Kitchen

Kitchen is an American adult animated black comedy television series developed by Ralf Hat for Kingson. The series revolves around the escapades of teenaged social outcasts ― Vic, Pants, and Chuck, who live in a depraved American city shrouded by dysfunctional residents who engage in criminal activities and anti-social behaviors on a regular basis. The show is often considered a satire on delinquency, social integration, psychological trauma, rejection, poverty, crime, consumerism, and urban cultures. It originally aired on Kingson from May 24, 1999, to September 12, 2016, consisting of thirteen seasons and a total of 229 episodes. The format of most episodes are often structured with a subversive spin on generally grounded storylines, typically descending into absurdity and over-the-top situations. Due to the initial success of Kitchen, the series developed a cult following which helped expand a mass multimedia franchise including several television specials, video games, and soundtrack albums. The show also received a feature-length film adaption, Kitchen: It's An Invasion!, in 2009. Four years after its supposed ending, the network brought back Kitchen for a fourteenth and final season, the first half of which is set to debut on October 19, 2020, and the second half on March 22, 2021.

Premise
Kitchen is set in the metropolis of New Sodom, which is located in the fictional 51st U.S State of Jefferson. Secluded and socially shunned from the rest of the country, New Sodom is portrayed as a crime-ridden, dystopian cesspool considered to be a refuge for the mostly depraved and undesirables of society, who frequently express anti-social attitudes, convey symptoms of mental illness, are poorly educated, indulge in criminal and degenerative practices, and seem to reflect the worst aspects of humanity. The series chronicles around middle school teenaged outcasts and friends ― Vic McCoy, Pants Schmidt, & Chuck Lastname, as well as their various peers, who are constantly fraught by conflict and sudden danger, usually dragging into outrageous, surreal, and awfully intense scenarios. The show displays a dark satirical depiction of societal issues through its graphic violence, irreverent humor, and tackling of controversial subject matter. While Kitchen is known for it's unconventional nature and subversiveness, it does occasionally contain down-to-earth realistic storylines in par with other slice-of-life sitcoms, and also features much character development and slight continuity.

Main

 * Vic McCoy:
 * Ezekiel "Pants" Schmidt:
 * Chuck Lastname:
 * Christine White:
 * Daisha "Macles" Jakalakalaka:

Development history
With the subsequent influx of an older demographic on Kingson, a demand on programming orientated to adults was inevitable. The series creator, Ralf Hat originally pitched Kitchen to the channel after previously working as a storyboard artist on the short-lived sitcom Wage Guys, created by then network vice-president Vince Cummings. The concept of the series was based on Hat's idea of "what regular life would be like in a Hellish society built of ne'er do wells, sociopaths, and extremists, as seen through the eyes of the youth". He also drew influence from living in both suburban and urban areas within his lifetime, and certain aspects of Western culture. Kingson officially greenlit the series, although hesitant on the show's shocking material and dark themes which heavily contrasted the network's mainly "safe" and grounded programming. The development of the first season began in early 1998, and the production team was gradually small and ran on a minimal budget at first. It was developed by Hat and Cummings' production company, Deadpan Media as its third television project; debuting on the network on May of 1999. Despite mixed reviews for the first season, the series became a outright success for Kingson following its premiere, especially bringing in higher ratings for its late night broadcasting hours. The second season of Kitchen was more critically acclaimed as it helped further develop its characters as well as its identity. As the series progressed, specifically during the seventh season, so did its audience, and episode plots became more unconventional and darker in tone, symbolizing a newly established format the show would identify with. Overall, Hat has written and directed every episode, and Cummings served as the executive producer during the series' entire run. Having been on air for seventeen years, Kitchen became Kingson's second longest running original television series, a year behind Risky Frizz. It also became one of the most successful programs, later expanding an entire franchise.

Writing and animation
The writing team is mainly made up of Hat and several other co-writers. Kitchen utilizes a variety of comedic styles including satire, dark comedy, deadpan humor, surrealism, observational comedy, and shock value. Some episodes take off from its usual standard sitcom format to take on different genres as well, such as fantasy, science fiction, thriller, drama, etc. Compared to other adult animated sitcoms, Kitchen typically refrains from tackling pop culture or current politics, with some exceptions. And despite its morbid, arguably nihilistic nature, the show is portrayed as quite ludicrous, upbeat, and self aware, displaying a balance of realism and absurdity. Most plots are heavily character driven, and explore the various dynamics between its dysfunctional, yet diverse characters. While other episodes are simply plot/comedy-driven and have little to no character development.

In terms of art style, Kitchen blends both bright vivid colors with dull shades, creating a deliberately unrealistic, grungy, grindhouse-like atmosphere. Character designs are somewhat exaggerated and cartoonish, with thick-lines reminiscent to street art and graffiti. Ralf Hat also references the works of comic book artists Evan Dorkin and Jhonen Vasquez as major inspirations to the distinct Kitchen art style. Background art is noticeably detailed, with bleak colors to constitute its dystopian setting. Animation production is generally similar to most traditionally animated shows, whereas an entire episode takes roughly 9-10 months to fully complete. Other mediums and styles such as CG-animation, rotoscoping, stop-motion, and even live-action have been used frequently in the series.

Music
American surf rock band Man or Astro-Man? composed Kitchen's theme song. Background music and original score is composed by Hat respectively. Scattered within it, Kitchen presents a wide variety of licensed music, featuring mainly lesser known artists. Genres vary from alternative rock, classic rock, hip hop, grunge, punk rock, heavy metal, ska, and new wave. Nearly all songs featured pay some relevance to the theme or situation of the episode's events, or are simply provided in a montage scene. Due to music's overwhelming prominence in the series, several soundtrack albums were released during its run.

Broadcasting
Kitchen has aired on Kingson since its premiere on May 24, 1999 in the United States.