August 2nd, 2024 
Jackson Murphy 
New animated series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, starring the voice actors from last summer’s hit movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, premieres next Friday August 9th on Paramount+. Co-Showrunners Chris Yost and Alan Wan share insights on this fresh chapter in the ‘heroes in a half shell’ saga. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: “Mutant Mayhem” was a huge success last summer. What kind of an impact did it have on you as far as making this series, which is set in-between that film and another one we’re gonna get in a couple years?
Chris Yost: I’ve been working on “Turtles” on and off for 20 years. And honestly, I love the movie. It was so much fun and had so much heart. The kids did such a great job, and they felt like real teenagers. In talking to Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] about the series and what we’d be doing and what we want to do… the movie is kind of our guiding light. That tone, that vibe, that real grounded, teenager first, approach. We keep that going. If you like that in the movie, you’re gonna love it in the show. But there were a few things we wanted to do and bring something new to it — a fresh approach… putting the Turtles in a situation they haven’t necessarily encountered before. And that was breaking them up.
JM: Yes, it’s very interesting. Alan, you focus on a different Turtle for each of the first four episodes and then we get into some of the other characters. How was it for you balancing wanting to do the individual storylines but having that bond that we love about the Turtles?
Alan Wan: Those individual episodes highlight the base character of the Turtles. Once they’re missing the other brothers, what they’re lacking… it showcases that they’re at their best when they’re together. But also I think we can see the growth of the individual Turtles… how they can use the other brothers’ characteristics to get them out of certain situations. Even in the individual episodes, it still feels like an authentic Turtle story.
JM: Yes, that heart is there. That’s a lot of what generations have loved about these characters. Chris, what is it for you that keeps you coming back? You worked on some of the comics. And what do you think keeps the new generations so invested in these characters?
CY: This has been around for 40 years. I believe everybody, no matter what kind of person you are, what you like, you’re gonna find something in the Turtles that you can connect to and relate to. Each one of the brothers has such a distinct personality. There’s something in there for everybody. If you’re the responsible one, if you’re the angry one, if you’re the funny one, if you’re the nerd one, then there’s somebody for you to latch onto. It’s the same with April and Splinter. There’s something truly for everybody in “Turtles”, and it’s always been that way. And the storytelling is limitless with these guys.
Alan Wan, Chris Yost and Jackson Murphy
JM: And Alan, you worked on some of the previous “Ninja Turtles” animated series. How does this cool, comic book animation style for this show speak to you?
AW: We try to embrace both the comedy and the action aspects of it. But what we’re injecting into this series that’s specific to this show is the more hand-drawn, rougher edge animation, both in the character animation and the background. There’s a real hand-drawn quality to it. And as far as the action choreography, we definitely wanted to lean a little more grounded — almost feels like an older Jackie Chan movie. Some actual moves the Turtles are doing are not supernatural. Kind of like the ’90s live-action movies.
JM: And Chris, bouncing off of that, what makes the action scenes work really well, and the scenes underground, is that it’s nighttime. What focus do you put on the lighting and making sure that not only we can see the characters but how it glows and how it impacts the viewing experience and all the other characters?
CY: We’ve had many discussions with our art director, the amazing Andrea Fernandez, who killed it on this show. The lighting is incredibly important because they are in the sewers a lot of the time. They are ninjas. How do you light that? How do you make that look cool? How can you make sure people can tell what’s going on? That’s definitely been a thing for us. But the other fun thing about this show is the kids are out in the world. They can go out on the streets of New York and walk around because the public is aware of them. They go to high school. You’re getting to see the Turtles in different lighting scenarios — a lot more on this show than normal.
JM: And Alan, how do you get into the mindset of teenagers of 2024 — wanting to go to parties and doing a lot on [their phones and] social media?
AW: One of the easiest things that we have is the original cast as our voice actors, and they are real teenagers. So it organically blends in this authentic teenager experience. We kick off, right off the bat, with them going to a party. That’s how they get separated. And in terms of how they react to situations, there’s also a very authentic teenager reaction to it. If a murderous robot is coming at you, it’s like, “Oh, that’s awesome! So cool!” Their reaction is fun first and then, “Oh my God! What’s going on?”
JM: There are a lot of fun elements to the show. Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) returns as April. She’s terrific. Chris, what amazes you about her talents?
CY: Everything. She is one of the smartest, funniest people that I’ve ever worked with. She’s been phenomenal. She is April. You don’t even have to direct her, really. She can just come in and nail it every single time. And she makes every scene a little better. She’s a writer as well, so you’re gonna see her chewing on the lines and coming up with the best version of it. It’s really been a gift from the movie that Ayo’s been able to come on board with us.
JM: That is awesome. As I mentioned, there’s another theatrical movie coming in 2026. Alan, did you get any insight on it? Was there anything the folks at Paramount and Nickelodeon said you cannot touch because maybe we’ll see it on the big screen in a couple years?
AW: (laughs) I cannot really say. (laughs)
CY: I’ll tell you how the movie ends right now! No, I won’t. But yes, obviously the movie has stuff that they want to play with, but the great thing about the “Turtles” universe is it’s a big sandbox. Not only do we get to play with characters like Bishop and the Mechazoids but [in the second half of the season] we get to create brand new mutants as well.
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