Dicktown is an American adult animated sitcom created and written by John Hodgman and David Rees for FXX. Hodgman and Rees also star, and serve as executive producers alongside Matt Thompson. The show's concept has been described as a mix of "a little Encyclopedia Brown, a little Scooby-Doo, and a lot of heart."[2]
| Dicktown | |
|---|---|
| Created by | |
| Written by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Opening theme | "Dicktown" by "Weird Al" Yankovic (season 2)[1] |
| Composer | JG Thirlwell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | FXX |
| Release | July 9, 2020 – March 31, 2022 |
| Related | |
The first season premiered on July 9, 2020, as a weekly segment on the third season of Cake. The second season began airing as a standalone series on March 3, 2022.[3]
Premise edit
The series is set in the fictional North Carolina town of Richardsville (nicknamed "Dicktown"), where John Hunchman (voiced by Hodgman) solves mysteries for local teenagers, assisted by his former bully David Purefoy (Rees).[4]
Richardsville is based on Rees' hometown of Chapel Hill.[5] The Lunch Hut diner in the show is based on Sutton's Drug Store, a character is named for Culbreth Middle School, and another is named for Purefoy Road where Rees attended pre-school.[2]
Cast edit
Main edit
- John Hodgman as John Hunchman
- David Rees as David Purefoy
Recurring edit
- Ronald Peet as Tucker
- Stephen Tobolowsky as John’s Dad
- Jon Glaser as Mark Tagliano
- Obehi Janice as Heather Culbreath
- Amy Sedaris as Giovanna
- Heather Lawless as Jen the Waitress
- Anna Akana as Meg
- Griffin Newman as Lance
- Kristen Schaal as Kendra
- Paul F. Tompkins as Loafer Toeknuckle
- Janie Haddad Tompkins as Emma Bowers
- Jean Grae as Monica
Guest edit
- Zach Galifianakis as Charlie
- Amber Nash as Marinello
- Janet Varney as Tracey
- Lovie Simone
- Lauren Ashley Smith as Croquet Player
- Sarah Vowell
- Mike Mitchell
- Jo Firestone
- Aimee Mann
Production edit
Animation for the series is provided by Floyd County Productions.[3]
Release edit
Dicktown premiered on July 9, 2020, as part of FXX's anthology series Cake, with ten segments airing throughout its third season; these segments were also released as standalone episodes for streaming on Hulu, categorized as season 1.[4]
The second season of Dicktown – its first as a standalone series on linear television – premiered on March 3, 2022, on FXX in the United States and Canada, with two segments airing in a 30-minute block each week for five weeks.[3]
Episodes edit
Series overview edit
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | July 9, 2020 | September 3, 2020 | |
| 2 | 10 | March 3, 2022 | March 31, 2022 | |
Season 1 (2020) edit
The first season aired as a segment on Cake.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Mystery of the Controversial Cosplay" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | July 9, 2020 | 101 | 0.067[6] |
| Hunchman and Purefoy are hired to find out who is the alt-right anti-SJW trolling the woman who cosplays as Aquaman and other DC characters. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Mystery of the Maybe Boyfriend" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | July 9, 2020 | 102 | 0.036[6] |
| Meg, a young VHS retro store clerk, hires Hunchman and Purefoy to figure out if she and her boyfriend are a couple or just friends with benefits, and takes them to a night club to meet him. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Mystery of the Party Pines" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | July 16, 2020 | 103 | 0.065[7] |
| Hunchman and Purefoy are hired to catch the masked lurker who likes to spy on students partying in the woods. | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Mystery of the Creepy Piano Teacher" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | July 23, 2020 | 104 | 0.082[8] |
| A young woman hires Hunchman and Purefoy to find out why her piano teacher is making her smash the piano instead of teaching her how to play. | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Mystery of the Mumbling Rapper" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | July 30, 2020 | 105 | 0.060[9] |
| John and David are hired by a teen mumble rap sensation, Lil Blurp, to find ten escaped ocelots in an abandoned shopping mall where he is shooting his next music video with John's endearing out of the loop dad as his manager. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Mystery of the Croquet Meltdown" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | August 6, 2020 | 106 | 0.068[10] |
| Strapped for cash, John and David ask their rich former client Tucker for a loan, but end up taking part in his brand-awareness-raising croquet tournament instead, hoping to win the cash prize. However, John takes the game too seriously. | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Mystery of the Missing Detective" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | August 13, 2020 | 107 | 0.081[11] |
| John becomes paranoid that the lake patrol is coming to confiscate his shabby old houseboat on which he and David live so he hides it in the swamp and shares his regret-filled backstory with David. | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Mystery of the Moaning Ghost" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | August 20, 2020 | 108 | 0.080[12] |
| John and David are hired by a violent teenage delinquent, who wants to sue the mysterious ghost that's been haunting the house where he and his single mother he clings to live. | |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Mystery of the Impossible Car" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | August 27, 2020 | 109 | 0.082[13] |
| John and David are on a sting operation in their favorite diner watching a patron suspected of stealing a rare vintage car from their naive client, when Heather, John's old bestie with whom he's always been secretly in love, walks in. | |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Mystery of the President's Physician" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner & Matt Thompson | September 3, 2020 | 110 | 0.061[14] |
| While dining with his dad at The President's Physician, a fancy restaurant where his and David's heavily pregnant waitress friend Jen now works, John hears the spoiled rich yuppie owner and his girlfriend arguing over her missing ring. | |||||||
Season 2 (2022) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "The Mystery of the Missing Pimento Cheese Recipe" | John Hodgman & David Rees | John Hodgman & David Rees | March 3, 2022 | 201 | 0.110[16] |
