The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise added another media to its roster with the TV show Knuckles. Based on the character from the popular video game franchise, the show is the first live-action series in the film franchise and sees Idris Elba return to voice the titular echidna from the movies.
The first season of Knuckles began streaming on Paramount+ recently and received mixed responses from critics and fans. While the films have been appreciated for their humor and action, the series was said to need more in both departments. One particular complaint against the Sonic spinoff was that there was not enough of Knuckles in the show.
Sonic The Hedgehog Spinoff Series Knuckles Receives Mixed Reviews
The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has received rave reviews since the first film’s release in 2020. The film starred James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Ben Schwartz, who voiced the role of Sonic. It is based on the popular video game franchise by Sega. The film franchise expanded with the sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the upcoming threequel.
Acting as a spinoff and lead-up to the third film, Paramount announced a live-action miniseries based on the character of Knuckles. Titled Knuckles, the show would see the character who made his cinematic debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trains a local sheriff in the ways of the Echidna warrior. Idris Elba was set to reprise his role from the film (via Deadline).
The series debuted on Paramount+ on April 26, with all six episodes set to stream together. The show received mixed responses from critics, with its Rotten Tomatoes score being a fresh 65% from critics and 79% from audiences. The show also starred Adam Pally of Happy Endings in the lead role and it received generally favorable reviews.
Fans of Knuckles Have One Issue With The Miniseries
While the Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff series Knuckles seems to have received positive responses, one complaint on the show was universal, and that might impact the Sonic series for good. The major complaint from fans was that for a show based on Knuckles, the focus was more on Adam Pally’s Wade Whipple rather than the Echidna himself.
A review from prominent industry insider Daniel Richtman spoke about the same issue where the main character seemed to be missing from most of the show. Some fans also mentioned that the villains felt shoe-horned into the show to give Knuckles some action sequences and that it did not feel natural enough.
Daniel Richtman mentioned how fans wanted to see more of Knuckles in his TV show and not the human character. It was also clear that the production house was trying to reduce costs as keeping a CGI character as the main draw would shoot the budget. He said,
“Really liked Knuckles, but the show isn’t really about him; it’s more about Wade (Adam Pally). I understand they wanted to save on budget, but they really need to start focusing more on the titled CGI characters. They are the ones we want to see, and less on the human characters.”
Many fans agreed with the opinion and expressed they too felt like there was less of the main character in the show.
Can't undestand the thought of making a show where your main character is CGI but you don't have the budget for it. They tried to be cheeky with it and it didn't work IMO.
— Emil. (@emilnikolov_) April 26, 2024
So that rumor about Knuckles barely being in his own series is true? Damn that sucks.
— norm 🆖➕ (@CobaltNorm) April 26, 2024
True. It's the Sonic movie without Sonic, it's the Knuckles series without Knuckles
— FILIPE S. GOMES DE AMORIM 🙏 (@Filipe28630932) April 26, 2024
It might be a good idea to begin pivoting toward animation if they’re able to keep the same tone of the franchise. Expensive in its own right but cheaper than CGI.
— Straight Ice Man (@str8iceman) April 26, 2024
If budget is the issue then it makes this whole Knuckles series feel pointless. Paramount got way too ahead of themselves due to the movies popularity and need to pump out something quick to keep the momentum going. They should've saved this budget for Sonic 3 instead.
— Samantha (@samanthasmithc) April 26, 2024
Godzilla x Kong got this right the humans are now cannon fodder and expendable.
— Samuel Raben (@SamuelRaben97) April 26, 2024
While having a central CGI character is certainly expensive, other studios have done it before to varying degrees of success. Marvel did it with She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Peacock recently did it more successfully with the Ted series.
