Marlton

Marlton is an American animated sitcom created by Michael Argot for Kingson. The show is loosely based on childhood experiences of Argot and his friends. It is a metafictional satire on conventional sitcoms; making heavy use of subverting clichés and mocking pop culture and other media. The show revolves around the daily antics and interactions of the youth community of an exceedingly ordinary town. It gives prime focus on a group of acquaintances of differing backgrounds.

Marlton debuted on September 9, 2011 and, by the second season, instantly became the highest rated programs on the network, surpassing Risky Frizz. It is primarily popular amongst teenagers and young adults, and has been widely held to acclaim from critics. It is produced by Deadpan Media in association with Kingson Networks, and has been syndicated worldwide. A feature film, Marlton Movie - The Motion Picture, was released in theaters on July 26, 2019. Following, Marlton Movie Sequel (The Sequel), a sequel is set for a July 22, 2022 release.

Marlton has been renewed for a tenth and final season, which is scheduled to premiere in August 2021.

Premise
Set in the titular stereotypical, mundane South Jerseyan township, Marlton bases itself around the lives of several school peers of differing backgrounds as they grow up alongside each other from fifth through eighth grade. Their regular feats vary from their school lives, domestic, and personal lives. The show presents a large ensemble cast of characters who build up the town's population. One of it's most endearing factors is its blend of mundane scenarios with melodramatic reactions from its characters. It notably subverts the sitcom "friend group" trope by instead making most of the main characters acquaintances and having them go on their own separate unrelated journeys, only having them interact when the plot requires them to.

Marlton satirizes the standard American sitcom format as well as other facets of media and society. Laced heavily with metafiction, and the occasional absurdist humor, show creator Michael Argot has mentioned that the series is a self-deprecating parody of his childhood and his nostalgia growing up in a similar location. This is so profound to the point where many characters and events are loosely based on actual people and experiences in Argot's life, only strongly exaggerated.

Cast

 * Brandon Soo Hoo as Steven Nguyen:
 * Jorge Diaz as Chester Jefferson:
 * Diaz also voices Pete:
 * Ralf Hat as Mike Aski:
 * Hat also voices Paltu "Whitey" Rasheed:
 * Jack DeSena as Eli Miller:
 * Jeremy Shada as Ryan Pryce:
 * Alyson Stoner as Alexie Klausner:
 * Charlyne Yi as Sandy Lin:
 * Mike Erwin as Chadley Evans:
 * Tress MacNeille as Eloise Jefferson:
 * Alan Tudyk and Kristen Schaal as Wacky Pal & Silly Friend:
 * Keith Ferguson as Giovanni Ruso:
 * Olivia Colman as Abigail Wilson:
 * Mark Hamill as Ricki Ray:
 * Alexander Polinsky as Rad Boy Jenkins:
 * Kimberly Brooks as Yaelisse Fernandez:
 * Brooks also voices Cooper DeMonte:
 * Amanda Leighton s as Erica Lee:
 * Seth MacFarlane as Gene Martins:
 * Dab-mcgee as Eddie Martinez:
 * David Herman as Ajit Rasheed:
 * Gedde Watanabe and Lauren Tom as David and Lam Nguyen:
 * Tom also voices Diamond Nguyen:
 * John Cho as Even Nguyen:
 * Kari Wahlgren as Sotta and Massaray Aski:
 * John DiMaggio as Stuart Stewarts:
 * Kenn Michael as Hot Scotch:
 * Wendie Malick as Gabriela "Gabbii" Whitman:

Satire
At the forefront of Marlton's comedic style is its satirical take on the typical television sitcom format, as well as its influences in typical American media and the nature of its society. Episode storylines more often than not follow a standard sitcom plot that is par for the course, that by the end of the episode is taken to its absurd extremes while also maintaining its sense of mundanity. Several characters also exist as caricatures of expected sitcom tropes; such as Abigail Wilson, who is Jefferson's rival and maintains several of his defining characteristics - but is from Britain. While none of its characters are truly self-aware, references are often made to Marlton's existence as a television series in differing ways, such as in the episode [episode], where Wacky Pal is shown to own all of the seasons of the show on Blu-ray discs. The two feature film adaptations also take this style of satire in differing directions; Marlton Movie satirizes the then current film climate and the industry as a whole via its storyline about the titular boys making their own movie, which also plays around with the show's sense of absurdity when said film not only tears a rift in the universe that materializes those very same film industry tropes, but also takes protagonist Steven to beyond the fourth wall where he meets the creator of Marlton.

In addition to its general playfulness in portraying typical American culture and its society, Marlton often veers in the direction of parodying its own audience. Marlton Movie Sequel's premise serves as a metaphor for its own audience growing up and becoming obsessed with their own nostalgic feelings for the show.

Development history
Michael Argot, who previously created Paradise Palms, conceived an animated short entitled Mad Town, which would be the precursor to the series.

Home media
Currently, the first eight seasons have been released on DVD and Blu-ray individually.

Marlton Live: On Ice
Marlton Live: On Ice refers to a live interactive episode script reading at the 2019 Marlton Comic-Con panel.