Chikn Nuggit is an American animated web series on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and later YouTube created by Kyra Kupetsky. The series follows Chikn Nuggit and his animal friends in their various, mainly comedic, antics.[1] Since its initial release in October 2020, according to Genius Brands (now Kartoon Studios), Chikn Nuggit has included over three-hundred 15-20 second long shorts and over eight million followers and a billion views on TikTok, X, YouTube and Instagram,[2][3][4][1][5] entertaining fans worldwide with its "sweet and surreal adventures",[6] and has even released a merchandise line.[7]
Synopsis
The series follows a long-eared, yellow dog named Chikn Nuggit and his fast food-named animal friends getting into their sweet and sometimes spooky and surreal comedic adventures and antics he and his friends get into.[1]
Voice cast and characters
Main characters
Kyra Kupetsky as Chikn Nuggit, a weird, but good-natured long-eared male dog. Chikn is later revealed to be the Demigod of Chaos, destined to break the fabric of reality, but defects from it.
Vivian Nweze as Cheezborger "Chee", a cheerful, but sometimes shy female calico cat who wears a cheeseburger hat and Chikn Nuggit's best friend. She is currently dating Cofi.
Nate Charpentier as Iscream, a terrifying genderless demon disguised as a cute rabbit who loves causing chaos, "Iscream" is not their real name.
Carolina Reynoso as Slushi, a kind-hearted, nerdy female Arctic fox.
Cristina Vee as Fwench Fwy, a sweet, magical genderless wish dragon and Iscream's partner, "Fwench Fwy" is not their real name.
Elisabeth Riley as Cofi, a literal, mysterious female sheep in wolf's clothing and Chee's girlfriend.
Kellen Goff as Bezel, a personification of the Doomsday Clock who has come to reveal to Chikn his true nature. Despite being a main character, he wasn't part of the group until 2024.[8][9]
Recurring characters
Nick Butera as Hawt Saus, a formerly obnoxious male squirrel.
Kevie Santos as Sassparilla, Sody Pop's mother.
Kyra Kupetsky as Milkshek, Slushi's friend who can't seem to stop dating bad partners until she eventually started dating Old Pea.
Matt Pierce as Old Pea, an old, green newt-like creature who is wealthy from his social media and is currently dating Milkshek.[9]
Katsup and Meowstard, Cheezborger's younger siblings
Kellen Goff as Iscream's Overlord, their master
Fwench Fwy's Overlord, their master and the opposite of Iscream's Overlord
History and production
On October 15, 2020, Kyra Kupetsky, the lead animator of BuzzFeed's Animation Lab, premiered the series on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram[10] as a part of a few animated web series owned by BuzzFeed, such as The Land of Boggs.
In 2022, the show debuted on YouTube, as part of the YouTube Shorts platform. Occasionally, long-form videos are exclusively posted there.
On February 4, 2023, Genius Brands International, Inc through its Frederator Networks subsidiary proposed a deal to BuzzFeed's Animation Labs that they would develop and produce a series based on the original works from BuzzFeed’s Animation Labs into extended series, which included Chikn Nuggit in consideration because of its rapid growth in popularity, gathering over 7 million followers.[11]
Michael Hirsh, CEO of Wow Unlimited Media, the parent company of Frederator Network, stated on the project: "We are pleased further to expand our roster of original animated series with BuzzFeed, giving the global fans of wildly popular IP, such as Chikn Nuggit, more of what they love."[3]
Zee Myers, Head of BuzzFeed Animation Lab, also commented: "Millions of fans have let us know that they need the Chikn Nuggit animated series! We can’t wait to continue expanding our content universe for our global community in partnership with Frederator, a pioneer in animation and television."[3]
On June 23, 2023, Genius Brands confirmed and started development on Chikn Nuggit into making it into a "premium content series."[12] It became the second IP in development since the deal, after The Land of Boggs.[2] A release date is yet to be announced.[12]
As of January 2024, the release schedule of the shorts has been every Monday and Friday, with exceptions for when key members are at convention panels or similar events, and other occasional disturbances.[13]
Notes
^Additional work done by Erin Chack and Allison Mehner
^Additional work done by Allison Mehner, Danny A. Reyes, Emily Zullo, and Meredith Kesh
