Nathan W. Pyle’s hit webcomic Strange Planet, an Instagram phenomenon, has already become a graphic novel and a picture book series—and now it’s also been adapted into an animated series for Apple TV+ that premiered August 9. The comic features simply drawn creatures who study and comment on the world (not Earth, per Pyle, but a world that feels true to human experience) with an arch objectivity—hilarious and often-profound moments ensue. “Pyle’s tidy comics style centers the deadpan,” per PW’s review. Given the history of animated series boosting book sales (think Adventure Time), booksellers will want to stock up. PW talked with Pyle about the process behind turning his curious creatures into TV stars.
How did you end up partnering with Apple?
In 2019, when the comic was only maybe eight months old, I got a team of people together who knew about television. I didn’t know anything about television. With shows like Severance and Silo, Apple have shown themselves to be particularly
interested in creating fascinating worlds. And Strange Planet lends itself well to episodes, with a lot of fun little story arcs and adventures.
What has been the easiest part of the adaptation process?
I always wondered, “What will their voices sound like?” They’re extremely emotionally intelligent characters, and we relayed that to our voice artists, who knocked it out of the park.
What have been the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenges revolved around staying true to the idea that the beings would not have names. That was a part of the webcomic that I decided on early. I mentioned one name only in the very first few weeks of the comic: Alex. I never named another being. We decided to stick with that, and it created a fascinating creative challenge. The audience is tracking: “Who is this being?” It was daunting at first.
What’s a frequent fan question?
“Is this Earth?” No. It is their own planet. The reason I don’t refer to them as aliens is because we’re guests watching what
happens on their planet—one that is slightly more emotionally honest than ours.
How involved are you in the animated series now and going forward?
I was asked by a fan last week, “Did anyone take control of this from you?” No. From the beginning, the producers made clear that everything would be deferred to me. I was involved in the writing, too. This is a 3D world you can imagine yourself in. Together, we built something more robust than what was created in the webcomic.
