Undergrads (stylized as underGRADS) is an American-Canadian adult animated sitcom centered on the lives of four college undergraduate freshmen. The show was originally broadcast for 13 episodes on MTV from April 22 to August 12, 2001, and was also shown on The Detour on Teletoon in Canada, and Trouble in the United Kingdom.

History

The show was created by Pete Williams, who dropped out of New York University at the age of 19 during his sophomore year to work on the show in 1997 after winning an MTV animation contest. The series was produced by David McGrath.

Overview

Characters in the show represent a dramatic portrayal of stereotypical college types; including the stable, sarcastic everyman (Nitz); the boisterous, alcoholic "frat boy" (Rocko); the dimwitted "ladies' man" (Cal); the reclusive nerd (Gimpy), the rebellious punk girl (Jessie); the "ditz" (Kimmy); the resident advisor (The Duggler). Typical situations depicted in the show but in an overly dramatic but comedic manner include student loans, abysmal cafeteria food, questioning of identity, fraternity rivalries, odd traditions, unpleasant tyrannical RAs, money problems, peer pressure, and the "freshman 15". Despite the series taking place in college there are almost no episodes that depict the characters attending class; the one exception is Rocko's ROTC class in the episode, "Financial Aid".

Characters

Main

  • Parker "Nitz" Walsh (voiced by Pete Williams) is the protagonist. He is shy and attends State U, a generic university. He often finds himself torn between hanging out with his old high school friends, the new friends he's made at college, and pining after his high school crush, Kimmy Burton. Nitz is based on series creator, Pete Williams.
  • Rocko (voiced by Pete Williams) is a boorish, alcoholic, chain-smoking fratboy. He attends the local Central State Junior Community College and is a proud member of the Alpha Alpha fraternity, although he is not respected by his fellow frat brothers, who view him as an obnoxious nuisance. His only interests are alcohol and women, although most women do not reciprocate his clumsy advances and often rebuff him. He is bitterly jealous of Cal's popularity with women and is often shown openly expressing his disdain for the latter whenever he interacts with him.
  • Cal Evans (voiced by Pete Williams) is Nitz' roommate. Although dimwitted, his good looks make him very popular with women. He speaks in a high-pitched voice, frequently drools, and calls people "guy" or "lady".
  • Justin "Gimpy" Taylor (voiced by Pete Williams) is a reclusive nerd who attends the tech institute Tekerson Tech. He almost never leaves his room, primarily communicating with his friends via video chat. Gimpy uses the screen name "G Prime" and commands a group of fellow geeks to act as his minions. He is a fiercely devoted Star Wars fan and has a vendetta against Star Trek.

Supporting

  • Jessie (voiced by Jene Yeo) is a friend and neighbor of Nitz, also goes to State U. Jessie has a very laid back, punk-girl-type personality on campus. She often accompanies Nitz on his misadventures and often provides a level-headed and mature point of view. Although Nitz openly pines for Kimmy Burton throughout the show's run, Jessie develops a crush on Nitz to which he is oblivious. Jessie's frustration with Nitz eventually results in outright spite for Kimmy. The character is voiced by Jene Yeo, upon whom the character is based.

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Failed revival and film

Unsuccessful revival and Undergrads: The Movie

After an unsuccessful revival attempt in 2004 by the Canadian based studio Decode Entertainment which was to air on Teletoon due to MTV sabotaging the attempt, Williams in June 2018 after a long legal dispute announced that he had managed to secure the rights from MTV and formally announced a Kickstarter campaign for funding a feature-length series finale called Undergrads: The Movie. . As of August 2023 after the film is currently in development by Brain Power Studio with a budget of $150,000 which was raised in February 2019 after the successful Kickstarter campaign, and was set for a release that is yet to be announced.

Music

The theme song, "The Click", is written and performed by the band Good Charlotte, who appear in the episode Risk. Much of the music featured in Undergrads include songs from various indie rock bands and Canadian artists, such as Vibrolux, Alkaline Trio, Knacker, Sam Roberts, Reggie and the Full Effect, Sloan, The Planet Smashers, The Brodys, and The Rosenbergs, among others. The score of the show was composed and produced by Jono Grant. A list of bands and songs used in each episode can be found at the show's official website.

This style of music was also heavily featured in another Decode Entertainment series, Radio Free Roscoe, which had the same music directors as Undergrads.

The American broadcast used different songs by artists such as Linkin Park, Madonna, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, and the Foo Fighters.

References

  • ComedyCentral.com page (archive)
  • 'Undergrads' Bombed in the US. 20 Years Later, It's Making a Comeback, Thanks to Canada. Vice