DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms explained

Developer:	Henry Gilroy
Num Seasons:	8
Num Episodes:	52
List Episodes:	List of DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms episodes
Theme Music Composer:	Patrick Cannell
Runtime:	23 minutes
Country:	United States
Company:	DreamWorks Animation Television

DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms is an American animated television series in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise produced by the DreamWorks Animation under DreamWorks Animation Television for Hulu and Peacock. The series serves as a spin-off from the original animated trilogy. The voice cast consists of Jeremy Shada, Ashley Liao, Marcus Scribner, Aimee Garcia, Vincent Tong, Julia Stiles, Lauren Tom, Keston John, Angelique Cabral, Justina Machado, Pavar Snipe, Carrie Keranen, and Haley Joel Osment.

The show was announced on October 13, 2021, and premiered on both Hulu and Peacock on December 23, 2021. The show was renewed for a second season was released on May 5, 2022. The third and fourth seasons released on August 18 and November 17, 2022, respectively. The fifth season released on March 2, 2023. The sixth and seventh seasons released on June 15 and September 14, 2023. The show concluded after its eighth season which released on December 14, 2023.

Premise

The series is set in the modern world, 1,300 years after the events of (2019). It follows a group of kids, brought by their parents to a huge fissure caused by a comet, who uncover a world of dragons beneath their feet. Tom, Thunder and the other riders find themselves entrusted with protecting the secret of dragons from those who would wish to exploit them. Whilst exploring the realms and discovering new dragons, Tom searches for his connection to Thunder and finds himself following in the footsteps of his Viking ancestor.^[1]

Characters and cast

Main

• Jeremy Shada as Thomas "Tom" Kullersen, an adventurous and kindhearted fourteen-year-old who is the leader of the Dragon Riders and the descendant of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Astrid Hofferson. In Season 7, he becomes Jun Wong's boyfriend. His dragon is a Night Light (a hybrid of Night Fury and Light Fury) named Thunder, who is also the descendant of Hiccup's dragon, the Night Fury Toothless and his mate, the Light Fury.
• Ashley Liao as Jun Wong, Tom's childhood friend who has an interest in myths and fantasy stories. In Season 7, she becomes Tom Kullersen's girlfriend. Her dragon is a two-headed tidal Mist Twister, named Wu and Wei.
• Marcus Scribner as D'Angelo Baker, the team's veterinarian and medic. His dragon is a crystal-horned Gembreaker, named Plowhorn.
• Aimee Garcia as Alexandra "Alex" Gonzalez, the team's tech expert who never goes anywhere without her tablet. Her dragon is a cloaking Featherhide named Feathers.
• Vincent Tong as Eugene Wong, Jun's cocky older brother. He discovers the dragons in season 3 and is accepted into the club. His dragon is a six-legged Deadly Spinner named Webmaster. He is the team's strategic, tactical support and occasionally the leader.

Recurring and supporting

• Julia Stiles as Olivia Kullersen, Tom's mother and a geologist who works at Project ICARIS. She finally discovers the dragons in the season 4 finale. Like her son, she is also a descendant of Hiccup and Astrid.
• Haley Joel Osment as Leonard "Buzzsaw" Burne, a lumberjack turned dragon-hunter. He starts hunting dragons after a forest fire burns down his logging business which he wrongfully believes Thunder started. He discovers the Hidden World in the season 3 finale, and eventually acquires his own dragon: a Timberjack that he names Old Jack, in the series finale, he reforms and helped the riders defeated the world serpent.
• Carrie Keranen as Wilma Sledkin, a cocky and devious Rakke Corp scientist. She has a bitter rivalry with Olivia and often attempts to discredit her work. She is known for always putting the company's needs above the people she works with. But in season 6, she goes rogue after becoming obsessed with mining Dragonsite, a new gem found in the Hidden World which the dragons depend on.
• Keston John as Philip Baker, D'Angelo's father and the chief of security at Project ICARIS.
• Lauren Tom as May Wong, Jun and Eugene's strict dwarf mother and the director of Project ICARIS.
• Pavar Snipe as Angela Baker, D'Angelo's wheelchair-bound mother and the head medic at Project ICARIS.
• Angelique Cabral as Hazel Gonzalez, one of Alex's mothers and a biologist at Project ICARIS.
• Justina Machado as Carla Gonzalez, one of Alex's mothers and a cave botanist at Project ICARIS.
• D'Arcy Carden as Linda, a technician at Project ICARIS. She goes on to become Sledkin's accomplice in the later seasons.^[2]
• Al Rodrigo as Ford, a lumberjack who works for Buzzsaw. He later assists him in his dragon-hunting operation, even getting his own dragon.
• Christian Lanz as Winston, a lumberjack who works for Buzzsaw. He later assists him in his dragon-hunting operation, even getting his own dragon.
• Mark Mercado as Dood, a lumberjack who works for Buzzsaw.
• Kimberly Brooks as Wendy, Alex's AI assistant, a parody of Siri.
• Piotr Michael as William Rakke Jr., the CEO of Rakke Corp.
• Keston John as Pete, a security guard at Project ICARIS.

