The Shivering Truth
{{short description|US television adult animated program}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = The Shivering Truth.png
| caption =
| genre = {{Plainlist|
| creator = Vernon Chatman
| writer = Vernon Chatman
| director = Vernon Chatman
Cat Solen
| voices = (Complete list)
| narrated = Vernon Chatman
| composer = Heather Christian
| country = United States
| language = English
| network = Adult Swim
| executive_producer = {{ubl|Vernon Chatman|Alyson Levy|John Lee|Cat Solen|Lisa M. Thomas{{efn|Co-executive Producer}}|Lourri Hammack{{efn|name=EPHS|Executive Producer for HouseSpecial, season two only}}|Kirk Kelley{{efn|name=EPHS}}|Alvaro Cubillas{{efn|name=EPHS}}|Keith Crofford{{efn|name=EPWS|Executive Producer for Williams Street}}|Mike Lazzo{{efn|name=EPWS}}}}
| producer = {{ubl|Alex Bulkley{{efn|name=ProdOne|season one only}}|Corey Campodonico{{efn|name=ProdOne}}|Ryan Cunningham|Rebecca Bowen{{efn|name=ProdTwo|season two only}}}}
| cinematography = {{ubl|Mark Elfert (Pilot)|Tarin Anderson and Drew Fortier (Series)}}
| editor = Jon Philpot
Kira Ablak
| company = {{ubl|{{nowrap|ShadowMachine {{small|(season one)}}}}|HouseSpecial {{small|(season two)}}|PFFR|Williams Street}}
| num_seasons = 2
| num_episodes = 12 (and 1 pilot)
| list_episodes =
| runtime = 11 minutes
| released = {{Start date|2018|05|22}}
| first_aired2 = {{Start date|2018|12|10}}
| last_aired2 = {{End date|2020|06|14}}
}}
The Shivering Truth is an American adult stop-motion animated anthology horror comedy television series created by Vernon Chatman and directed by Chatman and Cat Solen. The show is produced by Solen with PFFR and ShadowMachine, and features a wide range of voice talents besides Chatman, including Janeane Garofalo, Jonah Hill, Trey Parker, David Cross, Jordan Peele, Kyle Mooney, Julia Davis, Tierra Whack, Will Forte, and Josh Gad, amongst others. The Shivering Truth premiered on December 10, 2018 on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim, with the pilot episode having been released online on May 22, 2018 on the Adult Swim website.
In November 2019, Adult Swim renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on May 10, 2020.{{cite web|title=Adult Swim Greenlights New "Fairy Tales" Series Plus More Seasons of "The Shivering Truth," "Lazor Wulf" and "12 Oz. Mouse"|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2019/11/07/adult-swim-greenlights-new-fairy-tales-series-plus-more-seasons-of-the-shivering-truth-lazor-wulf-and-12-oz-mouse-430010/20191107adultswim01/|work=The Futon Critic|date=2019-11-07|access-date=2019-11-07}}
Overview
When announced in a press release by Adult Swim in May 2017, The Shivering Truth was described as "a delicately crafted, darkly surreal anthology comedy, a miniature propulsive omnibus cluster bomb of painfully riotous daymares all dripping with the orange goo of dream logic. A series of loosely-linked emotional parables about stories within tales that crawled out of the deepest caverns of your unconscious mind and became lovingly animated in breath-slapping stop motion – in other words, it is the TRUTH".{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/adult-swim-orders-stop-motion-pilot-the-shivering-truth-from-vernon-chatman.html|title=Adult Swim Orders Stop-Motion Pilot 'The Shivering Truth' from Vernon Chatman|author=Megh Wright|date=May 17, 2017|work=Vulture|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214064652/https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/adult-swim-orders-stop-motion-pilot-the-shivering-truth-from-vernon-chatman.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/adult-swim-announces-new-stop-motion-series-the-shiveri-1798261986|title=Adult Swim announces new stop-motion series The Shivering Truth|author=Sam Barsanti|date=May 17, 2017|work=The A.V. Club|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065155/https://news.avclub.com/adult-swim-announces-new-stop-motion-series-the-shiveri-1798261986|url-status=live}}
Development
The characters in the show are {{convert|10|in|adj=on}} puppets with wire-based armatures, created with silicone, wool, polystyrene, and resin.{{cite web|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/adult-swims-the-shivering-truthnightmares-in-stop-motion/|title=Adult Swim's 'The Shivering Truth': Nightmares in Stop Motion|author=Ramin Zahed|date=December 5, 2018|work=Animation Magazine|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209073253/http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/adult-swims-the-shivering-truthnightmares-in-stop-motion/|url-status=live}} Chatman stated that around six months of physical production, a month of recording, and {{frac|2|1|2}} months of post-production were needed to complete six episodes. Chatman has noted several inspirations for his work on the show, including Terry Gilliam's work on Monty Python's Flying Circus, stating that "I saw it when I was very young, so it scared me. I didn't know when the animation was beginning or ending." He also explained that "A lot of my influences are non-animated, primarily in short films, novels, even radio shows. A recent one is David Eagleman's books on the brain. He's a neuroscientist and he gives you 40 different versions of the afterlife, and none of them can co-exist." Solen has spoken on her inspirations as well, saying that "I loved the movie The Wizard of Speed and Time, which is a cautionary tale about making movies. Another film that I loved as a kid was Nicolas Roeg's [film] adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches, which featured both Anjelica Huston and Jim Henson's puppets. It scared me so much!"
