When The Aquabats! Super Show! arrived on The Hub (remember that channel) back in 2012, it caused a sensation in my family room. The series about a super hero band scored with its strange monsters and even stranger music. The series finally gave us a show as rocking and wild as The Monkees. It was the kind of show that a parent and their kids could enjoy. While the series didn’t last long, it was so enjoyable. And now the enjoyment is coming to Shout! Factory TV in the near future with episodes, specials and surprises. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory with all the details:
SHOUT! FACTORY TV ANNOUNCES
NORTH AMERICAN STREAMING ACQUISITION OF
THE AQUABATS! SUPER SHOW!
Multi-Year Agreement Grants Shout! Factory TV
Streaming Rights to Daytime Emmy Award-Winning Comedy Rock Series
Los Angeles (August 28, 2020) – Shout! Factory TV, the multi-platform digital streaming arm of Shout! Factory, and The Aquabats! today announce a distribution alliance to bring the fan-favorite musical comedy television series The Aquabats! Super Show! to streaming entertainment platforms in North America.
The multi-year alliance provides Shout! Factory TV with SVOD, AVOD and linear streaming digital rights in the U.S. and Canada to all episodes of The Aquabats! Super Show!, including the unaired pilot episode and specials.
Shout! Factory TV plans a timely rollout of The Aqubats! Super Show!, expected later this year on its streaming service. As excitement builds, Shout! Factory TV, in collaboration with The Aquabats!, will announce additional news and activities in forthcoming months.
The Aquabats! Super Show! premiered in 2012 on the Hub Network and aired for two seasons. The series was created by Christian Jacobs, Scott Schultz (creators of the series Yo Gabba Gabba!), and Jason deVilliers. Throughout its run, the show received eight multiple Daytime Emmy nominations and one win. Shout! Factory previously released The Aquabats! Super Show!: Season One on DVD in 2013.
Based on the superhero mythology of The Aquabats!, a real comedy rock band which series co-creator and lead singer Jacobs formed in 1994, The Aquabats! Super Show! follows the comic adventures of a fictionalized version of the band, a musical group of amateur superheroes, as they haphazardly defend the world from a variety of villains and monsters. Styled similarly to the campy aesthetics of 1960s and 1970s children’s television and Japanese tokusatsu, The Aquabats! Super Show! utilizes various mediums of visual styles and special effects, mixing live-action storylines with cartoon shorts, parody advertisements and musical interludes.
“The Aquabats! are back at Shout! Factory, and we couldn’t think of a better home for Seasons 1 and 2 of The Aquabats! Super Show!,” said Christian Jacobs (The MC Bat Commander).“Take a look at their catalog and you’ll see a lot of the stuff that inspired Super Show! in the first place. We hope our fans enjoy watching The Aquabats! right alongside some of our all-time faves like Kamen Rider and Ultraman Leo, and we look forward to new folks discovering our wacky rock and roll adventures!”
“As fans first, we’re thrilled to once again be working with The Aquabats!. The Aquabats! Super Show! has a devoted fanbase that has cemented the show as a pop culture phenom. We look forward to not only making it available for more fans to discover via streaming on Shout! Factory TV, but also taking advantage of the digital medium to give current fans new and unique ways to experience the show,” said Gene Pao, Shout’s SVP of Digital Enterprises. “As we actively expand our reach in streaming and digital platforms, acquisitions like this epitomize the fan-driven content we continually produce and pursue.”
About The Aquabats!
The Aquabats!, formed in 1994 in Orange County as a way to have some harmless fun in a music scene that took itself too seriously. Their Paul Frank designed “power belts,” trademark rash guards, black eye masks, “anti-negativity” helmets and onstage antics quickly caught on, earning the group a fiercely loyal following that spans generations. Their line-up and music is continuously evolving, including Blink 182’s Travis Barker as former drummer “Baron Von Tito.”
In 2012, the band debuted The Aquabats! Super Show!, a live-action musical action comedy television series which aired on the Hub Network. The show received eight multiple Daytime EMMY nominations and one win.
To date, The Aquabats’ music library includes The Return of the Aquabats (1996), The Fury of the Aquabats! (1997), The Aquabats vs. The Floating Eye of Death (1999), Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 (2000), Yo! Check Out This Ride! (EP, 2004) Charge!! (2005), Radio Down! (EP, 2010), Hi-Five Soup! (2011), and 2020’s newest addition – full studio album Kooky Spooky… In Stereo!
Current members are Christian Jacobs as “The MC Bat Commander” (lead singer), Chad Larson as “Crash McLarson” (bass, vocals), Ian Fowles as “Eaglebones Falconhawk” (guitar), Richard Falomir as “Ricky Fitness” (drums), and James Briggs, as “Jimmy the Robot” (keyboards, woodwinds, vocals).
About Shout! Factory TV
Shout! Factory TV is a digital entertainment streaming service that brings timeless and contemporary cult favorites to pop culture fans. Shout! Factory TV offers an unrivaled blend of original programming and TV shows and movies curated from major studios, independent producers and its own distinctive entertainment library. The Shout! Factory TV family of channels also includes Mystery Science Theater 3000 and TokuSHOUTsu™, with more to come soon. Shout! Factory TV provides an immersive, high-quality viewing experience across a wide variety of platforms: online at ShoutFactoryTV.com, on smartphone devices, tablets and connected TV, and via apps on the Roku player, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV. Shout! Factory TV is also available as a branded channel on Amazon Prime Channels, Comcast Xfinity, Pluto TV, Redbox, Roku Premium Subscriptions, Samsung TV Plus, STIRR, Tubi, Twitch, Vizio and XUMO among others. For more information, please visit ShoutFactoryTV.com.
