Unsupervised

Unsupervised

Company type	Television series
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	January 19, 2012 (2012-01-19)
Defunct	December 20, 2012 (2012-12-20)
Fate	Canceled after one season
Area served	United States
Key people	David Hornsby, Rob Rosell, Scott Marder (developers and executive producers)
Products	Adult animated sitcom
Parent	FX Productions, Floyd County Productions, RCG Productions

Unsupervised is an American adult animated sitcom developed by David Hornsby, Rob Rosell, and Scott Marder, which was broadcast on FX from January 19 through December 20, 2012.

The series was officially canceled after its initial season on November 17, 2012.

Plot

The storyline centers on two close friends, Gary and Joel, both aged 15, as they experience adolescence and strive to make responsible choices without adult guidance.

Cast and characters

• Gary Garrison (voiced by Justin Long): Having been deserted by his father, Gary resides with a frequently absent, marijuana-using stepmother. He is idealistic and loyal to his friend Joel.
• Joel Zymanski (voiced by David Hornsby): More excitable and less mature than Gary, Joel is an upbeat humanitarian who enjoys dancing and takes pride in his spinning skills.
• Megan McKinley (voiced by Kristen Bell): A self-focused yet mature student who aspires to popularity; she often voices frustration about her permissive mother.
• Darius Jenkins (voiced by Romany Malco): A high-achieving student sensitive about his weight, Darius maintains a realistic outlook and has a strict mother.
• Russ Brown (voiced by Rob Rosell): An impulsive peer with one arm constantly in a cast; he comes from a fractured, low-income family with several siblings.

Recurring

• Carol (voiced by Kaitlin Olson), Gary’s neglectful stepmother who provides little support or stability.
• Danielle (voiced by Kaitlin Olson), nicknamed "Rocket Tits," an indifferent student at Maynord High and occasional acquaintance of Megan McKinley.
• Martin Rivera (voiced by Fred Armisen), Gary’s diligent Latino neighbor who is a widower with a demanding occupation.
• Christina Rivera (voiced by Alexa Vega), Martin’s rebellious teenage daughter.
• Rachel (voiced by Maria Bamford), a friend of Christina.
• Jojo Venetti (voiced by Scott Marder), the school bully known for substance abuse issues.
• Mrs. McKinley (voiced by Maria Bamford), Megan’s liberal mother who encourages her daughter’s reckless tendencies.
• Sid (voiced by André Sogliuzzo), Gary’s tough Australian neighbor and retired ecological/corporate lawyer.
• Dirt (voiced by Glenn Howerton), Jojo’s slightly older "bad boy" companion.
• Principal Margaret Stark (voiced by Sally Kellerman), the cynical and corrupt head of Maynord High, nicknamed "The Skunk."
• Coach Durham (voiced by Clifton Powell), the baseball coach and teacher who lives out of his car near the school’s athletic field.

Production

Unsupervised was developed by David Hornsby, Scott Marder, and Rob Rosell, all of whom also acted as executive producers alongside Adam Reed, Matt Thompson, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day. The show was produced through a collaboration between Floyd County Productions, RCG Productions, and FX Productions.

Originally titled Townies during FX's 2011 development phase, the show was intended as a companion piece to FX's animated comedy Archer. On September 15, 2011, FX commissioned 13 episodes under the new name Unsupervised. Hornsby, Rosell, and Marder served as executive producers with Rosell and Marder acting as showrunners. The soundtrack featured hip-hop influences composed by musician DJsNeverEndingStory.

A preview trailer called "Fresh Men" was released on October 17, 2011. The series debuted on January 19, 2012, airing at 10:30 pm immediately after Archer. The first season wrapped up on March 22, 2012, after airing 10 episodes.

Due to production delays with Archer and FX's programming decisions, three remaining episodes from the original production batch were postponed and later broadcast between December 6–20, 2012. In November 2012, Hornsby and Howerton confirmed via Twitter that the series would not continue for a second season. The show was briefly rerun on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2015.

Reception

At its debut, Unsupervised was met with predominantly mixed to unfavorable critiques, earning a low rating of 3.5 ("Awful") on IGN. Critic Alan Sepinwall offered a nuanced opinion, acknowledging the show's effort to depict Gary and Joel as well-intentioned youths rather than typical caricatures, though he felt the series fell short in delivering effective comedy. Although the initial episodes were generally seen as underwhelming by reviewers, the quality showed notable improvement in subsequent installments, culminating in an A− grade for the season finale from The A.V. Club. On Metacritic, the show holds a score of 46 out of 100, derived from a total of 16 critical assessments.