Craig of the Creek is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode premiered on the Cartoon Network app on December 1, 2017, and the first episode of its first season ("Itch to Explore") was previewed there on February 19, 2018, before officially premiering on Cartoon Network on March 30 of that year, alongside its second episode ("You're It"). The season consisted of 40 episodes of 11 minutes each and concluded on March 11, 2019.
The second season ran from March 18, 2019, until June 11, 2020, and totaled 40 episodes, of which two ("The Other Side" and "Craig and the Kid's Table") are double-length. The third season premiered with a double-length episode ("The Other Side: The Tournament") on June 21, 2020. The fourth season premiered with a special episode ("The Legend of the Library"). During the course of the series, 180 episodes of Craig of the Creek aired over six seasons, between March 30, 2018, and January 25, 2025. Additionally, five shorts were aired in late 2019.
The Stump Kids encounter a robot boy named Deltron (Del the Funky Homosapien) who claims to be from the year 3030 where his robot superiors are oppressive against his kind. Deltron asks for the gang's help in getting more music to power him and save the future.
The Stump Kids learn from the Witches about the legend of No-Neck Natthew, a boy who ate popping candy and drank soda at the same time, causing his head to explode. Later, Kit collects on Creek Kids' candy debt, under threat of being banned from the Trading Tree. The Stump Kids, joined by Jessica, plan to trick-or-treat as much as possible to clear themselves, but must take a detour through the Creek, where No-Neck Natthew supposedly resides. Meanwhile, Bobby haunts an unprepared Duane, who quickly runs out of candy.
When Duane forgets the trailer for his children's camping trip, he suddenly gets a surprise visit from his brother Darnell, who is camping in a high tech RV he rented along with his children. Wanting to keep his title as "The King of Camping", Duane takes Craig and Bryson out to show how to camp properly while the rest have trouble using the modern amenities.
The Stump Kids imagine an alternate reality where they are not friends. In an alternate version of "Itch to Explore", Craig is a member of the Junior Forest Scouts, Kelsey and a rat version of Mortimor are members of the Ninja Kids and J.P. is with the Paintball Kids. Dissatisfied with their groups, they team up to explore the patch of poison ivy in the center of the Creek.
After two weeks of Winter Break, Craig returns to the Creek to find it abandoned, save for Kit and Bobby. He eventually finds J.P. and a very feral Kelsey who are both mad at him as he spent his two weeks playing a new video game he got for Christmas instead of heading to the Creek to play with them. As they argue, they are alerted by the Green Poncho that King Xavier and his forces from the Other Side are launching their attack. Outnumbered and out-snowballed, Craig, Kelsey and J.P. cannot mend their split as war continues to loom over them and the Creek.
J.P. accidentally destroys his jersey. His father sends him a new one from Canada, but it is blue instead of orange. A couple of hockey kids take to his new look and recruit him into their group. However, when he learns that the recruitment is permanent, Craig, Kelsey and Bobby must quickly learn to play on the ice in order to free J.P. from his obligation.
Notes:
Eliza lists off the latest fashion trends which causes the Stump Kids to be self conscious. Craig tries to make a fake Ducci Bag, but Nicole buys a real one and he takes it to the Creek, only for Eliza to ruin it. Nicole is angry, but tells Craig that he should be comfortable with how he dresses. On the day of the Creek fashion show, Craig shows his casual clothes, impressing everyone.
Craig, Cannonball, Sparkle Cadet, and Diane are challenged by the latter's former double dutch team led by Brittani. They are trained by Nicole, but when she learns they are training out of revenge, she warns them that it will lead them nowhere. They attend the challenge and despite losing, Brittani's team congratulate them on the effort and Brittani apologizes to Diane for how she acted.
In January 2022, it was reported that Cartoon Network had greenlit development of Craig of the Creek: The Movie. The film was said to be a prequel to the series.[135] In September 2023, it was confirmed that the film would release some time later that year.[136] In November 2023, the film's trailer, release date, and finalized title were revealed. Craig Before the Creek was released on digital platforms by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on December 11, 2023. It premiered on Cartoon Network on January 13, 2024, and was released on DVD on March 26, 2024.[137][138]
On the streaming services Max and Hulu, these shorts are combined to make an episode titled "Creek Shorts," listed under season 3. They also take up the production code of one entire Craig episode.