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Ah, aughts nostalgia. Could anything be more 2009 than cosplayers in Monarch and Doctor Girlfriend costumes? But it seems that the 17-year ride of The Venture Brothers cartoon may have come to an end.

But has it really?

The creation of animators Chris McCulloch (aka Jackson Publick) and Eric “Doc” Hammer, The Venture Brothers started as an Adult Swim-ified takeoff on Jonny Quest, but ended up a massively complex story about bad fathers, toxic masculinity, and a super deep dive meta commentary on pop culture.

However, the show had been MIA since its seventh season ended on a cliffhanger in 2018. Some rumors were swirling that it had been canceled early last week and yesterday Publick made it official on Twitter.

“Unfortunately, it’s true: #VentureBros has been canceled. We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You.” he wrote. 

Actor James Urbaniak, who voices Dr. Rusty Venture among others on the show (The Phantom Limb), confirmed it in his own tweet.

“So, as it must to all, cancellation has come for The Venture Bros. The pilot aired 17 years ago, which means the show was almost old enough to vote. It was one of the great gifts of my life & career. The fans were, quite simply, the best. Thank you, everybody. Go. Team. Venture!” wrote Urbaniak.

UPDATE: And Doc Hammer spoke out on FB:

And then the world of Twitter went sad. The show featured Dr. Venture, one of the worst fathers of all times, and his two confused teen sons, Dean and Hank, and their ultra-competent and ruthless nanny/bodyguard Brock Samson in a Quest-like comedic adventure tale. But it soon splintered off into deep rumination about the Monarch, “the arch” of the Ventures, his henchmen who broke away from being faceless moths to trying to fight for their individualism, Sgt. Hatred teaching the boys to hate and…oh, lots more.

Most upsetting to fans, Season 7 ended on a huge cliffhanger. Would Adult Swim really leave everyone hanging in eternity on this?

Well not so fast. Soon after the above two tweets, the Adult Swim account tweeted.

“We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story,” they wrote.

Variety soon followed up with news that The Venture Brothers might continue on HBO Max. 

Sources tell Variety that one possible avenue to continue the series would be moving it to HBO Max. That possibility is being discussed, but is still far from becoming a reality, sources say.

Speaking as a very keen Venture fan, who covered the show extensively over the years, it would be CRIMINAL if the show didn’t get the sendoff it deserved on HBO Max or somewhere else. But Publick and Hammer also need to sit down and write the darned thing.

Although Publick and Hammer kept to a kind of normal schedule, given the care they put into the show, for the first few seasons, the show became increasingly less frequent after Season Four wrapped in 2010. Season Five, comprising a mere 8 episodes, debuted in June 2013, with another 8 episodes appearing in January 2016 as Season Six, and Season Seven showing up in August of 2018 with 10 more episodes.

Twenty-six episodes in a decade was not much to sustain a Venture fan. In interviews and blog posts, McCulloch admitted that producing each season was a tortuous, slow process. Surely the show was worth waiting for; however, maybe some kind of endpoint is what they need to kick it into gear?

I expect we’ll see SOME kind of sendoff for the Ventures, but in the meantime, it remains one of the best cartoons of all times, with nuanced themes and characters and just…well, off-the-wall shit that you never expected.

We’ll keep you updated on the latest in Venture-land as events unfold.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Venture Bros. was flat out genius. Considering how infrequently it came out, I’m having trouble coming up with a reason why they would cancel it instead of just letting it get done on it’s own schedule. What resources were freed up? How much more money can they make by devoting that 4 hours of airtime every few years to another show?

    While I would love it if we get another season anywhere, I suspect the “way to continue the Venture Bros. story” will be in a licensed comic book that will not only not continue the story (it’ll be side adventures or something) but will be written by someone other than Publick and Hammer, even though their names will be on it

    I hope I’m wrong.

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