The Mantis-Eye Experiment

While the slow wind down of The Venture Bros. continues, we have at least one fresh piece of content we can enjoy before the show's final bow in the form of a movie. Over on Ken Plume's Patreon you can find the latest Venture Bros. holiday song: "A Spaceman Came Travelling". As an added bonus there apparently was a song in 2019 as well, which I somehow missed. That one is "Last Christmas" as sung by Shore Leave and Shallow Gravy. Ken has also graciously provided a handy zip fie of every Holiday-related song from years past, so you can spend a few minutes listening to all of them. Thanks to Jake for informing me of this. Everyone stay safe out there!

Adult Swim has tweeted out an announcement that a Venture Bros. movie has been greenlit! Not a ton else to report right now, but here is a brief description that I swiped from this Polygon article (thanks to Venturion for passing me the link):

Doc’s latest invention will either bankrupt the Ventures or launch them to new heights, as Hank searches for himself, Dean searches for Hank, The Monarch searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their pasts threatens to bring their entire world crashing down on them.

No word on release dates or anything like that, but stay tuned for more news of course. WarnerMedia's programming upfront is scheduled for May 19th and we could learn more then. We're not done just yet!

Andy Forssell, EVP and GM at WarnerMedia, who is also in charge of HBO Max, has tweeted out the following:

The Venture Bros fans are passionate, but incredibly civil. I've received tons of emails, all of which are short very well written notes, oozing with politeness. Class fans. Nothing imminent, but know that we're working on it.#SaveTheVentureBros

— Andy Forssell (@aforssell) November 13, 2020

Obviously nothing final or confirming, but encouraging none the less! Keep an eye on this space, or whatever your favorite Venture Bros. news reporting website might be, for more as it develops!

Over on the Twitter, Jackson has confirmed the news that Venture Bros. was cancelled, which includes the in-progress season eight:

Unfortunately, it’s true: #VentureBros has been canceled. We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You.

— Jackson Publick (@jacksonpublick) September 7, 2020

However, Adult Swim has responded to the outcry with some small glimmer of hope:

We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story.

— adultswim (@adultswim) September 8, 2020

What this may turn into remains to be seen of course, but it's possible the the show at least gets a proper sendoff in some format or another. Stay tuned!

Friend of the show Ken Plume made a couple of Tweets last night:

The Venture Bros. https://t.co/4AHq2cRagD

— Ken Plume (@KenPlume) September 5, 2020

I have no further comment. https://t.co/cjcciIamSo

— Ken Plume (@KenPlume) September 5, 2020

There's been no official confirmation anywhere as best I can tell, though a concerned reader did write me to let me know:

Anecdotally: I have a friend who works for Turner, and he says Adult Swim is facing a massive downsizing in staff, scope, and programming. This is all speculation of course, but I do have a bad feeling.

I have no way to verify any of this of course, and no idea what this means for season eight or beyond of the show.