The Spooks

The Spooks is an American animated black comedy series created by Ralf Hat for Brilliant. Based on the comic book of the same name, the show follows the journeys of Aaron, a benevolent though miserable, neurotic, and alcoholic ghost. Having been killed in an unfortunate situation, Aaron would soon find himself facing none other than the Grim Reaper, who would offer him the position of being his apprentice and eventual successor. Wanting to redeem his wretched life, Aaron is unwillingly dragged into countless horrific supernatural adventures with his partner and best friend Jonathan Creek, a mysterious paranormal investigator. The thoroughly macabre premise enabled the series to explore countless taboo subjects such as death, murder, the occult, religion, and alcoholism. In addition to this, the show can be considered by many as a satire of the horror subculture. Originally, the series was intended to be a ten episode Halloween miniseries, until it was picked up for a second season in 2003. The Spooks was cancelled in 2006 after six years of airing and three seasons. Roughly two years later in 2008, Vision revived the series which lasted nine more years on the network before concluding in 2017.

Premise
After an unexpected series of events led to his death, a helpless, neurotic, and alcoholic man named Aaron Patterson finds himself transformed into a ghost among the living. Nowhere left to go, Aaron is confronted by none other than the Grim Reaper himself, who offers him a position as his apprentice (which Aaron eagerly accepts, seeing this as a higher calling of some sort). Aaron and the Reaper happen form an unexpected bond as they operate with each other as boss and servant. Plagued by misfortune and a relentless cowardice, Aaron is forced to endure plenty of psychological, spiritual, and emotional challenges which either the Reaper instructs him to face or he supernaturally gets interfered with. These experiences may range from everyday struggles to downright insane supernatural calamities. Working alongside on Aaron’s terrifying journeys is a mysterious paranormal investigator, Johnson Creek, who acts as his caretaker, life mentor, and bestfriend. The Kavonok family, are the last descendants of the Reaper who have much more relevancy in by the second season and onwards. The nuclear family consists of Joey and Mari, a husband and wife and their two tween children Kevin and Audrey. Other supporting characters include Iris, Aaron’s eldritch abomination of a girlfriend (and later wife), and Antoine, Aaron’s gangbanger of a brother. A large ensemble of recurring characters have increased as the series grew, adding more depth to the story lines of each episode.

The series takes place in the depressing village of Gallows Ridge, Virginia, riddled with paranormal activity and apathetic residents. Episodes can range from explicitly ridiculous spoofs of the horror genre to a more downright horror/psychological thriller direction which usually are character-driven and matured.

Main Characters

 * Aaron Patterson: A miserable, neurotic, alcoholic ghost. Tormented endlessly in a life of misfortune, Aaron would have eventually met his fateful demise after being killed via knocked into a gaping ditch. Aaron would find himself revived as a ghost soon after this occurrence, and would meet the Reaper, who decided to take him in as his apprentice and future successor.
 * The Reaper: The short tempered, pessimistic, and partially sadistic as mentioned Grim Reaper, with questionable morals. Upon entering immediately after his death, Reaper would find himself befriending Aaron, and taking him under his wing after discovering their similar liking for alcohol. Reaper is rude, apathetic, and has a morbid sense of humor that rivals Aaron. He will usually offer Aaron bad advice (some which actually turn out well). When he isn't busy reaping souls or torturing Aaron, he will usually be spending quality family time with his last remaining descendants, the Kavonoks.
 * Jonathan Creek: A paranormal investigator and demon hunting enthusiast; A self-described "man of God", Creek is the guardian, coworker, and best friend of Aaron.

The Kavonok Family

 * Kevin Kavonok: The youngest member of the Kavonoks, the Reaper's youngest descendent, and Aaron's "hauntee". Handicapped dumb dumb
 * Audrey Kavonok: Audrey Kavonok: The eldest child in the family; Audrey is a twelve year old girl who is an emotional wreck most likely due to her ongoing struggles through pubescence. Typically an angst rebellious skater girl, Audrey tends to distance herself away from her happy-go-lucky family. Insisting on standing out from the rest of her family and peers, she strives to make herself seem like an edgy and unique person, struggling to find her "true identity". The show satirizes this by making her experiment through various phases including an emo phase, scene kid phase, goth and cybergoth phase, and a hipster phase.
 * Joey Kavonok: The patriarch of the family (excluding his grandfather, Reaper). Joey is a charming evangelical liberal Christian man who ironically works as a mortuary technician.
 * Maribeth Kavonok: The beautiful and obedient wife of Joey, and mother of Kevin and Audrey. Blah blah blah She and Joey have an outrageous hidden sex life.
 * Smithy Kavonok: Reaper's son, an elderly man who maintains a childish persona due to the absence of his father. Smithy chooses to live in the attic of the house, barely relevant in the family's lives. He is also delusional and possibly schizophrenic. Smithy is part of the main reason why Reaper originally chose not to have any involvement with his family, as he is crowded up with guilt for leaving him at such a young age, ruining his mental state. A few episodes show the two reconnecting with each other in a father-son relationship.

Recurring

 * Iris Shub-Niggurath: NSFW fanart material.
 * Antoine Patterson:

Video games
Two video games, The Spooks: Urban Legend and The Spooks: Necroholic Barmageddon were released in 2011 and 2013, both of which were developed by Heavy Iron Studios.