Transformers: EarthSpark

Transformers: EarthSpark is an animated children's television series based on the Transformers toyline by Hasbro. It was developed by Dale Malinowski, Ant Ward and Nicole Dubuc for the streaming service Paramount+ and sister cable network Nickelodeon. The series premiered on November 11, 2022 and was produced by Entertainment One in partnership with Nickelodeon Animation Studio, with animation services provided by Icon Creative Studio. A second season, produced by Hasbro Entertainment, premiered on June 7, 2024.

Premise
Fifteen years after the space bridge to Cybertron is destroyed, ending the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, the Malto family relocates from Philadelphia to the small town of Witwicky, Pennsylvania. There, young Robby and Mo Malto witness the birth of a new breed of Earth-born Transformers called Terrans, who become emotionally bonded to the two via special cyber-sleeves on their arms. Now adopted into the family and being mentored by Bumblebee, the Terrans work with the Autobots, the former Decepticon leader Megatron, the organization G.H.O.S.T., and the children to protect their new life from the remaining rogue Decepticons and other villains while finding their place in the world.

Season 2 starts one year later. A group of Decepticons led by Starscream goes rogue sometime after the shattering of the Emberstone. It is up to the Terrans, the Autobots, the humans, and those Decepticons on their side (namely Megatron) to collect the shards before those Decepticons that sided with Starscream do. This leads to the creation of the Chaos Terrans and the discovery of some secrets about Witwicky itself.

Terrans

 * Twitch Malto (voiced by Kathreen Khavari in the TV series, Farah Rishi in Expedition) is an inquisitive and competitive Terran Transformer and Robby's partner. She transforms into a flying Cybertronian drone and her weapons are a pair of laser blades.
 * Thrash Malto (voiced by Zeno Robinson in the TV series, Chris Long in Expedition) is a fun-loving and impulsive Terran Transformer and Mo's partner. He transforms into a motorcycle with a sidecar that also serves as a shield and a throwing disk.
 * Hashtag Malto (voiced by Stephanie Lemelin in the TV series, Lauren Weisman in Expedition) is an excitable media-savvy second-generation Terran Transformer. She transforms into a G.H.O.S.T. surveillance van. While she does not have a weapon, she makes up for it with the ability to hack into electronic systems via wireless networks. In season 2, she switches her alt mode to that of a pickup truck due to her viewing her previous form obsolete.
 * Jawbreaker Malto (voiced by Cyrus Arnold in the TV series, Bill Rogers in Expedition) is a sensitive second-generation Terran Transformer. He transforms into a Stygimoloch (now referred to as a younger Pachycephalosaurus) making him the Dinobot of the group. Though he does not have a weapon, he makes up for it with brute strength and durability.
 * Nightshade Malto (voiced by Z Infante in the TV series, Aaron Landon in Expedition) is a creative and scientifically minded second-generation Terran Transformer. Nightshade is the first character in Transformers to be identified as non-binary. They transform into a Northern hawk-owl and their weapons are a pair of greaves on their forearms that function as blades and dart launchers while also having clawed fingers.

