TV Show review
Review basis: 6 seasons, 59 episodes · through October 13, 2025
May 8, 2020 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Solar Opposites is an adult animated sci-fi comedy about four aliens from a destroyed planet who crash-land in suburban middle America with a living supercomputer called the Pupa that will eventually terraform Earth. The aliens split on whether human life and culture are awful or awesome while protecting the Pupa and dealing with everyday chaos using advanced tech. A major recurring subplot called "The Wall" follows shrunken humans building a miniature society inside the house with power struggles, rulers, revolutions, and drama that grows more serious over the seasons. The two main alien characters, both male-voiced, develop a romantic relationship and marry, with their partnership and "family values" becoming more central in later seasons.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Solar Opposites.
Woke representation / casting
The central "family" features two male-voiced plant aliens (Korvo and Terry) who form a romantic same-sex relationship, marry in a special, and are framed as husbands with family focus in later seasons; this has drawn praise as LGBTQ representation. Aliens can choose gender identification and lack traditional biology, so it fits the story world without clear mismatch. No prominent audience-visible racial/gender quota casting or unearned competence signaling in lead human or alien roles; Wall subplot humans follow narrative needs with standard voice casting.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional comedic alien observations criticize Earth's consumerism, pollution, and suburban absurdities (e.g., chaotic HOA elections via nanobots), plus over-the-top gags like a neo-Nazi bar scene resolved with cartoonish violence. These are delivered through vulgarity, absurdity, and misanthropic humor rather than earnest activist speeches, identity lectures, or DEI messaging.
Identity-driven story themes
The non-traditional family unit of two partnered male aliens raising replicant "kids" is core to the premise and gains romantic and "family values" emphasis in seasons 4–6. The Wall explores power, authority, corruption, revolution, and societal formation as a political sandbox, but centers universal/class-based dynamics rather than modern identity categories like race, gender, or sexuality. The overall show remains a fish-out-of-water sci-fi sitcom with gags and chaos.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Korvo repeatedly mocks human consumerism, waste, pollution, and frailty as recurring comedic beats. The Wall arc examines governance failures, authoritarianism, uprisings, and cyclical power in a miniature human society, drawing on classic dystopian and revolutionary tropes. This functions as broad outsider/misanthropic satire or political philosophy rather than targeted modern activist framing of toxic masculinity, patriarchy, whiteness, colonial guilt, or systemic capitalism.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original series with no established source material, legacy characters, or historical figures reinterpreted through identity or DEI lenses.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
A small number of online comments and reviews criticize the Korvo-Terry gay relationship and later family emphasis as forced agenda, propaganda, or liberal overreach. LGBTQ coverage has instead praised the representation. No major news stories, widespread campaigns, boycotts, or sustained debate treating the show as pushing woke/DEI/identity content; most audience talk focuses on laughs and The Wall. Review bombing tied more to the creator change than themes.
Creator track record context
Co-creators Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland come from Rick and Morty, which features crude, irreverent, and often cynical satire with broad social commentary. McMahan created Star Trek: Lower Decks, adapting Trek's optimistic humanism into adult comedy. No strong public record of either centering careers on identity politics, queer activism, DEI language, anti-patriarchy, or representation-first work; the couple dynamic was described by creators as emerging organically from the characters living on Earth. Roiland's exit stemmed from personal allegations, not politics.
Production
