Superhero Kindergarten

Superhero Kindergarten (also known as Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten), is a 2021 American superhero streaming television series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The series was created and executive produced by Fabian Nicieza. "Superhero Kindergarten" premiered on April 23, 2021 on Genius Brands' streaming service Kartoon Channel.
Premise.
A gym coach acquires incredible superpowers from a mysterious comet and becomes Captain Courage, one of the earth's greatest protectors. He works 'undercover' as a kindergarten teacher to raise a new generation of super-powered kids.
Production and development.
In May 2019, production began on the series, after Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast in the lead role as Arnold Armstrong / Captain Courage. He served as a co-executive producer with Paul Wachter, CEO of Main Street Advisors and Fabian Nicieza, who was also the lead writer. On June 15, 2020, Prime Video acquired the series. On June 20, 2020, John Landis signed on to direct and executive produce all of the episodes. The season will consist of 52 episodes. In July 2020, Genius Brands and Archie Comics published the late Stan Lee's comic book "Superhero Kindergarten", in a multi-year partnership agreement. As with other adaptations of his works, Lee made several cameo appearances in the series. The series was the last project Lee personally worked on.
Discussing his work on the series, lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, ""Superhero Kindergarten" is near and dear to my heart, the greatest superhero to ever live. What an honor it was to collaborate with Stan Lee on the creation of the series, and I am absolutely thrilled that our new series has resonated so strongly with audiences right out of the gate". In 2021, Steven Banks was revealed to have served as a head writer on the series. During an April 2021 interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Schwarzenegger stated that the idea behind the making of "Superhero Kindergarten" came from his desire "to do a sequel to "Kindergarten Cop"".
Release.
The first two episodes of "Superhero Kindergarten" were released on the Kartoon Channel on April 23, 2021, with subsequent episodes to be released weekly. The first episode premiered on January 29, 2021, which included an introduction from series star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Reception.
Critical response.
Alessia Santoro, of "PopSugar", gave a positive review, saying "it's the perfect show for superhero-loving parents and their kids to enjoy together". "WBOC-TV" also gave a positive review, saying the series is "fun for the whole family, opening up the superhero genre for a whole new demographic and draws kids in with action and comedy, while parents can appreciate the quality of content synonymous with Stan Lee".
Ratings.
The first two episodes were watched by over 2 million viewers. By May 3, 2021, the first three episodes surpassed 9 million views. Andy Heyward, Chairman and CEO of Genius Brands, discussed the episodes' ratings, by saying "this breaks every record for us on the channel and goes beyond our wildest expectation for the series weekend debut. In the new world of streaming media, it's hard to compare apples to oranges, but if "Superhero Kindergarten" were a feature movie, we would be doing cartwheels with this 'opening weekend box office'".