Fans of Dan Harmon, the brain behind beloved shows like Community and Rick and Morty, will notice his signature touch in Krapopolis. The jokes are thought-provoking, the characters are lovably flawed, and most importantly, the premise is bonkers—but if you’re used to Harmon’s world, perhaps not bonkers enough. Maybe this is because of its 20-minute runtime, but Krapopolis feels more restrained than Harmon’s usual work, which revels in the bizarre. It also moves too fast to be appreciated, so you’ll need to spend more time and episodes with the characters to fully appreciate them. But if you’re coming into Krapopolis with no knowledge of Harmon’s previous work, then the show can actually be as fun and lighthearted as any good raunchy adult cartoon.
"The writing on “Krapopolis” isn’t as sharp as some other Harmon properties, but it’s consistently entertaining."
— Brian Tallerico
"The strongest weapon in the Krapopolis arsenal is its voice cast, who help keep these setups fresh even after they quickly grow familiar."
— Alison Herman
In mythical ancient Greece, a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.
In Ancient Greece, King Tyrannis (Richard Ayoade) rules Krapopolis, a developed city-state with modern ambitions, alongside his dysfunctional family of gods and monsters.
Setting the cartoon in Greece makes it stand out from its contemporaries, while also giving the storytellers plenty to play with. Powerful gods and ancient history, combined with Harmon's fanciful imagination, color the magical world of Krapopolis. There are times, however, when our hero Tyrannis takes us too far out of Krapopolis's mythology with his modern attitude (he is the only diplomat in a world full of savages, for instance, and the only one who insists on referring to "slaves" as "citizens"), but this works to temper the other characters' realistic albeit antiquated beliefs. Tyrannis is our stand-in, even though he can be the most boring person in the show sometimes.
It’s not his best, but Dan Harmon gives us another adult animation to laugh at and think about with Krapopolis.
