Mother Up! Explained
Mother Up! is an adult animated sitcom created by Marnie Nir and Katherine Torpey, which premiered on Hulu in the United States on November 6, 2013.[1] The series also begin airing on City in Canada on January 23, 2014. It was developed by Rogers Media and is a co-production between Canadian companies Breakthrough Entertainment and Bardel Entertainment, and U.S.-based Mass Animation.[2] A total of 13 episodes were produced.
The show marked Hulu's second foray into animated programming after The Awesomes. It was pitched as "Family Guy for women".[3]
The Mother Up! theme song, is written and performed by Lee Anna James in the Hulu release, but on the Canadian version, it was written by Warren Bray & Odario Williams of Grand Analog and Maiko Watson, formerly of Sugar Jones.
Plot
"Mother Up!" chronicles the misguided attempts at parenthood of a disgraced music executive who transitions from the big city to suburbia. After she resigns from her job and her husband leaves her, Rudi Wilson becomes a single mother raising her two children, Dick and Apple, and must learn mothering duties. Executive producer Eva Longoria also stars as Rudi.
Characters
Wilson family
- Rudi Wilson (voiced by Eva Longoria) - The main character, a former music executive whose reputation is almost ruined after a scandal involving shooting kids in Central America with her client, 2Bit. She preserves her reputation by transferring all of the blame to her boss, at the price of her job and her life in the city. Now, she must live as a single suburban mother (her husband left her with two kids), despite being a terrible one.
- Dick Wilson (voiced by Jesse Camacho) - Rudi's son, a loner whose only friend is Agnes Chu. He constantly gets bullied by Travis. In episode 1, Rudi throws him a 10th birthday party, although Sarah says Dick and Apple's birthdays aren't for months, so Dick is probably 9 years old during the first season.
- Apple Wilson (voiced by Rebecca Husain) - Rudi's imaginative daughter, who longs for her mother's attention. In episode 4, Rudi says Apple is 6, while in episode 6 she says she is 5.
- Jeffrey Wilson (voiced by Mark McKinney) - Rudi's former husband, the father of Dick and Apple.
Chu family
- Mrs. Suzi Chu (voiced by Grace Lynn Kung) - One of the series' other antagonists; Jenny's friend. She drives her daughter Agnes to excessive studying.
- Agnes Chu (voiced by Rebecca Husain) - A girl in Dick's grade, but she's in the gifted class. She attends sports camp every summer as her parents want her to be well-rounded. In episode 6, her mother says she is the youngest female Chess Master in the world (though Apple, enhanced by drugs, checkmates her) and Rudi estimates that Agnes is 10 years old.
Neighbours
- Sarah (voiced by Gabrielle Miller) - Rudi's best friend, a married mother of one. Sarah is very impressed by Rudi's high-powered lifestyle and celebrity friends, and is easily convinced to "pick up the slack" in Rudi's parenting. Rudi plainly takes advantage of Sarah's good nature, but she takes the abuse like a trooper in the name of friendship and for the good of Apple and Dick. In her heart, she admires Rudi's life and attitude.
- Fergus (voiced by Rebecca Husain) - Sarah's autistic son (she calls him "Fergie"); Apple's best friend.
- Greg (voiced by Scott McCord) - Rudi's friend and other neighbor, a widower and father of one. Greg sees himself as a helper and potential suitor to Rudi, though she walks all over him. However, his eternal optimism fuels their friendship. He likes to do odd jobs for her and the community; it also implied Greg is scared of his stepson Joel.
- Joel (voiced by Zachary Bennett) - Greg's stepson. He hates adults, especially his stepdad Greg, perhaps because he misses his real dad. His mother died, so Greg inherited custody of him. Joel is a misanthropic goth/emo with extremely violent anti-social tendencies, in sharp contrast to his easygoing, gregarious stepfather. He plays violent video games - only banned ones - while wearing diapers so he can play for long periods of time.
Faculty
- Principal Moxley (voiced by Helen Taylor) - Head of staff at the kids' school. In Episode 6, she threatens to call Child Protective Services because Rudi let Apple walk across the tightrope on school grounds, but backs down after Rudi says she will tell the police, the media, and the school's insurance company about the tightrope.
- Nurse Higgins (voiced by Rebecca Husain) - The school's nurse and head of the drama department. She enjoys explaining diagnoses and stories in a theatrical manner, with costumes.
- Miss Belfonte (voiced by Gabrielle Miller) - Apple's teacher.
- Ernesto - The school janitor; Miss Belfonte often hits on him.
Others
- Jenny (voiced by Helen Taylor) - Rudi's enemy and one of the series' antagonists. She disapproves of Rudi's parenting, and is resentful that Rudi is the only person who ever stood up to her. Her child attends the same school as Dick and Apple.
- Travis (voiced by Scott McCord) - Son of one of Jenny's friends; a school bully who beats up Dick.
- 2Bit (voiced by Clé Bennett) - A rapper; Rudi's former client, he constantly needs Rudi's help when he needs inspiration or if he's too full of himself, so he visits her often. To sign him with Mass Exploitation Records, Rudi went child-hunting with him, which is why she had to move to the suburbs.
Telecast and home media
Mother Up! premiered on Hulu on November 6, 2013. New episodes would be released on Wednesdays.
Mother Up! had its Canadian television debut on City on January 23, 2014, with new episodes aired on Saturday nights (during its first few weeks it was Thursday nights).
The series became available on Breakthrough Entertainment's YouTube channel in mid-2020.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Original Programming Options on Hulu . 2013-10-30 . Marc . Berman . 2013-12-30 . 2013-12-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131215222644/http://www.tvmediainsights.com/highlights/33710/original-programming-options-on-hulu/ . live .
- Web site: Mother Up in production for Citytv . 2013-01-08 . Diane . Wild . 2014-01-15 . 2014-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140116131736/http://www.tv-eh.com/2013/01/08/mother-up-in-production-for-citytv/ . live .
- Web site: Hulu Producing Originals Like Midrange Cable Net . 2013-04-17 . Todd . Spangler . 2017-12-07 . 2013-12-30 . https://archive.today/20131230032135/http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/hulu-producing-originals-like-midrange-cable-net-1200380690/ . live .
- Web site: Mother Up! Season 1 episodes . . . February 17, 2014.
- Web site: Blabber. John. Everybody Sees 2Bits Wang. 5 December 2013. Bubble Blabber. 6 March 2014. 10 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140310132150/http://www.bubbleblabber.com/review-mother-everybody-sees-2bits-wang/. live.
- Web site: Mother Up!. CityTV. 5 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140401011439/http://www.citytv.com/toronto/shows/mother-up/. 2014-04-01. dead.
