Cleopatra in Space (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series was first broadcast in Southeast Asia on DreamWorks Channel on November 25, 2019, before its US release.
• Mike Maihack may have been influenced by Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Characters

Cleopatra "Cleo" (voiced by Lilimar Hernandez) is the 15-year-old princess of ancient Egypt, daughter of Pharaoh King Ptolemy (Sendhil Ramamurthy). After being pulled through a portal 30,000 years into the future, she learns she is the prophesied "Savior of the Nile Galaxy" destined to defeat the tyrant Octavian. She attends the intergalactic academy P.Y.R.A.M.I.D. to train for her role. Impulsive and reckless but good-hearted, she gains pink energy powers from time travel that allow her to drain and project energy. Akila (voiced by Katie Crown) is a pink-eyed fish girl from another planet, friendly and optimistic, who may have a crush on Brian. She has two mothers, Theoda (Cissy Jones) and Pothina (Kari Wahlgren), scholars at The Savior Institute and the first confirmed LGBTQ characters in the series. Brian (voiced by Jorge Diaz) is a cyborg teenage boy sensitive about his robotic body, worrisome and self-conscious, with a crush on Akila. He and Akila later foster a child named Eyeball (Brian Posehn). Khensu (voiced by Sendhil Ramamurthy) is an intelligent, long-eared talking cat who leads the group and teaches at P.Y.R.A.M.I.D., acting as a surrogate father to Cleo.

Production

DreamWorks Animation filed trademark applications for the show in January 2018 and subsequently received four extensions on the trademark, two in 2019 and two in 2020. Mike Maihack stated the series is in retroactive continuity to his comics because Cleo is a teenager and time travel is involved, differing from his comic book series rooted in research of the actual Cleopatra. He consulted in early stages, letting DreamWorks know upcoming details of his book, and did not want a direct adaptation of the novels. He saw the animated series as an opportunity to work on the concept in another way, noting that the show's creators understood the core components of the story.

Release

In the United States, the first five episodes were released on Peacock for Xfinity customers on April 15, 2020, with the full first season launching nationwide on July 15, 2020. The series premiered earlier on DreamWorks Channel in Southeast Asia on November 25, 2019, airing 19 episodes there. It also premiered in Poland on Teletoon+ on February 15, 2020 with a Polish dub, and in South Africa on Showmax by February 23, 2020. By June 9, 2020, all 26 episodes of season one were available on Viaplay in Scandinavia. On May 1, 2020, the entire first season was released on Globoplay in Brazil as Cleópatra no Espaço. On Peacock, episodes 1–5 and 7–13 were available to Peacock Premium subscribers, with a more limited selection for free users.

Reception

Steven Pearce of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction gave a short positive review but criticized the writing and Cleopatra's personality as "very much your feisty American teen," praising the background details and calling the series fun, amusing, and brightly animated. Courtney Lofty described it as about "badass women, talking cats, [and] space," with a classic Saturday morning cartoon vibe similar to Invader Zim. Cheryl Eddy on Gizmodo said it looks like a fun ride for geeky grown-ups. Petrana Radulovic in Polygon wrote a positive review, calling the series wacky and vibrant, using its zany concept effectively, with stock cartoon personalities. She compared Cleo's impulsive behavior to Lance in Voltron: Legendary Defender and Ben in Ben 10, and contrasted her with Korra and Adora as a carefree, imperfect heroine who must confront her own laziness. She noted the electronic-infused Egyptian melodies and episodic structure like Gravity Falls.