Cast
Season 1
{{cast list||
- Vernon Chatman as the narrator
- Janeane Garofalo as Mrs. Lawson / Iris Beekoh / 911 Operator
- Kevin Breznahan as Roommate / Mr. Glimmer / Doug Dwyer
- Trey Parker as Sgt. Pat Mounder / General / Doctor
- Miriam Tolan as Mrs. Glimmer / Insecurity System Machine
- Michael Cera as Delmer Gibbons
- Jonah Hill as Useful Suicidal Man
- Starlee Kine as Blind Girl
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Hand Salesman
- Julio Torres as Dale
- Zack Pearlman as Exploding Prisoner / Neil Lem / Mary / Benny's Wound
- Ivy Chatman as Trudy Glimmer
- Zadie Chatman as Young Dale / Benny Beekoh / Pauly Dindin
- Maria Bamford as Elderly Woman
- Conner O'Malley as Pvt. Ray Pontle
- Nicole Rodenburg as Panties Saleswoman
- John Reynolds as Mr. Lawson
- Andy Daly as Angus Dindin
- David Cross as Prisoner 72301 / Armed Rebel
- Martha Plimpton as Nurses
- Peter Serafinowicz as Lyle Darpi / Charleston
- Jordan Peele as Prison Guard
}}
Season 2
{{cast list|
- Vernon Chatman as the narrator / Demon / Doctor
- Kate Berlant as Lily Liblin
- Mike Birbiglia as Hank Alto / Prayer Jacker
- Wyatt Cenac as Dr. Ton Bntu
- Julia Davis as Dr. Lynnert
- Robert Kelly as Eban Dylfyl
- Josh Ruben as Mr. Lombadi / Buddhist Monk
- Dalya Knapp as Gretchen
- Kristen Dodson as Braille Ghost / Goo Narrator
- Chris Elliott as Slab
- Will Forte as Dustin Okus / Creepy Eye
- Josh Gad as Divided Guy
- Miranda July as Grace
- Cole Escola as Ike
- Zadie Chatman as Birthday Kid
- Ivy Chatman as Birthday Kid
- Rachel Butera as Friend / Mom Doll / Holly Inglet
- Dasha Nekrasova as Mrs. Minugm
- Joseph Sikora as Hunky Messiah / Dad
- Desus Nice as Electronics Store Employee
- Jason Mantzoukas as Clive
- Kyle Mooney as Gil Minugm
- Griffin Newman as Fred Lombadi
- Timothy Levitch as Dr. Bodgey
- Ego Nwodim as Rosa
- Alia Shawkat as Amy Liblin
- Tierra Whack as Bully
- Kyle Beltran as Jay Reese
- David Pasquesi as Love Doll Salesman
- Kate Micucci as Sheila Sherma
}}
Music
The song played during the closing credits is usually some version of the old English ballad Long Lankin. The music is often distorted in some way and usually begins near the end of the ballad, at the lines "There's blood in the kitchen, there's blood in the hall / There's blood in the parlour where my lady did fall." The original score is by Heather Christian.{{Cite web |url=https://store.heatherchristian.com/ |title=Music | Heather Christian & the Arbornauts |access-date=2020-07-10 |archive-date=2020-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813175304/https://store.heatherchristian.com/ |url-status=dead }}
Episodes
=Series overview=
| color0S = #E67E22
| link0S = #Pilot (2018)
| linkT0S = Pilot
| start0S = {{Start date|2018|5|22}}
| color1 = #4F9BE1
| link1 =
| episodes1 = 6
| start1 = {{Start date|2018|12|9}}
| end1 = {{End date|2018|12|23}}
| color2 = #2E5732
| link2 =
| episodes2 = 6
| start2 = {{Start date|2020|5|10}}
| end2 = {{End date|2020|6|14}}
}}
=Pilot (2018)=
{{Episode table|total_width=auto|background=#E67E22|overall=|season=|title=|airdate=|prodcode=|viewers=|country=U.S.|episodes=
{{Episode list
| Title=Chaos Beknownst
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|5|22}}
| EpisodeNumber=—
| EpisodeNumber2=—
| ProdCode=000
| ShortSummary= The tales of a blind girl from middle school, an unconventional suicide hotline operator and the butterfly effect taken to its logical conclusion.
