Mandrake Premiere

{{Infobox television {{W|Comedy-drama}} Clarissa Henderson Mark Kowalski Scott Alan Brown Gregory Danielson Gabriel Victorano {{small|({{Abbr|S|Seasons}}2–3)}} Preston Vazquez {{small|({{Abbr|S|Seasons}}4–)}} {{W|Tubi}} {{W|Amazon Prime Video}}} }}Mandrake Premiere is an American adult animated black comedy web series created by Laura "Lauribang" Lozano and produced by Electro Spike. The show revolves around an ongoing war between and, with 23-year-old Julia Mandrake attempting to run her own theater in its border area, Limbo.
 * title=Mandrake Premiere
 * genre={{W|Black comedy}}
 * creator=Laura Lozano
 * voices=Lucy Michaels
 * director=Laurie Lozano
 * theme_music_composer=Lowtide Project
 * opening="Soullessness" performed by Lisa Young
 * ending="Soullessness"
 * composer=Logan Bourbeau {{small|(Lowtide Project)}}
 * country=United States
 * language=English
 * seasons=2
 * episodes=16 (list of episodes)
 * executive_producer=Laura Lozano
 * runtime=19–23 minutes
 * studio=Electro Spike
 * network=Electro Spike
 * picture=
 * release=February 26, 2019 – present

The series was announced on on March 6, 2018, and its trailer was posted on  on October 26, 2018. The show's first episode was published on Electro Spike's website on February 16, 2019; it has since run for three seasons, with a fourth scheduled to premiere in July 2022.

Synopsis
Mandrake Premiere centers on a young woman named 23-year-old Julia Mandrake who lives in Heaven, and it tells the story of the in-universe Dead War II, the second war between Heaven and Hell. During the war, Mandrake tries to run the her own theater, the Mandrake Premiere, to entertain the citizens of both Heaven and Hell while distracting them from the ongoing battles.

Cast

 * Lucy Michaels as Julia Mandrake
 * Clarissa Henderson as Cynthia Morningstar
 * Mark Kowalski as Roswell Newmex
 * Scott Alan Brown as Crucifix

Development
Laura Lozano conceived the series in the mid-2010s while working on Electro Spike's Viztoons. Upon asking Electro Spike's Gregory Danielson about the series, he contacted then-President Francis Crestory, who told her, "If you can get through season 7, we'll get back to you on that." The show was officially announced on on March 6, 2018.

Music
The series' background music is composed by Logan Borbeau, a member of the electronic music group Lowtide Project, which collaboratively composed the series' theme music. The group has made four albums:
 * Mandrake Premiere: Original Music – Part 1 (2019)
 * Mandrake Premiere: Original Music – Part 2 (2020)
 * Mandrake Premiere: Original Music – Part 3 (2021)
 * Mandrake Premiere: Original Music – Part 4 (2022)

Design and animation
The series' characters were originally designed by Lozano; she was later joined by artists Robbie Gonzales, Gabriel Leonardi, Stefania Martinelli, and Antonio Sabbatino. Much of the props, characters, and designs are made in and Coartec Photocross.

The series' animation is done in using various programs, and animating most episodes takes three to five weeks. Episodes' production schedules often overlap, and the series routinely switches production crews.

Reception
Mandrake Premiere has received generally positive reception. Jackie Floyd of OEN described it as "a fantastic example of powerful independent animation" and "a beautiful, never-before-seen mix of black humor of music". CHUCKLE.NET's Rick Finea called it "a spectacular musical production with beautiful designs and hilarious LGBT humor", and Comedy News' Jane Dee Roberts called it "an absolutely funny tounge-in-cheek work of art".

Despite the aforementioned reviews, critic Drew Wynn called Mandrake Premiere "gross", "stupid", and "a horribly designed failure". JaxNet's Timothy Roberts called the show "the worst animated black comedy series on the Internet". Editor.com's Patrick St. Louis posted a tweet in which he called the show "woke BS".