Autobots

 * Optimus Prime (voiced by Alan Tudyk in the TV series, Bill Rogers in Expedition) is the leader of the Autobots. He transforms into a semi-trailer truck. He is one of the Cybertronians to be successfully brought back to life by Robby and Mo's cyber-sleeves in the episode, "The Last Hope, Part 2".
 * Bumblebee (voiced by Danny Pudi in the TV series, Joe Zieja in Expedition) is a former Autobot scout and currently Autobot veteran in hiding who becomes the Terrans' mentor. He transforms into a yellow sports car with black racing stripes, though it was shown he originally scanned a similarly colored Compact car.
 * Elita-1 (voiced by Cissy Jones) is the Autobots' second-in-command. She transforms into an all-terrain SUV. She is one of the Cybertronians to be brought back to life by Robby and Mo Malto's cyber-sleeves in "The Last Hope, Part 2".
 * Wheeljack (voiced by Michael T. Downey) is an Autobot mechanic engineer inventor and scientist. He transforms into a rally car. Wheeljack was responsible for the drones that were scanned by Twitch who would later nickname him "Dad 2". He is one of the Cybertronians successfully brought back to life by Robby and Mo's cyber-sleeves.
 * Arcee (voiced by Martha Marion) is an Autobot soldier. She transforms into a muscle car. She is among the Cybertronians to be successfully restored to life by Robby and Mo Malto's cyber-sleeves.
 * Grimlock (voiced by Keith David in the TV series, Barron Bass in Expedition) is a Dinobot warrior who transforms into a Tyrannosaurus. In the first part of the episode "Home", Grimlock was mind-controlled by Mandroid in fighting in an illegal Bot Brawl. After the Autobots freed Grimlock and ended the illegal Bot Brawl, they found that Grimlock had already left. In "A Stygi Situation" after recovering from the mind-control, Grimlock becomes Jawbreaker's mentor, especially after the Terran becomes a Dinobot and seeks help in controlling his beast mode.
 * Cosmos (voiced by Al Yankovic) is an Autobot who was kept trapped in his alt mode by Fairmeastro until he was freed by the Malto's. He transforms into a flying saucer that served as a carnival ride.

Decepticons

 * Megatron (voiced by Rory McCann) is the former leader of the Decepticons and member of the Autobots who has renounced his evil ways to ensure the survival of the Cybertronians by sending the Allspark through the Space Bridge to Cybertron and has occasionally collaborated with Dorothy Malto. This move put Megatron at odds with some of the Decepticons. This incarnation speaks in a Scottish-accent and transforms into an armored tiltrotor which pays homage to "Animated".
 * Swindle and Hardtop (both voiced by Nolan North) are a pair of criminal Decepticon brothers. They transform into an SUV and a dune buggy respectively. Swindle was detained and Hardtop's right arm was stolen by Mandroid into a prosthetic replacement for his own. When Mandroid got away after his first fight with the Autobots, Hardtop was among those detained as he claims to Megatron that he was not himself. Swindle would later try to dupe Thrash and Mo into helping find Hardtop by stealing the Energon Scanner only to be repelled by Bumblebee. Hardtop was among those accidentally freed by Hashtag as G.H.O.S.T. worked to contain him and the other escapees. In "Disarmed" and "What Dwells Within", Swindle was detained and placed in G.H.O.S.T. custody where he tried to escape with Starscream, Soundwave, Skywarp, and Nova Storm only to be thwarted by a forcefield barrier. In "The Last Hope", Swindle and Hardtop are among the Decepticons that help the Autobots fight Mandroid.
 * Skullcruncher is a Croctobot who is in the possession of Mandroid and can transform into a crocodile. He was later put into G.H.O.S.T. custody after his defeat by the Maltos and Autobots. Skullcruncher was among those accidentally freed by Hashtag as G.H.O.S.T. worked to contain him and the other escapees. He was defeated by Bumblebee. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 1, Skullcruncher was freed by Nightshade and Twitch and left where he was unwilling to help fight Mandroid.
