The high-impact prison mayhem in Superjail might shock some Adult Swim viewers, but don’t mistake the animated show for a satirical commentary on current wars or cultural desensitization.
“It’s just an excuse to draw psychedelic animation and cartoon violence,” show co-creator Christy Karacas told Wired.com in an e-mail chat about Superjail ‘s second season, which premieres during Sunday night’s Adult Swim (and in our exclusive clip below). “It’s not really shocking to me at all. It’s just funny. Think of it as a gallows humor ballet.”
Superjail ‘s dance-of-death partners are a roll call of heartless killers and demented warders who make their prisoners look like ballerinas. After bleeding out 11 profanely violent and transgressive episodes from 2007-2008, Adult Swim re-upped for 10 more episodes in 2011, and signed on The Venture Bros. ‘ brainiac creator Jackson Publick as a consultant.
“I am not allowed to discuss Jackson Publick,” Karacas said. “I signed paperwork. Lots of paperwork. If I slip up and divulge any details, they’ll pull Season 2 off the air. So yeah, no comment.”
“The staff is way more fucked up than the prisoners,” said Karacas, whose hard-rock band Cheeseburger provides Superjail ‘s theme song. (The band releases its sophomore effort, Another Big Night Down the Drain, May 3 on Adult Swim’s music label, Williams Street Records.)
“The prisoners are heartless killers, but they have a naïve side to them, because most of them are pretty dumb,” Karacas said. “But people seem more shocked by Superjail ‘s sexuality than its violence these days. We get more notes about Alice’s package and the gayness of the show than the violence.”
That said, Karacas and company have amped up the proceedings in the show’s upcoming episodes. Detractors who thought Superjail ‘s first season crossed several lines might want to find a bomb shelter right about now.
“We focused on more character development, story, violence and animation,” Karacas said. “We’re very excited and hope people dig it.”
Which leaves us with the inevitable question: Who would Karacas personally throw into Superjail, post-haste?
“Rev. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church,” he said. “Spencer Pratt. And maybe Chris Brown, if he keeps up his current shenanigans.”
Superjail airs during the Sunday night/Monday morning Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network.
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