Twisted Metal (TV series)

Twisted Metal is an American post-apocalyptic action comedy television series developed by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Michael Jonathan Smith. Based on the vehicular combat video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the series stars Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Seanoa, Will Arnett and Thomas Haden Church.

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, John Doe, a talkative milkman with amnesia, is given a mission to traverse the desolate United States to deliver a mysterious package with unknown contents. He faces a life-altering opportunity but must confront ruthless marauders in deadly and destructive vehicles to secure a chance at a better future.

Development by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions began in May 2019 with a full season being ordered by Peacock in February 2022. The first season filmed in New Orleans from May to August 2022, and was released on Peacock with all 10 episodes on July 27, 2023. A second season was greenlit in December 2023 and is set to film in Toronto in late 2024.

Main

 * Anthony Mackie as John Doe, a delivery driver with amnesia
 * Stephanie Beatriz as Quiet
 * Joe Seanoa and Will Arnett as Sweet Tooth, a psychotic killer clown. Seanoa performs the character, while Arnett provides his voice
 * Thomas Haden Church as Agent Stone, a former police officer that established a totalitarian rule over large areas of the western United States
 * Anthony Carrigan as Calypso (season 2), the creator and host of the Twisted Metal demolition derby tournament. Carrigan replaces Jared Bankens as Calypso, who portrayed the character physically with a voice double in season 1, like Sweet Tooth's performance.

Recurring

 * Richard Cabral as Loud
 * Jared Bankens as Shepard
 * Neve Campbell as Raven
 * Mike Mitchell as Stu
 * Tahj Vaughans as Mike
 * Jamie Neumann as Miranda Watts
 * Diany Rodriguez as Amber Rose
 * Angel Giuffria as Tinker
 * Chelle Ramos as Jamie Roberts
 * Michael Carollo as Carl Roberts

Guest

 * Lou Beatty Jr. as Tommy
 * Peg O'Keef as Granny Dread
 * Chloe Fineman as Bloody Mary
 * Creek Wilson as Mr. Slam
 * Jason Mantzoukas as Preacher
 * Richard de Klerk (season 2)
 * Patty Guggenheim (season 2)
 * Tiana Okoye (season 2)

Development
In May 2019, during an investor relations presentation, Sony Pictures Television confirmed that a television series based on the video game series, Twisted Metal, was in "advanced development" alongside PlayStation Productions. By February 2021, the series was announced with Will Arnett, Rhett Reese, Michael Jonathan Smith and Paul Wernick on board to executive produce. Smith serves as showrunner and wrote the series based on an original take by Reese and Wernick. In February 2022, the half-hour action-comedy was greenlit by Peacock. The following month, Kitao Sakurai joined the series as an executive producer in addition to directing multiple episodes. On December 7, 2023, Peacock renewed the series for a second season.

Casting and characters
In September 2021, Anthony Mackie serves as one of the executive producers and was the first to be cast. He plays John Doe, a "smart-ass milkman" with amnesia, who gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if he can survive the onslaught of vehicular combat. In May 2022, Stephanie Beatriz and Thomas Haden Church were cast in starring roles as Quiet and Agent Stone, respectively. Quiet is a car thief that forms an antagonistic bond with John Doe. Agent Stone is described as "a cold and unyielding post-apocalyptic highway patrolman who rules the roads". Neve Campbell was cast in a recurring role as Raven.

In June, Will Arnett joined the cast, voicing the character Sweet Tooth from the video game series. Sweet Tooth is a "hulking killer in a ghoulish clown mask who prowls the streets of "Lost Vegas" in his weaponized ice cream truck". Pro-wrestler Samoa Joe physically portrays Sweet Tooth. In an interview with Screen Rant, when asked how pro wrestling history influenced his performance, he said "I think the biggest thing was kind of learning to work beyond the mask, which is something you very commonly see in wrestling. From the luchadores of old to our modern highflyers today, having the ability to kind of emote beyond essentially having a dead face is something that was very easy for me to do, especially with this character".

Richard Cabral was cast as Beatriz's overprotective brother, Loud. Tahj Vaughans and Mike Mitchell portray best friends, Mike and Stu. Lou Beatty Jr. plays Tommy, "a grizzled and weathered cartographer who knows the dangers of the Wild Midwest".

For season 2, Anthony Carrigan joined the main cast as Calypso, while Richard de Klerk, Patty Guggenheim and Tiana Okoye have recurring guest roles.

Filming
Season one began principal photography in May 2022 in New Orleans and wrapped that August. It had an estimated budget (before tax incentives) of $45 million. Shooting in New Orleans in the summer came with some challenges. Michael Jonathan Smith told NOLA.com in an interview, "We dealt with lightning delays, hurricane threats, extreme heat and cars that wouldn't do as they were told".

Production for season 2 moved to Toronto, Ontario. Filming took place from July 17 through November 19, 2024.

Music
The score was composed by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, which they drew heavily from 2000s nu-metal.

Release
Twisted Metal premiered on Peacock on July 27, 2023, with all 10 episodes released together. Paramount+ picked up the streaming rights for Canada and the United Kingdom (the show premiering in the latter region on March 21, 2024 ), while it is streamed on Stan in Australia. It was also released on HBO Max in October 2023.

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 49 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "An enjoyable blast of cartoonishly violent mayhem, Twisted Metal sometimes struggles to flesh out its source material, but ultimately offers an adaptation with surprising depth." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 55 out of 100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter gave the first season a positive review saying, "It's a bit odd for any series to spend a season opening up its world only to set up a seemingly less expansive (if more expensive) second season, but fans will probably be happy. Generally, Twisted Metal is fast and fun and definitely won't be in the running for any Emmys, much less 24. And that's OK!" Variety Alison Herman gave a negative review, "The story of Twisted Metal is thin and packed with tropes; it's still an undertaking to get there from no story at all. The rest of the industry should ask whether that effort was worth it before the next wave of game TV starts to break".

Daniel Kurland of Bloody Disgusting gave the series a two and half out of five rating. He wrote, "Twisted Metal is dumb fun that's big, broad, and unabashedly bloody. It's nowhere near the level of The Last of Us or even SyFy's Blood Drive, but it's campy escapism that doesn't ask much of its audience".

The series was nominated for "Best Adaptation" at The Game Awards 2023.

Viewership
After two weeks, the series became Peacock's "most-binged" comedy premiere to date. According to Nielsen data, it was one of the most watched streaming originals, with 400 million viewing minutes in the weekend following its premiere.