 * Soundwave (voiced by Sean Kenin) is a Decepticon who works with his cassette-bots minions. He transforms into a stealth Cybertronian aircraft and has a particular grudge against Megatron, believing he has abandoned the Decepticons. Soundwave was among those that were accidentally freed by Hashtag as G.H.O.S.T. worked to contain him and the other escapees. In "What Dwells Within," Soundwave tried to escape with Starscream, Soundwave, Skywarp, and Nova Storm only to be thwarted by a forcefield barrier. In "The Last Hope", Soundwave was among the Decepticons that help the Autobots and the Terrans fight Mandroid.
 * Ravage is one of Soundwave's mini-cassette minions, taking on a black panther-like robot mode.
 * Laserbeak (voiced by Jake Green) is one of Soundwave's mini-cassette minions, taking on a bird-like robot mode.
 * Frenzy (voiced by Tiana Camacho) is one of Soundwave's mini-cassette minions and the only one with a traditionally humanoid robot mode.
 * Starscream (voiced by Steve Blum) is a Decepticon who transforms into a jet, formerly serving as the faction's Air Commander in the great war. After the war ended, Starscream was seen in the custody of G.H.O.S.T. by the time Soundwave was incarcerated. In "What Dwells Within", Starscream escapes from G.H.O.S.T. custody alongside Skywarp and Nova Storm. After Starscream and Hashtag were saved from the Dweller, Starscream teleported away after Megatron offered him, Skywarp, and Nova Storm a safe place. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 2, Starscream was among the Decepticons who helped the Autobots and the Terrans fight Mandroid. He does try to get revenge on Megatron before Mandroid's super-weapon briefly deactivates him. Starscream is one of the Cybertronians to be revived by Robby and Mo Malto's cyber-sleeves. He later becomes the new leader of the Decepticons in season 2, though he is secretly using them for his own personal gain. His treachery is revealed to the Decepticons in "Witwicky" Pt. 2. Blum reprises his role from Transformers: Prime and Robots in Disguise.
 * Skywarp and Nova Storm (both voiced by Nicole Dubuc in the TV series, Alex Cazares in Expedition) are a pair of Decepticon Seekers forced to work for Mandroid. They both transform into jets. Skywarp can teleport. Nova Storm wanted to be an Autobot, but Skywarp talked her out of it. In "What Dwells Within," Skywarp and Nova Storm escape from G.H.O.S.T. custody with Starscream. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 2, Skywarp and Nova Storm are among the Decepticons that help the Autobots and the Terrans fight Mandroid.
 * Tarantulas (voiced by Alfie Allen) is a Decepticon scientist who transforms into a tarantula. Residing under a Witwicky cemetery, Tarantulas wants to be left alone and is shown to be caring when it comes to protoforms. He even gives Nightshade some advice regarding alt-modes. Tarantulas' look in this show is based on his Transmetal form from Beast Wars: Transformers.
 * Breakdown (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) is a Stunticon who is one of a few Decepticons to renounce his evil ways and is close friends with Bumblebee. He transforms into a race car and ended up in GHOST custody as of episode 14 "Security Protocols" as he sacrifices himself to save Bumblebee. In "The Last Hope", Breakdown is among the Decepticons that help the Autobots and the Terrans fight Mandroid.
 * Shockwave (voiced by Troy Baker) is the Decepticons' former chief scientist who has a vendetta against Megatron ever since he sided against the Autobots in keeping the Allspark safe and trapping him in stasis. He transforms into a Cybertronian four-legged walking tank and has referred to the Terrans as "Cybrids". In "The Last Hope", Shockwave was briefly drained of his Energon by Mandroid. He was among the Cybertronians that were revived by the cyber-sleeves of Robby and Mo.
 * Brawl is a Decepticon who was forced to fight in an illegal Bot Brawl for Energon to survive. He was later found to have been drained of his Energon alongside the other captive Cybertronians. This was caused by Mandroid who took his left arm.

