Bluetown

Bluetown is an American adult animated television series created by Shane Bergen which aired on from December 12, 2015 to May 16, 2020. Set in a world where humans co-exist with human–animal Beastmen known as Beastmen, the series primarily focuses on the Powers family—single father Richard (Steven Beasley) and his adolescent twin sons, Bruce (Jasper Guzman) and Bryan (Justin Guzman)—as they navigate through various friendships and romances while also exploring the world around them. Supporting characters are primarily centered around the sons and include Nicole Felix (Kaylee Parker), a cat Beastman and later Bryan's girlfriend; (Daniel Xavi Garcia) and  (Jabari Moore), Bryan's friends; Luna Primrose (Beverly Brown), a fox Beastman who later becomes Bruce's girlfriend; and their families.

Bergen sought to make Bluetown specifically target young adults. It explores various real-world themes and subjects, most notably the, , existential , the , political intolerance, and the haunting and inescapable nature of one's past. Discrimination in particular plays a major role in storytelling, as the shaky relationship between the "normal" humans and the Beastmen is intended to serve as an allegory for. Various other sociopolitical issues are explored in detail.

During the early 2010s, The CW expressed a desire for Bergen to create his own animated series following the success of Saint Freaks, for which he served as executive producer. He began developing Bluetown with Patrick Quimby in 2014 and left the Saint Freaks writing team to work on Bluetown once the network commissioned a full series. The series drew inspiration from numerous science fiction works, 1980s and 1990s technology, and past animated projects Bergen worked on. The soundtrack combines preexisting and  music (mostly  and ) with original music composed by Hi-Def, whose 1998 single "Here/Now" serves as the opening theme. Quimby, Daniel Grover (seasons 2–3), Tony Gambino (seasons 3–5), and Maureen Morgan (season 5) served as executive producers alongside Bergen. The show was a production of Bergen's Bergen Arts Company, Quimby's Phantom Creations, and.

Bluetown has been hailed by critics as one of the greatest animated television series of all time, though audience reception has been mixed. It has been the subject of praise and analysis, receiving critical acclaim for its story, characters, themes and complexity, voice acting, music, visual design, and animation. It was subjected to several and  nominations, winning the  in 2019. The season 3 episode "My Dad" won a J.C. Smith Prize in 2018. The series has garnered significant overall popularity within its target demographic, and a large fanbase colloquially referred to as "Beasties" has emerged on websites such as Boxread,, , and. The character Nicole Felix in particular became a and Internet meme.