Disenchantment: 7 Things Season 2 Must Do

Netflix have just renewed Matt Groening’s Disenchantment for another 20 episodes. Though the show isn’t officially called ‘Matt Groening’s Disenchantment’, that’s all anybody can seem to call it, and his name has been both a blessing and a curse so far.

On one hand, his reputation from The Simpsons and Futurama brought a lot of interest to the show. On the other, it just wasn’t as good as its two predecessors, especially if you’re comparing the best episodes those have to offer instead of the shakier first seasons.

With Season 2, the pressure is reduced a little. It no longer needs to live up to those two cartoon heavyweights, it just needs to top Season 1. The first outing in Dreamland had some decent jokes, a great artstyle and introduced characters with who could become fan favourites. Also, unlike previous Groening cartoons, it had a layered, linear narrative running through it.

Season 2 doesn’t necessarily require them fixing Season 1, more building on what works and slicing off what doesn’t. With tighter characterisation and a sharper script, Disenchantment has caverns of room to improve. Groening’s struck gold twice before - a little fine tuning and Disenchantment could make it three in a row.

It’s easy to quote one of Groening’s more beloved darlings and just say ‘Stupid TV! Be more funny!’ but that was a core problem with Disenchantment last time.

Ask most people what they thought of it, and they’ll tell you it wasn’t as funny as The Simpsons or Futurama. That’s an outrageously high bar that no other cartoon would be held to. Netflix’s most popular animated show, BoJack Horseman, didn’t really hit its stride until the last stretches of its first season, and it’s clear that Disenchantment has what it takes to improve.

The biggest problem was the jokes missed as often as they landed. Add to that the more narrative style and the jokes weren’t always thick and fast either. Now they know their characters, the next season should see them hitting targets more often.

Since comparisons are inevitable, let’s look at the tenth episode of The Simpsons and Futurama. Disenchantment has only given us ten to judge so far, after all. Futurama’s tenth was Titanic parody A Flight To Remember; The Simpsons’ was Homer’s Night Out, where he dances with Princess Kashmir. These are hardly the gold standard. Both of Groening’s other shows improved with time. Chances are Disenchantment will too.