REVIEW: ‘Solar Opposites’ Is a Galactic Win for Hulu

Fans of Rick and Morty rejoice: Solar Opposites Season 1 is now available to binge on Hulu in its entirety. The minds of Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, both creators of the aforementioned Rick and Morty, debut their new adult animation exclusively on the streaming service.

Solar Opposites is about four Alien crew members and their pupa, who are forced to flee their decaying home world and inadvertently crash land on Earth. After a year of living on the planet, they are no closer to repairing their ship or assimilating to human or American culture. The team consists of Korvo, voiced by Roiland, Terry, voiced by Thomas Middleditch, Yumyulack, voiced by Sean Giambrone, and Jesse, voiced by Mary Mack.

Solar Opposites is very much in the same vein as its predecessor, Rick and Morty, and sadly, that is the bar it’ll always be measured against, much like when Futurama first debuted opposite The Simpsons. Both shows have Roiland leading the character voices, and the animation style is identical. While there may be criticism levied against the Hulu original animation that it’s far too similar in style and tone, Solar Opposites should 100% be viewed as its own independent property.

The show is more 3rd Rock From The Sun but with the sporadic crass humor of Rick and Morty. The makeshift family has to attempt to adapt to human and American culture with naturally hilarious consequences from misinterpreted perspectives. Solar opposites Season One gives us sweat goobers (miniature living purple beings that pour out of the aliens when they’re stressed), time-traveling hi-tops, stage magic, a miniaturized culture of shrunken humans living in a giant hamster wall, and they tackle gender politics for laughs. What’s not to love?

In the very first episode, Korvo and Terry go to the mall to meet a kids’ TV personality, Funbucket, and are crushed when they discover TV isn’t historically accurate. Distraught, they decide to use their technology to generate an actual Funbucket to become their sidekick. Things go horribly wrong when the TV personality gets tired of being treated as an object and decides to leave Korvo and Terry. Essentially, Aliens and hijinks; that about covers it.

The jokes land extremely effectively due in part to the extraterrestrial perspective.  The dynamic of the crew is another element that adds to the absurdity and humor of the story. Korvo and Terry being the mature Aliens, are generally paired together through their everyday activities. Korvo is intent on repairing their ship and leaving the planet as he despises humanity. He values dictatorships, organizational structure, and hard work. Fans of Rick and Morty shouldn’t be surprised that Roiland’s performance as Korvo is solid, as people will likely draw comparisons to his voice-acting for Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty. Korvo, however, is less science theory and fact and more hates humanity humor.

Terry, on the other hand, is all about absorbing the human culture and living the easy, breezy lifestyle. Having two characters that contrast each other so sharply like this has worked in classic sitcoms for years with success, and this instance is no different. Middleditch, as Terry, works well opposite Roiland. His energetic and frantic energy mixes brilliantly with the character’s dialogue. Honestly, it took me a while to really identify it was 100% Middleditch because it was a completely different role for him. However, he nails the performance.

The same formula is used for Yumyulack and Jesse. The latter character sliding into school life without a care in the world, whilst Yumyulack is bullied constantly. So much so that he decides to take his frustrations out by shrinking his enemies and place them in “the wall”. Yumyulack has added so many occupants to the wall, that there is an apocalyptic-style culture in existence within the wall divided into levels. The higher levels are populated with the higher-tiered citizens and “The Duke,” who’s taken it upon himself to lead the citizens. Giambrone’s character performance is fantastic as an angsty young alien intent on enslaving his victims.

Jesse is a welcomed offset to Yumyulack, and Mack absolutely nails the nervous younger female crew member. Mack shines in episode six, “The P.A.T.R.I.C.I.A. Device,” in which Jesse’s teacher challenges the girls in the class to find a gender barrier and break the glass ceiling or topple the patriarchy. Jesse however, attends a progressive school where all the men’s sports team have female teammates and no one “mansplains”. The boys in the class get told to draw lightsabers as they’re told they may as well learn now life is easier for men.

I’ve not even mentioned the Pupa! A small yellow, pudgy, slug-like creature that will eventually evolve into its final configuration and terraform the planet. The Pupa character serves more of a plot device for what the crew’s intentions are for Earth over the long term. The reality of the fact is that he serves as a background scene-stealing cute little pudge that’s always up to mischief. Think baby Yoda, but with planet-destroying capabilities.

Solar Opposites is an amazing addition to the Hulu original slate of shows. Even though it heavily parallels the tone of Rick and Morty, the design and the delivery of the show is still fundamentally different. The bottom line is that it’s a rib-tickling, easy binge that will distract viewers from the burning world outside their windows. This show is worth the price of admission to Hulu alone, so go binge it!

Solar Opposites Season One is available exclusively on Hulu now.