Episodes

See main article: List of DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms episodes. The series was released on both Peacock and Hulu on December 23, 2021, while season two was released on May 5, 2022.^[3] The third season was released on August 18, 2022,^[4] while the fourth season was released on November 17, 2022.^[5] The fifth season was released on March 2, 2023.^[6] The sixth season was released on June 15, 2023.^[7] The seventh season was released on September 14, 2023.^[8] The eighth and final season was released on December 14, 2023.^{[9] [10]}

Production

DreamWorks announced Dragons: The Nine Realms on October 13, 2021. The series was released on Peacock and Hulu on December 23, 2021, with season one containing six episodes for 22 minutes each. The series stars Jeremy Shada. It was produced by showrunners John Tellegen, Chuck Austen and Henry Gilroy.^[11]

Broadcast

Outside the United States, it aired on DreamWorks Channel Asia in 2022. In Canada, the series premiered on YTV on December 26, 2021. Elsewhere in the world it premiered on; CBBC in the United Kingdom, SX3^[12] in Spain, Super RTL in Germany and e.tv in South Africa in 2022 and PIE Channel in Philippines on November 13, 2023.

Video game

In May 2022, DreamWorks Animation and Universal announced that a game based on the series is in the works titled Dragons: Legend of the Nine Realms, published by Outright Games and developed by Aheartfulofgames, making this their second DreamWorks game since Spirit: Lucky Big Adventure. The game tells an original story before from the series and players get to play as Thunder, Tom's dragon, trying to find his family in the hidden world. The game was released on September 23, 2022, with Jeremy Shada reprising his role as Tom, narrating through.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Zahed. Ramin. 2021-12-08. The Next Gen Spreads Its Wings in 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' (New Trailer). 2022-01-20. Animation Magazine. en-US. 2021-12-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20211213151938/https://www.animationmagazine.net/streaming/the-next-gen-spreads-its-wings-in-dragons-the-nine-realms-new-trailer/. live.
2. Web site: Julia Stiles, Marcus Scribner Among 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' Cast (TV News Roundup). Selome. Hailu. Katie. Song. December 8, 2021. January 16, 2022. December 8, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211208150724/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/dragons-the-nine-realms-julia-stiles-marcus-scribner-1235128643/. live.
3. Web site: 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' Season 2 Trailer Reveals Release Date and More Scaly Creatures . . 21 April 2022 . 3 May 2022 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503003807/https://collider.com/dragons-the-nine-realms-season-2-release-date-trailer-peacock-hulu/ . live .
4. Web site: Hulu Originals Summer Slate . 16 May 2022 . 19 May 2022 . 11 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234411/https://press.hulu.com/news/2022/05/16/hulu-originals-summer-slate/ . dead .
5. Web site: Hulu: Fall 2022 Originals Programming . 21 September 2022 . 28 September 2022 . 28 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220928200828/https://www.adweek.com/lostremote/hulu-fall-2022-originals-programming/66574 . live .
6. Web site: 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' Season 5 Trailer Delivers Thrills, Friendship, and Deadly Foes [Exclusive] . . 13 February 2023 . 20 February 2023 . 20 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230220010016/https://collider.com/dragons-the-nine-realms-season-5-trailer/ . live .
7. Web site: Parlevliet . Mirko . 2023-05-15 . New on Hulu June 2023: Movies, TV and Originals . 2023-05-17 . VitalThrills.com . en-US . 2024-02-24 . https://archive.today/20240224202635/https://www.vitalthrills.com/hulu-june-2023/ . live .
8. Web site: Humphrey . Julia . The Dragon Club Faces Their Biggest Challenge Yet in 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' Season 7 Trailer [Exclusive] ]. August 31, 2023 . September 1, 2023 . . en-US . September 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230901021945/https://collider.com/dragons-the-nine-realms-season-7-trailer/ . live .
9. Web site: Maheshwari . Disheeta . 2023-12-14 . Dragons: The Nine Realms Season 8: How Many Episodes & When Do New Episodes Come Out? . 2023-12-29 . ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More . en-US . 2023-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231229123039/https://www.comingsoon.net/guides/news/1441355-dragons-the-nine-realms-season-8-how-many-episodes-when-do-new-episodes-come-out . live .
10. Web site: Carpenter . Michael . 2023-11-20 . Coming to Hulu in December 2023 . 2023-11-23 . Maury County Source . en-US . 2023-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231123015139/https://maurycountysource.com/coming-to-hulu-in-december-2023/ . live .
11. Web site: Milligan. Mercedes. Teaser: DreamWorks Dragons Take Flight for the Future in 'The Nine Realms'. Animation Magazine. October 15, 2021. October 13, 2021. October 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211013141421/https://www.animationmagazine.net/streaming/teaser-dreamworks-dragons-take-flight-for-the-future-in-the-nine-realms/. live.
12. Web site: De què va? - Dracs: Els nou regnes . 2023-06-21 . CCMA . ca . 2023-06-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230621104849/https://www.ccma.cat/tv3/sx3/dracs-nou-regnes/de-que-va/ . live .