About
The boondocks is an western animated television series created by Aaron Mcgruder based on McGruder’s comic strip, based on the same name. The series depicts the adventures of an African American family, the Freemans, who moves from the southside of Chicago to the suburban community of Woodcrest.
History
The Boondocks began as a comic strip in the student newspaper “The Diamondback” created by Aaron McGruder during his college years at the University of Maryland. The Strip then was added in “The Source” Magazine. After these runs, Mcgruder simultaneously pitched the comic strip as an animated TV series and a syndicated comic strip at the same time. The original goal was met in 1999, which “The Boondocks” comic strip was debuted in 1999.
During the development of the animated series, Mcgruder partnered with Film Director/ Producer Reginald Hudlin and Created a pilot episode of the series for the Fox Network, but was at difficulty making the show suitable for Network Television. Hudlin left the after the Fox deal.
Mike Lazzo (President of Adult Swim and executive producer of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast) stumbled upon the pilot and declared it as “too networky” He then ordered an 15 episode season and told Mcgruder to “just tell stories”.
Reception
The Boondocks has reached critical acclaim in many awards and reviews. In January 2006, the Show was nominated for an NAACP image award for best comedy. During 2006 the show won a Peabody award for the episode of “King of the Hill”. On Metacritic the show has scored a 72 with 21 reviews and an 8.1 user reviews of 243 ratings. It has been placed at #17 on IGN list of top animated TV shows for adults and #94 at the top 100 Animated TV series.
Criticism and Controversy
The Boondocks has been an outlet of controversy surrounding its views on politics, the war on terrorism, and its casual use of the N-word ever since its newspaper debut in 1999. Within a week after Rosa Parks death in 2006, the show removed the references related to and centered around the late civil rights icon.
“Return of the King” Controversy
Al Sharpton Protested against Cartoon Network and Adult Swim because of the First season episode of “Return of the King”. The controversy erupted when which involved a scene of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. using the N-word to the African American Community during a civil rights protest movement. Cartoon Network released a statement defending McGruder stating that:
“We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King’s bravery but also of reminding us of what he stood and fought for, and why even today, it is important for all of us to remember that and to continue to take action,” – Cartoon Network
Fandom
The boondocks has spawned countless fandom hubs from forums on the Adult Swim website from countless fanart on Deviantart and Tumblr.
Notable Examples
Work in Progress
Interest over Time
References
USATODAY-Boondocks steps over the line
Metacritic
IGN- Top 100 Animated TV Shows
IGN- Top 25 animated TV Series for adults
Google Trends