April 5, 2019.
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10 based on 61 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Likeable characters add realism and heart to the tongue-in-cheek humor and high-octane action that fuels The Tick." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rick Austin of Fortress of Solitude gave the show a score of 4/5 and felt that the show had managed to fix several of the flaws he saw in the pilot episode. He concluded, "With so few good superhero comedies out there, this is exactly the show the world needs." The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10.
Accolades
In 2018 the series was nominated for a Saturn Award in the category "Best New Media Superhero Series". Also in 2018, the show received an Emmy nomination for its Main Title music composed by Chris Bacon.
