New York Comic Con (NYCC) took over The Jacob K. Javits Center to bring over 100,000 nerds and pop culture fans together for a weekend-long nerding out. Hulu was one of the many streamers/studios in attendance and during their panel, on Oct. 6 they announced the casting of Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, and Jarrad Wright in their upcoming adult animated series “Koala Man”; in addition to guest appearances from Miranda Otto and Hugo Weaving. Previously announced cast members include Hugh Jackman, Sarah Snook, Demi Lardner, and creator Michael Cusack.
Koala Man Character Descriptions:
JEMAINE CLEMENT AS “PRINCIPAL BAZWELL” – A nerdy and caring mentor to Liam and an ineffectual dandy of a man, always poised to support the students of North Dapto High with a helpful anecdote or encouraging song lyric.
HUGO WEAVING AS “KING EMUDEUS” – The wise and noble monarch of Australia’s emus.
MIRANDA OTTO AS “MINDY” – A sweet young koala cub with whom Koala Man shares a deep and mysterious connection.
JARRAD WRIGHT AS “SPIDER” – Kevin’s bogan best friend and neighbor who’s always down to help with a Koala Man mission, especially if someone needs to provide an illegal weapon to do so.
RACHEL HOUSE AS “JANINE” – Janine is Vicky’s friend and coworker at the school canteen. A hard partier.
RACHEL HOUSE AS “LOUISE” – Louise is The proprietress of the bowling club who has a deep, and some would say inexplicable, attraction to Koala Man.
SARAH SNOOK AS “VICKY”
Vicky thinks her husband Kevin is just going through a phase. While she tolerates Koala Man, she hopes Kevin will snap out of whatever bizarre mid-life crisis he’s going through. Vicky sincerely loves Kevin for his reliability, but now that his Koala Man duties are making him less reliable, Vicky questioning if settling down was the right choice. She sees how dedicated Kevin is to being Koala Man and, as the school canteen lady, feels like she’s missing having a passion in life.
DEMI LARDNER AS “ALISON”
Alison, Liam’s 35-seconds-older twin, has an almost sociopathic preoccupation with being popular. Ruthlessly intelligent, determined, and manipulative, Alison knows exactly how many followers you have on IG. She’s got a list of all the coolest kids and a plan to destroy them so she can rise the ranks. To do so, Alison tries to distance herself from Liam, Vicky, and Koala Man, staying laser-focused on becoming The Most Powerful Girl in School.
HUGH JACKMAN AS “BIG GREG”
The most well-liked man in Dapto and the head of the Town Council, Big Greg has only known success. Formerly the host of Fishing Big with Big Greg, Australia’s third most popular fishing show, Big Greg has ridden his celebrity into a trusted position in Dapto. As Kevin’s direct supervisor, Big Greg makes Kevin feel inadequate as a provider and a man. To add insult to injury, Daptonians constantly credit Big Greg for Koala Man’s work saving the town.
MICHAEL CUSACK AS “LIAM”
Liam is Kevin and Vicky’s wimpy shrimp of a 13-year-old son. Liam’s credulous, romantic, and uncoolest kid in Dapto, possibly in the entire state of New South Wales, maybe even in all of Australia. Liam thinks his dad moonlighting as Koala Man is so cool, even though the kids at school hate Koala Man. He’s similarly proud that Vicky works at the canteen and unashamed of being a mummy’s boy. Liam’s perfect day would include painting Swordstorm figurines, playing computer games, and having dinner at an American restaurant.
MICHAEL CUSACK AS “KEVIN”
Kevin believes that there are rules all members of society must abide by in order to live happy and productive lives. Of course, he’s apparently the only one in his hometown of Dapto who feels that way. A seemingly unremarkable man with an actually unremarkable job as the IT coordinator for the Town Council, Kevin knows if his fellow citizens could just see things his way, they’d see that’s the right way. Unfortunately, there’s injustice in every direction.
If only Kevin had some way of righting those wrongs, of combating the forces of evil that threaten Dapto… if only he had…an alter-ego. KOALA MAN is Kevin’s superhero identity. Koala Man takes to the streets to do things Kevin can’t do in his civilian life. From confronting interdimensional aliens to making sure everyone’s grass length adheres to local ordinances, there’s no crime too big or law too obscure for Koala Man.
MICHAEL CUSACK AS “DARREN” & “DAMO”
Dapto’s least favorite sons, Darren & Damo are drug-addled, low-level criminal ne’er-do-wells who always seem to find themselves running afoul of Koala Man. To say they are Koala Man’s nemeses would be to give them too much credit, as they seem to share a single brain cell between them.
“Koala Man” follows middle-aged dad Kevin and his titular not-so-secret identity, whose only superpower is a burning passion for following rules and snuffing out petty crime in the town of Dapto. Though it may seem like any other Australian suburb, forces of evil both cosmic and man-made lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting Daptonians. On a quest to clean up his hometown, and often roping his frustrated family into his adventures, Koala Man stands at the ready. He’ll do whatever it takes to defeat villainous masterminds, supernatural horrors, or worse: jerks who don’t take their rubbish bins down on the proper days.
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