The 90s Adult Comedy Series Being Left Behind
Adult animation hit a strong stride in the 1990s. With The Simpsons leading off the decade with its unmatched wit and multitude of guest stars and the introduction of Family Guy and Futurama debuting in the final years, the FOX network became the leader in this segment of the entertainment genre. But the fledgling WB network managed to give audiences a short-lived animated series that developed a fierce cult following, making Mission Hill one of the best cartoon gems of the decade.
Boys Will Be Boys
Mission Hill follows 24-year-old retail employee Andy French (Wallace Langham) whose life dramatically changes when he takes in his 17-year-old brother Kevin (Scott Menville) when their parents pick up and move to Wyoming. The two brothers live with Andy’s roommates Jim Kuback (Brian Posehn) and Posey Tyler (Vicki Lewis) in the city’s neighborhood that bears the name of the show.
Andy’s slacker nature counters the enthusiasm and nerdish qualities of his younger brother. Kevin is socially awkward, sheltered, and a certified genius. The two continually butt heads episode after episode, with asides from the stoic Jim and the pseudo-hippie Posey’s musings often helping to resolve their issues.
Slice-Of-Life Sibling Comedy
Mission Hill covers Kevin as he’s caught with an adult magazine, Andy joining the PTA to impress one of Kevin’s teachers, and the two brothers falling for (and brutally fighting over) the same young woman. One of the most talked about episodes involved Kevin finding old VHS tapes of the MTV series The Real World that featured Andy as one of the cast members during a season filmed in their neighborhood.
A Weinstein And Oakley Invention
Mission Hill gives the great comedic writing of Weinstein and Oakley and pairs it with the comedic timing of the voice acting of Posehn, Menville, and Langham. The series was elevated by the music it included in every episode, setting the scenes against tracks from New Order, R.E.M., Culture Club, The Flaming Lips, and Judas Priest, among others. The series theme song was the instrumental segment of the song “Italian Leather Sofa” by Cake.
Forgotten As Quickly As It Was Conceived
Mission Hill was the brainchild of two former showrunners for The Simpsons, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. After being promised an 18-episode first season, the network carved production back five episodes. But poor ratings led the WB to airing only two of them in the fall of 1999.
The WB gave Mission Hill a second chance in the summer of 2000 and aired an additional four episodes. But a lack of proper promotion combined with the traditionally smaller summer audience resulted in another poor ratings showing. The series was canceled with eight episodes never airing.
Watching Mission Hill
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But thanks to Teletoon in Canada getting the rights to air all 13 episodes, Mission Hill‘s following began to grow. Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim animation block put the cartoon into its rotation and helped elevate the series to cult status. A spin-off series was teased to fans several years ago, but was confirmed as dead in the water by Bill Oakley in 2023.
Sadly, Mission Hill isn’t available to stream on any current platform. A DVD release of all 13 episodes gave fans another taste of the show in 2006, and most of the series can be viewed on various YouTube channels.
