Six gifted middle schoolers are invited to a mysterious island in the Caribbean to attend what they believe is an academic summer camp. However, they soon discover this is a ruse orchestrated by Dr. Lullah, a mad scientist who lives on the island. Unable to leave for three months, the kids must contend with the island's fantastical and dangerous mutant flora and fauna, much of which has been created by Dr. Lullah.[3][4]
Voice cast
Tania Gunadi as Pliny,[5] a creative, resourceful, and inventive girl.
Zosia Mamet as Merian,[5] a cautious and anxious yet brilliant girl.
Gabourey Sidibe as Francis,[5] a calm and collected oddball who seems to keep to herself and go at her own pace.
Charlyne Yi as Larry,[6] a fun, quirky, and upbeat boy who is fond of bugs and adventure.
Zach Reino as Chip Manhands,[6] a nerdy boy who proclaims to be masculine and overly confident. His real name is Drewnipper Hedgemaze.
Deborah Baker Jr. as Sara,[6] a chubby, nerdy, and headstrong girl who isn't afraid to use force.
Lorraine Toussaint as Dr. Lullah,[5] an egotistical and intelligent mad scientist who tricked the kids into coming to her island to do her work for her. She is also responsible for creating the mutants that roam the island. She has lived on the island for years with Mr. Okay before the kids' arrival.
Jake Green as Mr. Okay,[2] a dog mutant who is the assistant of Dr. Lullah. He got his name after Lullah took his acceptance of her as "an okay" from him.
The kids arrive at Dr. Lullah's mysterious summer camp and attempt to find a crystal so she can fix her laser.
The kids are forced to challenge the mutants, who stole their food in a 'dog eat dog' style.
2
"The Nannytee"
Hannah Ayoubi
Liz Hara
Madeleine Flores & Sonja von Marensdorff
January 11, 2025 (2025-01-11)
103
TBD
"Noodle It (A Little Bit)"
Jon Millstein
Rose Feduk & Kaitlyn Graziano
Dr. Lullah creates a manatee-nanny hybrid to watch over the kids while working on her jet ski, but Francis is suspicious about it.
Pliny teaches Larry to noodle, but it turns into havoc when Larry develops a massive ego over it.
3
"Diorama Drama"
Erica Jones
Jon Millstein
Rose Feduk & Kaitlyn Graziano
January 19, 2025 (2025-01-19)
101
TBD
"Goat Racket"
Hannah Ayoubi
Amalia Levari
Nathan Bulmer & Ron Stanage
When the kids explore a vending machine, they fall into a room housing a diorama of Dr. Lullah's island, but the figurines come to life whenever they are put in the diorama and cause havoc on the actual island like voodoo dolls, so Pliny must fight a Pteranodon figure to get it out of the diorama and stop havoc on the island.
The kids encounter multicolored beans that attract Sara. After coming across numerous grey ones, she plays a trick that causes Larry to give all his beans to her. She begins feeling guilty about it, so she orchestrates another scam to give Larry his beans back, but it turns the tables on Larry when he gets attacked by goats.
4
"Breakfast at Chippany's"
Erica Jones
Jon Millstein
Nathan Bulmer & Ron Stanage
January 19, 2025 (2025-01-19)
104
TBD
"Birdyguard"
Steve Wolfhard
Janice Chun & Sunil Hall
Derek Evanick & Diana Lafyatis
Trying to make the best breakfast in the world, Chip searches for ingredients and befriends a shopkeeper who traps him and his friends in a cave full of mushrooms.
Larry befriends a baby lizard but must protect it from a night heron trying to eat it.
After Chip reads a Nils Vulfren comic, he dedicates himself to survival but pushes his tactics too far.
When Merian's adoptive "sister" (a dolphin) named Tara visits the kids, Merian becomes extremely jealous.
