Solar Opposites

Solar Opposites is an American adult animated sitcom created by "Rick and Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan for Hulu. Originally created for the Fox Broadcasting Company, the project was shelved, then bought by Hulu. The series debuted on May 8, 2020. The series was originally ordered as 2 seasons consisting of 8 episodes each. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a third season consisting of 12 episodes. The second season was released on March 26, 2021.
Premise.
"Solar Opposites" "centers around a family of aliens from a better world who must take refuge in middle America. They disagree on whether this is awful or awesome." A parallel storyline follows a society of humans shrunk by the replicant Yumyulack and imprisoned in a terrarium known as "The Wall".
Production.
Development.
On August 28, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a series order for two seasons consisting of sixteen episodes. The series was created by "Rick and Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan who were also expected to serve as executive producers. Production companies involved with the series are slated to consist of 20th Television. On June 18, 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a third season consisting of 12 episodes. Originally, the series was being developed by Roiland and McMahan for Fox Broadcasting Company. McMahan has said that Fox passed on the series because it didn't "fit in with what they were doing" at the time.
Writing.
The Wall in Yumyulak's room in which he keeps shrunken-down people as prisoners was, as Roiland has noted, one of the duo's initial ideas for the series, as they were interested in a "B-story" that lasted the entire first season.
Casting.
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Justin Roiland, Thomas Middleditch, Sean Giambrone, and Mary Mack would voice the lead characters in the series.
Release.
The first teaser for the series was released on March 25, 2020. The official trailer was released on April 15, 2020. On May 8, 2020, the first season was released. In January 2021, along with a second trailer, it was revealed that the second season would premiere on March 26, 2021, on Hulu. Internationally, the series premiered on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star as an original series, on February 23, 2021. On June 18, 2020, ahead of the season two premiere, Hulu renewed the series for a third season consisting of 12 episodes. The show premiered on Fox Africa on May 3, 2021.
Reception.
Critical response.
On Rotten Tomatoes the season 1 has an approval rating of 92% based on reviews from 36 critics, with an average rating of 7.56/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Charming, hilarious, and surprisingly sincere, "Solar Opposites" revels in the ridiculousness of life while finding a few fresh things to say about humanity along the way." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 7 critics.
Alex McLevy of "The A.V. Club" gave the show a B grade and calls it "a mischievous cousin of "3rd Rock from the Sun"" while saying it doesn't stray too far from the template Roiland set with "Rick and Morty". McLevy feels the show is still finding its feet, but "Luckily, the humor is so reliably strong, the pacing so breakneck as it races from one plot to the next, that it's hard not to be won over by "Solar Opposites" avalanche of charm."
Dan Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote; "The early episodes have certain limited windows of continuity or running gags... but the show becomes increasingly serialized; things that seem like they might be throw-away become unexpectedly important."
Daniel Kurland of Bubbleblabber gave the show's first season a 9/10, stating, ""Solar Opposites" doesn't hit the same sweeping places of nuance and reflection that "Rick and Morty" does, but it still respects its characters and takes their problems seriously. It's just easy to get lost in all of the free-floating chaos that never really gets a chance to slow down. "Solar Opposites" delivers an exceptional first season that's as good, if not even better than "Rick and Morty" in some ways. It's definitely a crazier series, which is a very good thing for the nature of animated comedies on television. If this is the baseline for "Solar Opposites" then future seasons can only get more ambitious and insane."
Audience viewership.
According to Hulu, the series was the number 1 most watched show since its debut on May 8, 2020 to May 12, 2020.