Insecticons
The Insecticons are Cybertronians that have insect-based beast modes and can create holographic clones.


 * Shrapnel is an Insecticon who is in the possession of Mandroid and can transform into a stag beetle. He was later put into G.H.O.S.T. custody after his defeat by the Maltos and the Autobots. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 1, Shrapnel was freed by Nightshade and Twitch where he was uninterested in helping to fight Mandroid.
 * Bombshell is an Insecticon who is in the possession of Mandroid and can transform into a Japanese rhinoceros beetle. He was later put into G.H.O.S.T. custody after his defeat by the Maltos and the Autobots. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 1, Bombshell was freed by Nightshade and Twitch where he was uninterested in helping to fight Mandroid.

Chaos Terrans
The Chaos Terrans are Earth-based Transformers created by corrupted Emberstone shards. They're like Predacons from Transformers: Prime, except that they have no leader.
 * Aftermath (voiced by Flea) is a Chaos Terran who was created by a corrupted shard from the Emberstone and can transform into a tow truck.
 * Spitfire (voiced by Zelda Williams) is a Chaos Terran who was created by a corrupted shard from the Emberstone and shares a strong resemblance to Twitch. Like her, she also transforms into a flying Cybertronian drone.

Humans

 * Robby Malto (voiced by Sydney Mikayla in the TV series, Joshua Evans in Expedition) is a 13-year-old boy (14 in Season 2) adjusting to his new life after being forced to move to a small town.
 * Morgan Violet "Mo" Malto (voiced by Zion Broadnax in the TV series, Tunisia Hardison in Expedition) is Robby's optimistic 9-year-old sister (10 in Season 2).
 * Dorothy "Dot" Malto (voiced by Benni Latham) is Robby and Mo's mother and Alex's wife, who is a park ranger and ex-soldier. In "Age of Evolution" Pt. 1, it is revealed she has lost her right leg in the great Cybertronian war and sports a prosthetic leg. Dot is also a member of G.H.O.S.T.
 * Dr. Alex Malto (portrayed by Jon Jon Briones in the TV series, Alex Christian in Expedition) is Robby and Mo's father and Dot's husband who is a college professor with a Ph.D. in Cybertronian History.
 * Mandroid / Dr. Meridian (voiced by Diedrich Bader in the TV series, Bill Rogers in Expedition) is a mad scientist and roboticist who seeks to destroy all Cybertronians. His real name is Dr. Meridian and was given the nickname "Mandroid" against his wishes by Thrash. Mandroid had lost his original right arm in the Cybertronian war back when he used to work for G.H.O.S.T. and begins replacing his body parts with those of the Transformers he captures like Hardtop's right arm and Brawl's left arm. Mandroid was later approached by Croft where she allowed him to use one of the G.H.O.S.T. facilities. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 1, Mandroid recruits two Sharkticons to his side and later kills Croft. In "The Last Hope" Pt. 2, Mandroid activated a super-weapon to shut down all Cybertronian lifeforms and died due to the side effect of energon infusion making him vulnerable to said weapon while falsely believing that he won. His victory was short-lived, as Robby and Mo Malto used their cyber-sleeves to successfully revive all the Autobots, Decepticons and Terrans.
 * The Arachnamechs are the spider-like creations of Mandroid.
 * Mr. Smelt (voiced by Daran Norris) is a teacher at Witwicky Charter School.
 * Isabel/Izzy (voiced by Siena Agudong) is a girl that Robby befriends at a carnival. It turns out they have a lot in common, and it may be implied that he has a crush on her.
 * Fairmaestro (voiced by Richard Ayoade) is a collector of Cybertronian technologies and artifacts, whom he keeps in his tent at the carnival.

G.H.O.S.T.
Short for Global Hazard Ordinance Strike Team, this human organization has the goal of rebuilding the relationship between humans and the Cybertronians. Besides Dot, the known members of G.H.O.S.T. are:


 * Executive Agent Karen Croft (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a high-ranking member of G.H.O.S.T. She is shown to be obsessed with keeping the rogue Decepticons from causing havoc where she even went far as to secretly be behind an illegal Bot Brawl and secretly allow Mandroid to access some of the Decepticon prisoners in one of the G.H.O.S.T. facilities as seen in "Home" Pt. 2. Croft's treachery is revealed in "Stowed Away, Stowaways". She is subsequently killed by Mandroid in "The Last Hope" Pt. 1 where he used his super-weapon to disintegrate her due to the device he gave her had spiked her body with Energon.
 * Special Agent Jon "No H" Schloder (voiced by Marc Evan Jackson) is a member of G.H.O.S.T. and the brother of Agent Croft. While he is familiar with some of the Autobots and Megatron, he does get suspicious when it comes to the sighting of the Terran Transformers who are in the Malto family's possession and the fact that Bumblebee faked his death. He eventually figures out about the Terrans and that Bumblebee is still alive and also readily helps them defeat Mandroid.
 * Agent Bala (voiced by Krizia Bajos) is a member of G.H.O.S.T.
 * Agent Bhagheri (voiced by Kathreen Khavari) is a member of G.H.O.S.T.
 * Kwan (voiced by Sherry Cola) is a G.H.O.S.T. cadet. She is named and modeled after series storyboarder Alex Kwan.
 * Conway (voiced by Jason Marsden) is a G.H.O.S.T. cadet. He is named and modeled after series storyboarder J.J. Conway.
 * Rosato (voiced by Kaitlyn Robrock) is a G.H.O.S.T. cadet. She is named and modeled after series storyboarder Jordan Rosato.

