Spoilers for Entergalactic lie ahead, so read at your own risk.
Kenya Barris, who's widely known for his work on black-ish and its spinoffs, recently managed to make a mark within the animation medium, thanks to Entergalactic. The production is a collaboration between Barris and fellow EP Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and serves as a companion piece to the latter’s recently released album of the same name. Originally conceived as a full-fledged TV show, the 90-minute special manages to build a visually arresting world filled with layered characters. With that, one can’t help but wonder if the fictional universe can return for future seasons or through another special. Well, Barris has shared some thoughts on that.
Entergalactic centers on Kid Cudi’s Jabari, a young artist grappling with whether he has time for a love life as he starts a new job. His neighbor, local photographer Meadow (voiced by Jessica Williams), causes him to rethink that, as the two fall in love. Though they experience ups and downs, they end up together by the time the credits begin to roll. Those who’ve been able to check out the show know that it certainly leaves the door open for a number of other stories involving the two main characters and their friends. So when I spoke to Kenya Barris during the junket for the TV special, I asked him whether this could be the start of a franchise. Barris didn’t go into specifics, but it sounds like he and Kid Cudi would indeed love to do more with these characters:
We have a ton of ideas. We'd love to bring these characters back, we'd love to maybe make this an IP that we can go do [somewhere] else, you know what I'm saying? Scott and I can EP and go do another version of this and bring the same sort of thing to someone else. We'd love to bring these characters back. Hopefully, people fall in love with these characters and want to see many more seasons of them, you know? We have a ton of ideas that we've pitched, percolated, [and have] ready to go.
Well, that’s an optimistic update if I’ve ever heard one, and one can only imagine just what kind of funny and sweet tales can still be told here. There’s still plenty that can be done when it comes to the romance between Jabari and Meadow. There are also humorous ideas that can be mined from the character of Jimmy (portrayed by Timothée Chalamet), who's Jabari’s best friend and drug dealer. It’d also be interesting to see how Vanessa Hudgens’ Karina adjusts to motherhood after giving birth to her baby.
Aside from the stories themselves, another important part of all of this is the music, which warmly engulfs the special. Scott Mescudi has been making incredibly affecting tracks for years, and his work on Entergalactic is no different. The Grammy winner is very meticulous about his work and might want to take his time should a follow-up of sorts happen. During our chat, Kenya Barris spoke about Mescudi’s “passion”:
The biggest thing for Scott was that – and this shows his passion for this – he held this music for almost three years. … These are smashes, you know what I’m saying? These are smashes. And for an artist to hold that music when that's their career and people are putting out music for that long, like that showed his sort of intentionality and passion behind this.
In addition to Kid Cudi’s other entertainment obligations, one must also consider whether Kenya Barris would be able to jump to a follow-up right away. Barris recently wrote, directed and produced Netflix’s You People, a comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill. He’s also teamed up with the streaming company for The Vince Staples Show, on which he serves as an EP. And if that weren’t enough, Barris is also set to write and direct a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros.
Hopefully, Kenya Barris and Kid Cudi can get something together in order to expand this animated universe they’ve created. This would be in Barris' wheelhouse, considering that he did plenty of worldbuilding with black-ish, before it ended its run this year. All the while, Barris could also continue to learn from Kidi Cudi, who he says taught him a few key lessons about creativity during this process. Let’s hope the two get the chance to team up again and say more about Jabari, Jessica and co.
If you’d like to check out Entergalactic, you can do so by grabbing a Netflix subscription. You can also take a look at CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to learn more about the many other shows headed your way soon.