6
"Moon Moon"
Hannah Ayoubi
Jon Millstein
Madeleine Flores & Sonja von Marensdorff
January 26, 2025 (2025-01-26)
106
TBD
"Mailbog"
Erica Jones
Amalia Levari
Derek Evanick & Diana Lafyatis
Sara is sent to the moon by Dr. Lullah to stop a rover from drawing a rear on the moon.
Francis and the kids deliver letters to an uncanny place.
7
"Finders Kelpers"
Hannah Ayoubi
Amalia Levari & Jessica Combs
Gina Gress
February 2, 2025 (2025-02-02)
108
TBD
"Truck Everlasting"
Erica Jones
Ben Crouse
Rose Feduk & Kaitlyn Graziano
Pliny teams up with a tribe of sentient kelp to take back their stuff from Dr. Lullah.
After Dr. Lullah entrusts Sara with the title of "Mud Puppy", Mr. Okay worries that she would replace him.
8
"Alpha Betta Chip"
TBA
TBA
TBA
February 9, 2025 (2025-02-09)
107
TBD
"The Bomb Swapper"
9
"The Wolf of Jealousy"
TBA
TBA
TBA
February 16, 2025 (2025-02-16)
109
TBD
"Stench Mensch"
10
"Francis Wants to Be Alone"
TBA
TBA
TBA
February 23, 2025 (2025-02-23)
110
TBD
"The Sash"
Production
Development
In 2019, Ryan Gillis pitched to Disney Television Animation a series inspired by the time he took a study-abroad course during college, in which they were free to do as they wanted outside of class. The series was greenlit in 2022, with production starting in 2023.[9] Gillis settled on the title StuGo after finding it on Google and feeling it fit with the show's themes.[10]
StuGo was announced on June 13, 2023.[6] The series is produced by Titmouse, Inc.[5] and directed by Sunil Hall.[3] Gillis serves as the executive producer along with Hall, while Craig Lewis is story editor.[11]
Writing
The series focuses primarly on episodic storytelling, with the writers wanting each episode to "stand on its own" as a way to provide further access to audiences, while also incorporating continuity and world building across the episodes.[10] Gillis wanted the humor to focus primarly on knowing more about the characters,[10] with a lot of the humor centering on the friction between the cast as they deal with their current situation.[12]
Casting
During the series' announcement, it was reported that Tania Gunadi, Zosia Mamet, Gabourey Sidibe, Charlyne Yi, Zach Reino, Deborah Baker Jr., and Lorraine Toussaint would compose its main cast,[5] with Jake Green announced as part of the cast in December 2024.[2] The series occasionally features guest characters who were written with a particular actor in mind as an "archetype" for the character.[10] Kristi Reed is also served as a voice director on the show.[13]
Animation
Animation services for the series were provided by Titmouse and Snipple Animation Studios, while Sam Bosma served as art director.[9] The visual style for the show was inspired by the Caribbean and South Florida, with Gillis wanting to avoid depicting a romantized depiction of tropical life by depicting the buildings as degrated due to the environment. He also wanted Dr. Lullah's technology to be distinctive from other shows with mad scientists by incorporating "plaster, Spanish tile and art deco flourishes" to them.[9] Inspirations for the series' mutants include adventure serials such as Johnny Quest and the works of Ray Harryhausen, as well as Gillis' life in Florida.[10]
Release
The series premiered on January 11, 2025,[2][14] and is scheduled to be available on Disney+ in the spring of 2025.[15][16] The series was originally scheduled to premiere on October 17, 2024.[17]
^ abcdeO'Rourke, Ryan (December 4, 2024). "Prepare for Unrestricted Summer Camp Adventure in StuGo Trailer [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024. Collider can exclusively reveal the official trailer for the new sci-fi series and share that it will debut on January 11, following a preview on January 1 through the channel's "Sneako Peako" programming stunt.
^critic, Jackson MurphyJackson Murphy is a movie; Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, entertainment columnist He is the creator of the website; Television, Has Made Numerous Appearances on; radio. (2025-01-06). "INTERVIEW: Gear Up For "StuGo"". Animation Scoop. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