Other

 * Quintus Prime (voiced by Clancy Brown) is an ancient Cybertronian and one of the original Thirteen Primes created by Primus who served as the scientist of the group. His artifact the Emberstone is responsible for bringing the Terrans (and other alien races) into existence as he is shown to speak through it.
 * The Sharkticons are a race of shark-like Cybertronian beings from another planet that were oppressed by an unnamed alien race until Mandroid liberated it.
 * Blitzwave (voiced by Nolan North) is a Sharkticon recruited by Mandroid in the two-part season one finale. Despite the fact that Blitzwave was deactivated by Mandroid's super-weapon, he was among those revived by Robby and Mo's cyber-sleeves.
 * Razor-Fin (voiced by Steve Blum) is a Sharkticon recruited by Mandroid recruited by Mandroid in the two-part season one finale. Despite the fact that Razor-Fin was deactivated by Mandroid's super-weapon, he was among those revived by Robby and Mo's cyber-sleeves.
 * V.A.L (Virtual Assistant Liasion) (voiced by Cissy Jones) is an AI who is part of Hashtag's new upgrade.
 * The Quintesson Executioner (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a Cybertronian being who has a bad history with Quintus Prime.
 * Terratronus (voiced by Claudia Black) is a Titan who is the progeny of Quintus Prime.

Production
In February 2021, Hasbro announced two animated series based on the Transformers brand. The first was a series based on the BotBots line for Netflix, and the other was a then-untitled series set to air on Nickelodeon in 2022. The animated series' official title, Transformers: EarthSpark, was revealed one year later with a release window set for the fourth quarter of 2022. In March 2022, it was announced that the series would debut on the Paramount+ streaming service in November 2022. The voice cast and a preview for the series was later revealed during the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. Owned and distributed by Hasbro, the series is a co-production between Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Entertainment One (later Hasbro Entertainment), for which Mikiel Houser and Kari Rosenberg, respectively, oversaw the production. It is executive-produced by Ant Ward, Nicole Dubuc and co-executive-produced by developer Dale Malinowski. Claudia Spinelli of Nickelodeon developed the series for television.

Release
The series consists of twenty-six episodes, the first ten of which debuted on Paramount+ in the U.S. on November 11, 2022. The second batch of episodes began streaming on March 3, 2023, bringing the total episode count to eighteen. The remaining episodes of season 1 were released on July 28, 2023. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which will premiere on June 7, 2024. The series was licensed to Netflix internationally in June 2023. The first ten episodes were released on DVD on May 16, 2023, by Paramount Home Entertainment. The rest of the sixteen episodes was released on DVD on February 13, 2024.

Video game
An action-adventure game developed by Tessera Studios, titled Transformers: EarthSpark – Expedition, was revealed in June 2023 by its publisher Outright Games. The game received a North and South American release on October 13, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows via Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S. A single-player video game, the player controls Bumblebee and can explore three biomes in a three-dimensional environment with the goal of defeating the villain Mandroid. Bumblebee uses physical attacks and attack combos to defeat enemies and enhance his skills.

Controversy
In May 2023, the character Nightshade and their designation as non-binary received strong backlash. The controversy arose on Twitter, where the account Libs of TikTok shared a clip from the episode "Home" which showed Nightshade talking to a human character named Sam (voiced by Alisha Mullally), who uses she/they pronouns. During the conversation, Sam addressed Nightshade as "non-binary", leading to Nightshade's confusion as they didn't know the term. Sam apologized and explained that non-binary people identify as neither male nor female, to which Nightshade expressed gratitude and excitement on learning a word that accurately describes their experience.

Several commentators, such as Megyn Kelly slammed the series for the show's LGBT message. Laura Ingraham likewise panned the show on The Ingraham Angle for teaching children about being non-binary and it feeling incredibly ham-fisted and forced. In Japan, there was controversy surrounding Nightshade being referred to as a female. The scene with Nightshade explaining their gender was later edited out of the BBC airing of the episode.