In the spring of 2020, word of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers coming to screens got out. That July, we got the full tale from executive producer Courtney Solomon about bringing the comic to life. And finally, in 2021, the smoke was really in the air after the show launched on Tubi last month. 

In the world of weed-leaning pop culture, it’s hard to argue anyone had a bigger year than the Freak Brothers. Their launch would prove the most popular piece of original content yet on Fox’s streaming platform Tubi. Gilbert Shelton’s classic tale is now backed by an all-star cast of voice talent that includes Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, Tiffany Haddish, and Pete Davidson. Adam Devine and Blake Anderson are also in the mix in addition to serving as executive producers.

Executive producer and showrunner Alan Cohen weighed in on the Freaks’ big 2021, and the home stretch of post-production during the pandemic following our previous chat with Solomon. 

“For me, one of the toughest aspects of producing the show during the pandemic was the loss of creative collaboration you get from being in the same room with other people,” Cohen told L.A. Weekly. “A writers room on Zoom can be painful. People get frustrated and tired and shut down.” 

Compounding the stress of the writing room was the actual execution. 

“Other production functions like editing, music, directing actors who are recording at home in their closets… are all more difficult but doable,” Cohen said. “But you have to really make an effort to try to recapture the energy and enthusiasm and improvisation that is natural to in-person collaboration but suffocated by Zoom delays and spotty connections and distractions.”

But whatever new challenges the production team faced, it’s pretty clear things worked out. The show has been a bonafide hit as Fox positions itself in the ever growing wave of streaming media services since buying Tubi a year ago. After an October announcement, Tubi released the show in November to 50 years of built-up fanfare.

“As far as reception to the show, I’m thrilled by how successfully it’s found its audience on Tubi, who did a fantastic job promoting it,” Cohen said. “I’m also thrilled about how positive and passionate that audience’s response has been. I think with streaming, Freak Brothers is the kind of show whose audience will continue to grow in the coming months due to positive word of mouth.”

Greg Goldner led the effort to get the word out over the last few years as the Freak Brothers head of marketing in the build-up to the premier. Goldner told us that a lot of the time since the Freak Brothers’ last chat with L.A. Weekly was spent hunting for a distribution partner that was going to be the right fit. 

“The goal was really for us to find the right partner and the best partner to launch this show. It’s a unique show and we knew finding the right home for it was going to be the key to success,” Goldner told L.A. Weekly. “Obviously, it’s got an incredible celebrity-filled cast. You don’t typically find this kind of thing in adult animation. And so we want to make sure we found the right partner. Which we certainly did in Tubi.”

He was hyped with the route things ended up going given Fox’s support for adult-themed animation over the last 20 years. 

For more info on The Freak Brothers, check out their website: www.thefreakbrothers.com

 

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