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In these dire times it is definitely a good idea to watch something fun & light that brings a smile on our face. The last few months have been a tough time for all of us. Listening to the news and catching up on everyday highlights at times feel depressing. Looking at these recent and upcoming comic releases on Ott platforms, will surely encourage you to take some time off the news channels and laugh-out-loud.

Here is a listicle on comic-shows you can binge watch this May.

Flatbush Misdemeanors

Flatbush Misdemeanors is a raw comedy of city life following Dan and Kevin, who play characters struggling to thrive in their new surroundings in the brash environment of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The show sheds light on subjects like gentrification and racial conflict with authorities, while keeping tone of the show light and funny. The highlight of the show is Dan and Kevin’s relationship,...

Max Keane isn’t new to the family’s animation business. He’s worked on many of his dad Glen Keane’s post-Disney projects, including the shorts “Duet” and the Oscar-winning “Dear Basketball” as production designer. But as creator and showrunner of the latest Glen Keane Prods. project, “Trash Truck,” Max is in the driver’s seat for the first time.

The preschooler kids series about an imaginative 6-year-old boy, Hank, and his vehicular best friend debuted on Netflix on Nov. 10 with a dozen 11-minute episodes. Max Keane is creator-showrunner and executive produces along with his father and Gennie Rim, CEO at Glen Keane Prods., the company his dad formed in 2012 after years as a Disney animator.

“It’s an idea I stole from my son [Henry],” Max Keane admits. “When he was 1½, he was completely obsessed with garbage trucks.” At first, Keane couldn’t figure out why Henry was so enchanted by the big,...

Netflix will release the animated short Sitara: Let Girls Dream from two-time Oscar-winning and three-time Emmy-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

The short tells the story of Pari, a 14-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a pilot while growing up in a society that doesn’t allow her to dream.

“Young girls everywhere still face considerable hurdles in achieving their dreams,” Obaid-Chinoy said Friday. Sitara embodies that struggle; it is the story of Pari, a young girl who dreams of becoming a pilot and is robbed of it. For me, Sitara is more than a film; it is a movement that we want to start across the world, that encourages parents to invest in their girls’ dreams, freeing their daughters from the burdens of early marriage.”

Vice Studios financed and produced Sitara. Imke Fehrmann serves as producer on the film. Women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem and Darla Anderson — the Academy Award-winning...

Sanjay Patel’s new series Ghee Happy has been greenlit by Netflix. The animated show from director-animator-illustrator Patel is a playful reimagining of the Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers in a deity daycare appropriately called Ghee Happy.

Patel’s resume includes an array of iconic Pixar films including Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, Cars, Toy Story 2 as well as both installments of The Incredibles. Inspired by his own childhood, Sanjay helmed the short animated film Sanjay’s Super Team, which was paired with The Good Dinosaur. The short was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards and for Best Animated Short Subject at the 43rd Annie Awards.

“For the past 25 years I’ve been working in kids and family entertainment without having kids of my own,” said Patel. “Having finally become a parent, I’m so excited and lucky to be able to create...

Netflix has closed a multi-year overall agreement for film and TV with Kuku Studios, a Berkeley, CA-based animation house founded by former Pixar senior creative and production staffers. Under the pact, Netflix has ordered an animated feature film from Kuku, which explores the power and magic of dreams.

The overall deal stems from the first commission for Kuku made by Netflix last year — preschool series Go! Go! Cory Carson, based on the hit toy line Go! Go! Smart Wheels from VTech Electronics, which will debut on the streamer in early 2020.

Under the overall pact, Kuku, led by founders Alex Woo, Stanley Moore and Tim Hahn and director Erik Benson, will exclusively produce animated films and series for Netflix.

“With Go! Go! Cory Carson, the creative team at Kuku proved that they can bring their vast cinematic experience into the preschool realm, and the result is a breathtaking show that we...

Netflix has ordered a new kids animated series, City of Ghosts, from first-time showrunner Elizabeth Ito

City of Ghosts is described as a hybrid documentary and animated series in which a group of kids discover stories around their city by communicating directly with the ghosts who inhabit it.

Ito, an Emmy-winning director and writer on Cartoon Network’s animated series Adventure Time and creator of the Cartoon Network short Welcome to My Life, will executive produce and serve as showrunner.

Ito is a Los Angeles native and City of Ghosts explores her personal experience growing up as a yonsei (a 4th generation Japanese American) living in various multicultural neighborhoods across L.A. In the series, Ito takes an entertaining look at how generations of diverse inhabitants can affect the changing dynamics of neighborhoods and the communities that form in them.

City of Ghosts joins...

The director of the wonderful animated film Book of Life, Jorge Gutierrez, is now developing a limited animated series for Netflix called Maya and the Three.

