Ugly Americans is an American animated television series developed by David M. Stern and created by Devin Clark. The series focuses on Mark Lilly, social worker at the Department of Integration, in an alternate version of New York City with monsters and other creatures.[1] Daniel Powell serves as an Executive Producer and Aaron Augenblick is the Supervising Producer and Animation Director.
Ugly Americans premiered on March 17, 2010 on Comedy Central. The series is based on an original idea by Devin Clark, which was later developed by former The Simpsons writer David M. Stern.[2] It was picked for 7 episodes in May 2009.[3] The cast includes Matt Oberg as Mark Lilly, Kurt Metzger as Mark's zombie roommate Randall Skeffington, Natasha Leggero as Callie Maggotbone, Mark's demon boss and "office fling", Randy Pearlstein as wizard Leonard Powers, Michael-Leon Wooley as Twayne, a demonic bureaucrat, and Larry Murphy as Frank Grimes, a law-enforcement officer.[1]
Ugly Americans is set in a version of New York City quite unlike the one we understand.[4] From the official Comedy Central page:
Take New York City, add every horrifying beast, science-fiction freak, and fantasy fairy, shake thoroughly, and you've got Ugly Americans.
This animated horror-comedy series follows one Mark Lilly, social worker at the Department of Integration, as he helps new citizens both human and "other" adapt to hectic life in the Big Apple. There are easier tasks than weaning vampires off of blood, socializing land-whales, and housebreaking werewolves, but Mark is up to the challenge. Between his stressful job, a zombie roommate, and a demon on and off girlfriend, Mark's lucky if he can sneak in a few minutes of sleep. But who can sleep when there's a drop-dead gorgeous Mermaid sitting at the bar?
A social worker at New York's Department of Integration, and is a newcomer to Manhattan. He recently moved into his first apartment, a 2-bedroom he found on Craigslist, only to discover his roommate was freshly undead. Despite the frustrations of his job, where his boss Twayne has downsized Social Services to two people, Mark maintains a positive attitude. He has an on-and-off relationship with his immediate superior, an insanely hot (and completely insane) demon named Callie Maggotbone who he likes but also feels like she will one day murder him.
Randall Skeffington
Mark's roommate, "went zombie" in an attempt to win over a cute girl with a short-lived zombie fixation (described by Mark that "it is never a good idea to make life decisions with a hard on and a fifth of tequila"). Now, the unemployed/undead oaf spends his days doing odd jobs to pay the rent. Randall hails from South Jersey, a rabidly anti-zombie community, so he has been forced to hide his condition from his parents (especially his father, who fought in the Human-Zombie Civil War). Due to his zombie-ism, Randall is frequently losing body parts to decay, forcing him to find replacements at local flea markets. Randall has recently shown a desire to eat Mark due to his new nature. There have been running gags regarding his sexuality, from suggesting he and Mark "whack off" together in his van to his father referring to him as his "gay zombie" son.
Randall has a friend named Ray who may be a zombie as well, though this has not been confirmed as he hasn't been seen on screen yet. Ray once chewed off a guy's "ball bag", which was less noisy than when Callie and Mark had sex. Ray is also the name of Randall's sponsor in Brain-Eaters Anonymous(an Alcoholics Anonymous-esque organization for zombies that crave human brain matter). He also appears to have some medical knowledge, shown when he was describing how he would get Mark's brain in a "hypothetical situation".
Callie Maggotbone
Mark's immediate superior, and also his on-again/off-again girlfriend. In between stealing Mark away for bathroom rendezvous, Callie is berating him for being so soft. She's the typical 20-something girl who doesn't know what she wants, but is also bona fide hellspawn, as her father is the Devil. However, since Callie is the product of that demon's union with her waifish human mother (who was drugged by a cult, a'la "Rosemary's Baby"), Callie is frequently conflicted by her human side. She is drawn to Mark the nice guy, but feels in her heart that she will inevitably end up with someone like Twayne the Bone Raper (despite her obvious repulsion at the thought of such a relationship)... after all, it's what daddy wants. Unfortunately for all of us, such a union could potentially lead to the apocalypse. She also does not like her father, seeming to be more turned on to Mark after believing her father hated him.
Leonard Powers
A centuries-old wizard whose path has somehow led him to a desk job at New York's Department of Integration. This suits Leonard just fine, as his primary goals in life are to drink heavily and not rock the boat. In fact, he hasn't done any real work in years, relying on Mark (and his union, The Wizard's Guild) to cover for him. Leonard's older younger-looking brother is the famous magician Christ Angel (a parody of Criss Angel), a fact that has bred a lot of resentment in Leonard due to the abuse from Christ Angel, and probably contributed to his ongoing drinking problem.
Twayne the Bone Raper
A mid-level government bureaucrat who oversees New York's Department of Integration. He is also a terrifying demon, who would prefer tearing your spine out to giving you the time of day. Twayne loathes Mark's case files and would rather vaporize them than help them, but he has to play ball, because infiltrating the U.S. government appears to be part of some larger demonic plan. Nonetheless, he despises Social Services and their compassionate ways, so he has slashed the department down to two people and allocated all of their funds to law enforcement. Despite his imposing appearance, Twayne is a bit of a high-status buffoon, often relying on Callie to make sure the department runs properly. Mark has referred to him as a "total douche nozzle".
Francis "Frank" Grimes
The head of Department of Integration's Law Enforcement Division, and like Twayne, has utter disdain for non-humans and Armenians which he confuses for Mexicans. Preferring to think of them all as "illegal", he hunts down those who have strayed from the proper bureaucratic procedures that provide a path to U.S. Citizenship -- at which point Mark must step in to help. Grimes' encounters with unruly creatures have left him with a lifetime's worth of scars, both visible (missing kneecap) and emotional (broken marriage). Thus, he naturally detests Mark and anyone else who sympathizes with the immigrants. Grimes commands a small but well-funded goon squad that operates out of the D.O.I.'s "force floor."His name is likely a reference to The Simpsons and its character Frank Grimes, due to the developer's past work with the show.
The first episode premiered on March 17, 2010,[6] following the 14th season premiere of South Park, "Sexual Healing". It was watched by over 2 million viewers.[7]
Mark helps supernatural creatures adapt to life in New York City while managing relationships between his
half-demon, half-human girlfriend, Callie, and his zombie roommate, Randall.