Netflix dropped the first official teaser trailer for its animated adaptation of Exploding Kittens, the ever-popular tabletop game featuring plenty of deranged cats, and it features Lucifer‘s Tom Ellis as God.
Placing a great deal of attention on Tom Ellis’ role as Godcat, the seemingly holy deity who will serve as the protagonist of the show, the trailer doesn’t go into great depth when it comes to the actual narrative. Per an official description of the show, the plot will follow the “eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell” as it “reaches epic proportions when both God and the Devil are sent to Earth – in the bodies of chunky house cats.”
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Exploding Kittens is a product of Bandera Entertainment, the animation studio owned by industry heavyweights Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. If those names sound familiar, it’s because they’re responsible for some of the best sitcoms ever made, including Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. When it comes to comedy, there’s arguably no one better to take the reigns.
Of course, Explosive Kittens isn’t a wholly original intellectual property given that it’s an adaptation of the tabletop card game created by Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal. It’s widely regarded as one of the best casual party games money can buy; even before it was a worldwide hit, it managed to break records as the fourth most-backed project on Kickstarter in 2015. The game revolves around players drawing from a dedicated deck, playing cards in an effort to avoid picking up the titular exploding kitten which loses them the game. It’s gained a massive following for its easy-to-learn gameplay and irreverent artwork that depicts cats doing some rather risque acts.
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In the years after its launch, Exploding Kittens garnered three official expansions that introduced new cards and silly gameplay mechanics: Imploding Kittens, Streaking Kittens, and Barking Kittens. My personal favorite is Imploding given that it adds the human-sized Cone of Shame, an ornament players must wear if they ever forget whose turn is next.
Netflix’s take on the zany world of Exploding Kittens stars Ellis, Lucy Liu, Ally Maki, Sasheer Zamata, Abraham Lim, and Mark Proksch. An official release date has yet to be confirmed but a good bet would be 2024. In the interim, get some friends together and play the card game. It’s quick, fun and mostly importantly, extremely silly.
