Futurama Reveals Season 14 Preview of New Character, Coco Charm (Exclusive)
Earlier this month, Hulu welcomed back the world that introduced us to the likes of Fry, Bender, Leela, and the other employees of the Planet Express for its fourteenth season. Rather than releasing all the episodes of this latest season at once, Futurama has instead decided to go with a weekly schedule. On Monday, August 24th, not only is a new episode of the beloved animated series set to drop, but a new character will be joining the animated show’s ranks. Coco Charm is set to take the Futurama world by storm, and we here at ComicBook.com have a first look at the animated pop star.
Coco is described as the “biggest pop star” in the galaxy, according to the Futurama crew, who has a surprising secret up her sleeve. Much like the now-legendary “hypno-toad,” Charm takes control of a hypnotized army that is more than willing to take part in whatever orders she bestows upon them. While Coco might be a new addition to the series, voice actor Dawnn Lewis has plenty of history in bringing Futurama characters to life. For those who might not know, Lewis has long played the role of LaBarbara Conrad, Hermes’ long-time partner, while also taking on other parts throughout the show’s history. Having also starred in series such as Star Trek: Lower Decks, Rick and Morty, Regular Show, The Cleveland Show, and Static Shock, Dawnn’s resume is an expansive one. Luckily, the Futurama crew was more than willing to dive further into Coco’s upcoming introduction.
The Dawnn of Coco
To start, “The Charm Offensive” director Andrew Han explained how the team studied various pop stars throughout history to help in creating Coco’s look: “When we first got the script for this episode and were coming up with ideas for Coco Charm, we looked at pop stars for inspiration, but I wanted to incorporate elements of K-Pop to Coco Charm. You can see that we experimented with various hairstyles and outfits before coming to her final designs. You’ll notice when watching the episode the inspiration from pop stars and K-Pop in ways how she performs and how her fans interact with her. Coco goes through multiple outfits throughout the episode, and the voice acting/singing of Dawnn Lewis. I hope people look forward to seeing her performance!”
Alongside Han, character designer Alice Darrow reiterated the pop star exploration, while also explaining Charm’s more ‘militaristic’ aesthetic: “When I first got the assignment to design Coco Charm, I immediately looked to existing pop stars for inspiration, because they always have really fun stage outfits that I thought would translate to animation really well. For her signature sparkly bodysuit, I knew I needed to go through Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Versace archives to find some fun inspiration. I looked at a lot of Bob Mackie gowns too.
Darrow continued, “Coco’s military look was a clear reference to David Byrne’s iconic “Stop Making Sense” big suit, but it still needed to be cute and inspire both fear and obedience. Military uniforms are very ornate, so it can be a challenge to capture the silhouette without going overboard on the details. The director, Andrew Han, usually has a precise idea of what he wants for a design, so the process is very smooth. As you can see here, he was the architect behind her iconic two-tone bangs!”
Finally, episode director Cody Ziglar explained the musical influences for Coco while praising the performance of voice actor Dawnn Lewis, “Coco Charm is definitely a love letter to (and amalgamation of) some of my favorite pop & rock stars from throughout the years. Especially those that leaned heavily into military/big suit looks for some of their on-stage performances/personas. Folks like David Byrne, Janet Jackson, and My Chemical Romance. And speaking of performances, Dawnn Lewis did an absolutely amazing job — she improvised the melodies for every song, first take, and then went back and layered them for an actual performance! Anyone familiar with Dawnn’s history knows what she’s capable of, but seeing it in person was a true gift. Rough Draft knocked her designs out of the park!”
Futurama’s fourteenth season is currently streaming on Hulu, with its fifth episode, “The Charm Offensive,” set to arrive on August 24th next week.
