Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner’s 2023 adult animation series, “Scavengers Reign,” was like nothing you’ve seen before. Though experimental and lauded adult animation (some of which you can only watch on Netflix) like “Primal” or “The Midnight Gospel” have been breaking new ground and rapidly evolving in the past decade, “Scavengers Reign” undeniably reached a new high. Combining science fiction with a complex ecosystem and alien fauna, the show’s universe was so dense with innovative and wild ideas that it sort of ended up being too challenging to attract (and keep) the average viewer.
So much so that HBO Max couldn’t take the risk of continuing it since its low viewership didn’t justify the production costs. Thus, the show was unceremoniously cancelled after its 12-episode first season, joining other shows with only one season on Max, and despite Netflix picking it up to stream and for a potential follow-up, the numbers once again weren’t there to uphold and validate a renewal. Make no mistake, though, “Scavengers Reign” is an unlikely, if underseen, masterpiece that might’ve come too early to capture the zeitgeist.
Based on the two creators’ 2016 short film, “Scavengers,” the series follows a small group as their cargo ship, Demeter 227, crash-lands on the foreign and undiscovered planet of Vesta. The survivors are scattered in three different groups, and viewers follow their various storylines as they try to navigate and survive in this new environment that holds as much natural beauty and wonder as it does unexpected, and at times incomprehensible, dangers. The intricate, constantly blossoming flora alongside the unidentifiable animals that populate and rule this land are as much the protagonists as the humans audiences are given to relate to and root for.
The mesmerizing, bewildering, and ruthless planet where humans are inferior to virtually every other life form
“Scavengers Reign” resembles a perilous open-world video game where you explore and discover most of the dangers through the human heroes, often to their own detriment. There’s not a moment where these characters feel safe just because they’re supposed to lead you through the story. Every creature and person is at risk in this foreign place where the most breathtaking and inviting landscapes can turn deadly in a matter of seconds. There’s an inherent, viscerally formidable horror of the unknown in “Scavengers Reign,” and the minimalistic yet gorgeous visual style amplifies that, becoming overwhelming at times. It’s gory, unnerving, and oftentimes repulsive (especially if you have an aversion to plants, fungi, and spores), but never short of fascinating.
It’s astonishing, too, because the writers know how to inject emotion into the scientific and environmental layers. Whether it’s desperation, love, longing, or an ever-present poignancy infused with tragic backstories, “Scavengers Reign’s” emotional palette always pulsates along with its uncanny milieu, brilliant ideas, and immersive atmosphere. It’s not an exaggeration to say you likely haven’t seen anything it — unless you’ve seen Adult Swim’s brilliant conspiracy series “Common Side Effects,” which unsurprisingly comes from one of “Scavengers Reign’s” creators.
However, while that series succeeded in scoring a renewal for a sophomore season, “Scavengers Reign” had ended ambiguously without closure or a proper wrap-up. But don’t let that hold you back from giving it a chance because if you desire something truly different, unique, and intriguingly challenging, there’s hardly another show that can give you that the same way as this spellbinding series does.