| John and David hit the semi-big-time when a local TV news show decides to profile them. The clock is ticking as they try to locate a legendary stolen recipe for pimento cheese. | |||||||
| 12 | 2 | "The Mystery of the Mammal Island" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner | March 3, 2022 | 202 | 0.110[16] |
| John and David go undercover as adorable lil' animals in the addictive video game/cutesy capitalist dystopia called Mammal Island. Their job: retrieve a stolen golden parsnip! Their other job: to survive! | |||||||
| 13 | 3 | "The Mystery of the Strawberry Patch" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Matt Thompson | March 10, 2022 | 203 | 0.220[17] |
| Nights at the strawberry patch have never been hotter, until Farmer Rigsbee hires John and David to shut the hanky panky down. They're going to have to get down, dirty, and high to solve this one. Meanwhile, John's mystery stalker reveals themselves. | |||||||
| 14 | 4 | "The Mystery of the Adventures of Pon-Pon" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Eric Sims | March 10, 2022 | 204 | 0.220[17] |
| John and David’s business strategy is thrown into chaos when Pon-Pon the Belgian Boy Detective comes to town. A murder mystery at Sparecrust Manor offers them one last chance to impress Richardsville’s most influential grownups. | |||||||
| 15 | 5 | "The Mystery of the Marauding Mascot" | John Hodgman & David Rees | John Hodgman | March 17, 2022 | 205 | 0.123[18] |
| Cancel culture comes to Richardsville High School when its mascot, the Smoking Baby, is retired. The new mascot is an agent of chaos named Grubby. But when Grubby goes too far, can John and David clear his name? | |||||||
| 16 | 6 | "The Mystery of Meg's Extremely Violent and Inappropriate Musical" | John Hodgman & David Rees | David Rees | March 17, 2022 | 206 | 0.123[18] |
| Meg's new high school musical I SING ON YOUR GRAVE is extremely violent and tasteless, but even she agrees it's not OK when her male lead is almost castrated onstage. John and David join the cast and sing their way to a solution. | |||||||
| 17 | 7 | "The Mystery of the Golden Lungs" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Matt Thompson | March 24, 2022 | 207 | 0.134[19] |
| John convinces David to help him trap his stalker, Scooby-Doo style. | |||||||
| 18 | 8 | "The Mystery of Dr. Marjorie Frost" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Eric Sims | March 24, 2022 | 208 | 0.134[19] |
| David strikes out on his own, working late at a fried pork anus factory and learns a lesson. | |||||||
| 19 | 9 | "The Mystery of Lance's Lesson" | John Hodgman & David Rees | Todd Redner | March 31, 2022 | 209 | 0.165[20] |
| On the outs with David, John finds a new partner: everyone's favorite juvenile delinquent Lance. Lance may be banned from every business in town, but he's also the only person who can knock some sense into John. | |||||||
| 20 | 10 | "The Mystery of the Decades-Old Mystery" | John Hodgman & David Rees | John Hodgman & David Rees | March 31, 2022 | 210 | 0.165[20] |
| In the dramatic season finale, John and David reunite to finally solve the biggest mystery of their childhood. With the help of some cutting edge technology (and drugs), they journey to their most mysterious, dangerous location yet — John's mind. | |||||||
Reception edit
Critical reception edit
Joel Keller of Decider wrote, "Dicktown is not only funny, it tells a pretty good story of two guys who should have grown up a long time ago but for one reason or another they just haven’t. But, bless them, they keep trying."[21] Steve Greene of IndieWire asserted, "Amid the bevy of recurring animated series that make up some of the most memorable Cake filling, Dicktown may well be the richest. John Hodgman and David Rees’ sharp spin on a boy detective all grown up and living in his North Carolina hometown is effortlessly entertaining."[22]
References edit
- ^ @alyankovic (March 3, 2022). "Season 2 of #Dicktown (starring those interesting, cool and fun dudes @hodgman and @david_rees) premieres tonight on @FXXNetwork. And I gotta say, their new theme song is a banger!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2022-05-06 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Greene, Steve (2020-09-03). "'Dicktown': The Year's Funniest Animated Comedy Bloomed from a Real-Life Friendship". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ a b c FX Networks (press release) (February 4, 2022). "FX's "Dicktown" Sets Premiere Date". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ a b Greene, Steve (September 3, 2020). "'Dicktown': The Year's Funniest Animated Comedy Bloomed from a Real-Life Friendship". IndieWire. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ Hodgman, John. "Dicktown is VERY much an ode to David Rees' Chapel Hill".
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 10, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.9.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (July 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (July 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (July 31, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.30.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 7, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.6.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 14, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.13.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.20.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 4, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.3.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - dicktown on fxx". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Thursday 3.3.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzzdaily.com.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Thursday 3.10.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzzdaily.com.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Thursday 3.17.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzzdaily.com.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Thursday 3.24.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzzdaily.com.
- ^ a b "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Thursday 3.31.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzzdaily.com.
- ^ "'Dicktown' FX Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". Retrieved 2023-02-08.
- ^ Greene, Steve (2021-10-14). "With 'Cake' Season 5 Underway, It's Time to Succumb to its Rewarding Surprises". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
