Golden Axe Becomes an Adult Animated Series on Paramount Plus

Sega's Golden Axe is back as a ten episode adult animated series, and all ten episodes land on Paramount Plus on September 16. Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks, Solar Opposites) and Joe Chandler (American Dad!) co-created it, with Matthew Rhys, Liam McIntyre, Lisa Gilroy, Danny Pudi and Carl Tart voicing the cast.

I care about this one because of the pedigree behind it. McMahan and Chandler are two names I trust in adult animation, and the premise sounds like it knows exactly what it is: Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead reuniting to fight Death Adder again, stuck in a loop where the villain never stays dead. What breaks that loop is Hampton Squib, a brand new adventurer who is completely out of his depth, and I have questions about whether he is meant to read as DLC or as the player's stand in. The cast is stacked top to bottom, with Matthew Rhys as the angry dwarf Gilius Thunderhead, Liam McIntyre from Spartacus as Ax Battler, Lisa Gilroy as Tyris Flare, Danny Pudi as Hampton Squib, and Carl Tart as the panther warrior Chronos. Great creative team, great voice cast, a premise that plays with video game logic, and a binge drop instead of a weekly rollout. This one has a real shot.

• 0:00 Golden Axe Is Officially a Show
• 0:05 All Ten Episodes Land September 16
• 0:10 Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler Behind the Series
• 0:23 The Death Adder Loop and the Meta Premise
• 0:31 Hampton Squib, DLC or Player Stand In
• 0:40 The Voice Cast Breakdown
• 1:07 Why This Could Land
• 1:16 Paramount Plus, Comedy Central, and Wrap Up

Key Takeaways

• Golden Axe premieres on Paramount Plus on September 16 with all ten episodes at once
• Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler co-created the series, with Chandler serving as showrunner
• The show moved from its original Comedy Central home to Paramount Plus
• Voice cast: Matthew Rhys as Gilius Thunderhead, Liam McIntyre as Ax Battler, Lisa Gilroy as Tyris Flare, Danny Pudi as Hampton Squib, Carl Tart as Chronos
• The premise leans meta, with the heroes seemingly aware they are stuck in a video game style repeat cycle
• Hampton Squib is a new character built to disrupt that loop

"The reason I care about this is because the pedigree."

"So is he a DLC to the game or is he just the player's stand in?"

"It does feel like they kind of know they're in a video game, or at least in a repeat cycle."

"The cast is top notch too."

"Great creative team, great voice acting, interesting premise, and they're all dropping at once."

If you grew up feeding quarters into a Golden Axe cabinet, send this episode to the friend you played it with and tell me whether you are binging all ten on day one. #GoldenAxe

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Is Hampton Squib a player stand in, or is he DLC that got shoved into the party?

Which dormant Sega franchise should get the animated treatment next?