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Hilda’s Second Act! No Sophomore Slump: Hilda returns to Netflix with a second season packed with magical creatures, adventures and gentle humor.
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hen Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks’ animated series Hilda premiered on Netflix back in September of 2018, audiences quickly fell In love with its fearless, blue-haired protagonist, her deerfox Twig and the strange and fantastic characters that inhabit creator Luke Pearson’s wonderful universe. The Annie and Emmy-winning show is coming back for its second season this month, so we thought it would be a great time to catch up with some of its talented creative team to find out what’s in store for our favorite heroine. Here is what creator/co-exec producer Luke Pearson, headwriter/co-exec producer Stephanie Simpson, series producer Bryan Korn, director Andy Coyle and Netflix director of original animation Dominique Bazay told us in a recent email roundtable!
Find out everything you needed to know about the second season of Netflix’s acclaimed animated show!
strengths and their flaws. But, such is the life of a writer-adventurer! Luke Pearson: There was less of an immediate road map. Season one adapted and expanded four comic stories, but season two only had one existing comic to adapt. So, we had to come up with a lot more original stuff. And because we began writing before season one launched, I think another challenge was figuring out the best way forward before we had any feedback on the first season.
Animag: We are all very excited about the second season of Hilda. Can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect to see this time around? Stephanie Simpson: Hilda is going to deal with a real antagonist for the first time, someone who’s so pompous that he’s ridiculous, but so powerhungry that he’s more dangerous than your average angry troll! And if you’re a deerfox fan — and who isn’t? — then prepare to see Twig in a whole new light! Bryan Korn: In this season, we delve deeper into the magic of Hilda’s world, exploring ghost ships, witches’ mazes and islands that are actually sea monsters. You can also expect to hear an all-new soundtrack of licensed songs featuring Orville Peck, Stereolab and Frankie Cosmos.
What do you think it is about Hilda and her universe that has struck such a chord with audiences worldwide? Simpson: There’s so much to love about Hilda and her universe, but for me, I think it’s the unique balance of the epic adventure moments and the quiet, authentic character moments. And there are no throwaway characters in Hilda’s universe. Every single being — human, elf, troll or otherwise — is treated with respect and with the goal of understanding their point of view, even if that point of view is different from yours — especially if it’s different from yours! Pearson: People seem to really respond to the cozy feel. And I think there is something to the fact that when you take out the creatures, Hilda’s world is quite easy to bring to life with a bit of imagination. I often see kids doing Hilda-inspired activities, going into the woods and so on. Korn: Hilda’s lovingly drawn animation and limited color palette cut a striking figure in today’s animation landscape.
Second seasons of hugely popular shows can be tough. What were your biggest challenges? Simpson: Staying fearless like Hilda in our storytelling and being willing to take the characters to new places while remaining true to their
Did you have any idea the show was going to be such a huge critical and commercial hit? Pearson: No, but then I didn’t really know what to expect and generally I try to keep my expectations pretty grounded. I felt that it was good and that
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it should be a hit! I think the show skews a bit younger than some of the shows people were preemptively comparing it to, so I was worried there might be some disappointment there, but I never really saw any of that. Korn: We knew that Hilda would find a strong audience in viewers who were hungry for fierce female heroes leading adventure stories, which was rare at the time we were developing the series. But we could not have anticipated that the enthusiasm would come from such a broad spectrum: kids and parents, animation lovers, fantasy fans, troll enthusiasts. Bazay: The pitch for Hilda was unique. Kurt Mueller [EVP Creative Content at Silvergate Media] and his team always put a special touch on the materials they share. This time the pitch came with a vinyl record, pressed especially, with reference music for the show. It was pretty effective, we could immediately imagine how Luke Pearson’s incredibly rich art would translate to animation. Stephanie Simpson as a head writer just made it even more exciting. We engage with every project we make in hopes that our members will find joy in it. This was a great start! How many people work on the series? Korn: The Hilda creative team spans many time zones; we were “Zooming” before it was cool. There’s writing in L.A., animation in Ottawa, the producing team in New York, the cast in London and Luke powering everything from his home in Nottingham. The series benefits from diverse points of view across each stage, making Trolberg feel true and vibrant without being fixed in a real time and place. Andy Coyle: There’s a lot of moving parts at all times when in production, over 130 artists in different phases put the show together.
january 21
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