| LineColor=E67E22
}}
}}
=Season 1 (2018)=
{{Episode table|total_width=auto|background=4F9BE1|overall=|season=|title=|airdate=|prodcode=|viewers=|country=U.S.|episodes=
{{Episode list
| Title=The Nurple Rainbow
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|9}}
| EpisodeNumber=1
| EpisodeNumber2=1
| ProdCode=TST101
| ShortSummary= The tales of kinky roommates, the greatest peek-a-boo player the world has ever known, chicken blood infusions and an unproductive office worker who learns to love himself.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
{{Episode list
| Title=The Magmafying Past
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|9}}
| EpisodeNumber=2
| EpisodeNumber2=2
| ProdCode=TST102
| ShortSummary= The tales of a boy who builds a church and the intertwined lives of a private, sergeant and single woman.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
{{Episode list
| Title=Ogled Inklings
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|16}}
| EpisodeNumber=3
| EpisodeNumber2=3
| ProdCode=TST103
| ShortSummary= The tales of a prison in a desert, an amnesiac man who caused a car accident and the world's greatest poet.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
{{Episode list
| Title=ConstaDeath
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|16}}
| EpisodeNumber=4
| EpisodeNumber2=4
| ProdCode=TST104
| ShortSummary= The tales of escapism between a slave and his master, a man afflicted with perpetual death and a couple's neglected son.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
{{Episode list
| Title=Tow and Shell
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|23}}
| EpisodeNumber=5
| EpisodeNumber2=5
| ProdCode=TST105
| ShortSummary= The tales of a helpful 9-1-1 dispatcher and a boy who brought a conch shell to show-and-tell.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
{{Episode list
| Title=Fowl Flow
| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|12|23}}
| EpisodeNumber=6
| EpisodeNumber2=6
| ProdCode=TST106
| ShortSummary= The tales of a man with a severed, human hand and a man and woman's insecurities.
| LineColor=4F9BE1
}}
}}
=Season 2 (2020)=
{{Episode table|total_width=auto|background=#2E5732|overall=|season=|title=|airdate=|viewers=|ProdCode=|country=U.S.|episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 7
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = The Burn Earner Spits
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|5|10}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of prayer in a new Age of Miracles, a television possessed by a dead girl and a skeptical and self-righteous cashier.
|ProdCode = TST202
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 8
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Carrion My Son
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|5|17}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of a new Messiah, a date for brunch and custom sex dolls.
|ProdCode = TST203
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 9
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Nesslessness
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|5|24}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of a shy girl, a panhandler's encounter with a woman and a neurotic firefighter.
|ProdCode = TST204
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 10
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = Beast of Both Worlds
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|5|31}}{{efn|This episode had an advanced stealth premiere on April 1, 2020 as part of Adult Swim’s annual April Fools' stunt.}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of a man with terminal goofiness, God within a flower, unrequited love and crippling gloom.
|ProdCode = TST201
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 11
|EpisodeNumber2 = 5
|Title = The Diff
|RTitle =
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|6|7}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of compatible cities, a child committed to perpetual tripping in order to save face and a man with a split personality.
|ProdCode = TST205
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 12
|EpisodeNumber2 = 6
|Title = Holeways
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|6|14}}
|ShortSummary = The tales of a trip to the dentist, a magician who discovered a new type of meat and a man's emptiness.