The series will consist of nine episode and when talking about it, the director says that it’s basically a Mexican version of The Lord of the Rings, “but hilarious.”

The story is set in a “mythical Mesoamerican inspired world, a warrior princess embarks on a quest to recruit three legendary fighters to help save the world of men and gods.”

The series was also co-written by Silvia Olivas (Elena of Avalor) and Jeff Ranjo (Moana) is head of story on the project. It should be released on 2021.

Netflix is making a big animation push and there are five other projects that they’ve announced on top of this one. Those other projects include:

My Father’S Dragon (2021)

A 2D animated family feature film...

Netflix has added six diverse and global perspectives to their forthcoming slate of animated programming. The lineup includes both feature films and original series suited for kids and families.

From the CG of Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys to the 2D style of Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, the slate includes a variety of animation styles.

The robust slate of films joins the roster of other previously announced Netflix family animated titles that include Chris Williams’ Jacob and the Sea Beast, Sergio Pablos’ Klaus, Rajiv Chilaka’s Mighty Little Bheem, Josj Wakely’s animated series Motown Magic, Glen Keane’s CG adventure Over the Moon, Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion version of Pinocchio, and Wendell & Wild from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele.

Details about the new additions can be read below.

Maya and the Three (2021) is an animated limited series created, written, and directed by Jorge Gutierrez. Set in a mythical Mesoamerican inspired world, a warrior princess embarks on a quest to recruit three legendary fighters to help save the world of men and gods. Silvia Olivas (Elena of Avalor) is co-writer and co-executive producer, and Jeff Ranjo (Moana) is head of story.

My Father’s Dragon (2021) is a 2D animated family feature film from director Nora Twomey and written by Meg LeFauve, with story by Meg LeFauve and John Morgan, who are also executive producers. Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn of Mockingbird Pictures are producing together with Paul Young of Cartoon Saloon and Tomm Moore. Based on the Newbery Honored children’s novels by Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father’s Dragon tells the story of young run-away Elmer Elevator, who searches for a captive Dragon on Wild Island and finds much more than he could ever have anticipated. Alan Moloney and Ruth Coady of Parallel Films will also serve as executive producers alongside Gerry Shirren.

Go! Go! Cory Carson (2019) is an animated preschool series from Kuku Studios in Berkeley, CA executive produced by Alex Woo, Stanley Moore and Tone Thyne. Based on the hit toy line Go! Go! Smart Wheels from VTech Electronics, Go! Go! Cory Carson follows the adventures of kid car Cory Carson as he navigates the winding roads of childhood in Bumperton Hills.

Kid Cosmic (2020) is an animated series in production from Craig McCracken. This is a show about a young boy who dreams of becoming a hero, and when he stumbles across some cosmic stones of power his dreams appear to have come true! Unfortunately, the reality of being a hero vs. the fantasy of being a hero are completely different and this challenge becomes the biggest battle he has to face. The Kid may be the good guy, but he’s really bad at it!

Trash Truck (2020) is an animated series in production from Max Keane (Dear Basketball). Hank is a free-range, dirt-covered 6-year-old boy with a big imagination and an even bigger best pal… a giant honking, snorting trash truck. From learning to fly to going to the dentist, there is no adventure too big or too small for these two best friends. Glen Keane and Gennie Rim (Dear Basketball) serve as executive producers alongside Max Keane.

The Willoughbys (2020) is a highly stylized CG animated feature film currently in production with Bron Animation in Vancouver from writer/director Kris Pearn (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2). When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their old-fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create a new and modern family. Based on the book by Newbery Award-winning author, Lois Lowry. Starring Ricky Gervais, Maya Rudolph, Will Forte, Martin Short, Alessia Cara and Jane Krakowski.

Netflix has announced six new animated projects that will be added to their slate until 2021, including “My Father’s Dragon” (written by “Inside Out” writer Meg LeFauve) and “Go! Go! Cory Carson” (executive produced by “Ratatouille’s” Alex Woo).

In 2019, Netflix will release the series “Go! Go! Cory Carson,” executive produced by Alex Woo, Stanley Moore and Tone Thyne (“Wonder Pets!”), based on the hit toy line Go! Go! Smart Wheels.

In 2020, “The Willoughbys” from writer/director Kris Pearn (“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2”) starring Ricky Gervais, Maya Rudolph and Will Forte will hit the streaming platform, as well as the TV series “Trash Truck,” executive produced by Glen Keane, Gennie Rim (“Dear Basketball”) and Max Keane. The animated series, “Kid Cosmic,” from Craig McCracken (“The Powerpuff Girls”) will also hit the service in 2020.

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