**Exploding Kittens: From Card Game to TV Show**
The journey of Exploding Kittens, the popular card game created by Matt Inman, began on a cruise ship with Inman, Elan Lee, and Shane Small. They turned their nutty card game idea into a Kickstarter campaign, seeking to raise $10,000. However, they surpassed their goal, raising an astonishing $8.7 million from over 200,000 backers in 2015. The success of the card game led to the development of an animated streaming series on Netflix, which is set to debut soon.
The show follows the story of God, voiced by Tom Ellis, who gets fired and sent to Earth to reconnect with humanity. The catch? He’s trapped in the body of a chubby house cat. He moves in with a dysfunctional family and tries to solve their problems, but ends up spending most of his time chasing laser pointers. To make things more interesting, his next-door neighbor turns out to be none other than the Antichrist, also in the form of a cat. The show explores the ultimate fight between good and evil, but with a comedic twist as both cats get easily distracted.
In an interview with Matt Inman and Elan Lee, they discussed how they turned the card game series into a TV show. They mentioned that the discussion about the show started four years ago when Peter Chernin and the Chernin Investment Group approached them with the idea of turning Exploding Kittens into a franchise. They agreed that Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, known for their work on shows like “The Office” and “King of the Hill,” would be the perfect team to create an Exploding Kittens TV show. To pitch the show, Inman storyboarded it and presented a comic-style pitch, which impressed everyone involved.
The animation style of the show was inspired by Inman’s original illustrations for the card game. He had a unique way of drawing cats with varying line widths, which presented a challenge to recreate digitally. However, the talented team at Netflix managed to maintain the essence of Inman’s artwork while adapting it for animation.
The first season of the show consists of nine 30-minute episodes, and the creators are hopeful for a second season. They believe that the completion rate of viewers and positive feedback will increase their chances of continuing the show. In the meantime, they are also working on expanding the Exploding Kittens brand with a mobile app, a new version of the card game called “Good vs. Evil,” and other digital games.
Overall, the journey of Exploding Kittens from a successful card game to an animated TV show demonstrates the power of creative ideas and the potential for cross-platform success. With its unique humor and quirky characters, Exploding Kittens has the potential to become a beloved franchise in the entertainment world.