|ProdCode = TST206
|LineColor = 2E5732
}}
}}
Release
The pilot episode premiered on the Adult Swim website on May 22, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.adultswim.com/videos/specials/the-shivering-truth/|title=Specials - The Shivering Truth|date=May 22, 2018|website=Adult Swim|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210224402/https://www.adultswim.com/videos/specials/the-shivering-truth/|archive-date=December 10, 2018}} Before the television premiere on December 10, 2018, Adult Swim created an "online scavenger hunt" by releasing all six episodes on multiple websites and platforms.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/the-shivering-truth-episode-1-adult-swim-show-watch-1202024203/|title='The Shivering Truth': Watch the First Episode Before It Airs on Adult Swim|author=Steve Greene|date=December 9, 2018|website=IndieWire|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214070707/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/the-shivering-truth-episode-1-adult-swim-show-watch-1202024203/|url-status=live}}
In June 2020, the series was uploaded to subscription video on demand streaming service HBO Max, with the exception of the episode "Ogled Inklings", which was intentionally excluded due to a scene where a woman gives birth to a child wearing a peaked policeman's cap, whom the doctor refers to as "a dirty pig". This ban took place due to the then-ongoing George Floyd protests and rising prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement, with an Adult Swim representative stating that "When Adult Swim transitions series to a new platform we determine what episodes are selected through creative and cultural filters and our standards and practices policies. Oftentimes these decisions are made in collaboration with the show’s creator”. Similar action was also taken against episodes of The Boondocks and an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/adult-swim-retiring-episodes-problematic-boondocks-shivering-truth/amp/|title=Adult Swim 'Retiring' Episodes Is Problematic - But It's Certainly Not New|author=Reuben Baron|date=October 1, 2020|website=CBR|access-date=November 6, 2020}}
Reception
Daniel Kurland of Den of Geek praised the pilot along with the subsequent first episodes to premiere, giving the show a score of 5/5 and calling it "straight up one of the best things that I’ve ever seen in my life".{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/adult-swim/273441/breaking-down-adult-swim-s-new-pilots|title=Breaking Down Adult Swim's New Pilots|author=Daniel Kurland|date=May 13, 2018|website=Den of Geek|publisher=Dennis Publishing|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065954/https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/adult-swim/273441/breaking-down-adult-swim-s-new-pilots|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-shivering-truth/278071/the-shivering-truth-review|title=The Shivering Truth Review|author=Daniel Kurland|date=December 9, 2018|website=Den of Geek|publisher=Dennis Publishing|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211132759/https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-shivering-truth/278071/the-shivering-truth-review|url-status=live}} Jonathan Barkan of Dread Central called the show "pure nightmare fuel genius", writing that it "looks like the cast aside baby of Charlie Kaufman and Wes Anderson ... it's packed full of absurdist humor, the kind of stuff that you will watch and not be sure if you should laugh, wince, or look at your friends and ask, 'What the fuck?'"{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/285680/adult-swims-the-shivering-truth-is-pure-nightmare-fuel-genius/|title=Adult Swim's THE SHIVERING TRUTH is Pure Nightmare Fuel Genius|author=Jonathan Barkan|date=November 27, 2018|website=Dread Central|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214070214/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/285680/adult-swims-the-shivering-truth-is-pure-nightmare-fuel-genius/|url-status=live}} Dave Trumbore of Collider wrote that "It’s not often you get to put this level of artistry and insanity on display on an international television network", and that "You’ll definitely laugh while watching The Shivering Truth, but there’s just as good a chance that you’ll throw up a bit, too".{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/the-shivering-truth-review/#shivering-truth-images|title='The Shivering Truth' Review: Vernon Chatman's Adult Swim Series Is a Short-Form Nightmare|author=Dave Trumbore|date=December 9, 2018|website=Collider|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210001150/http://collider.com/the-shivering-truth-review/#shivering-truth-images|url-status=live}}
See also
- Jam (TV series), a similar comedy-horror sketch series
- The House (2022 film)
- Anomalisa
References
{{Reflist}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.adultswim.com/videos/the-shivering-truth}}
- {{IMDb title|id= 6905458 |title=The Shivering Truth}}
{{Adult Swim original programming}}
{{PFFR}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivering Truth}}
Category:2010s American adult animated television series
Category:2010s American animated comedy television series
Category:2010s American anthology television series
Category:2010s American black comedy television series
Category:2010s American horror comedy television series
Category:2010s American sketch comedy television series
Category:2010s American surreal comedy television series
Category:2020s American adult animated television series
Category:2020s American anthology television series
Category:2020s American black comedy television series
Category:2020s American horror comedy television series
Category:2020s American sketch comedy television series
Category:2020s American surreal comedy television series
Category:2018 American animated television series debuts
Category:2020 American television series endings
Category:Adult Swim animated television series
Category:American adult animated comedy television series
Category:American adult animated fantasy television series
Category:American adult animated horror television series
Category:American adult animation anthology series
Category:American stop-motion adult animated television series
Category:American television shows featuring puppetry
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series by PFFR
Category:Television series by ShadowMachine