Should you watch or skip Exploding Kittens? Here's the consensus

A spoiler-free review for those still deciding whether they should check out Exploding Kittens on Netflix.
Exploding Kittens. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2023
Exploding Kittens. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2023 /
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Exploding Kittens officially made its premiere on Netflix on Friday, July 12, and there will likely be a number of fans wanting to tune into the adult animated series (it's not for kids!) during its debut weekend. Fans of the card game, fans of Tom Ellis, fans of animated comedies... But is it worth watching for prospective binge-watchers who might not fit into those categories?

For those who aren't familiar with the premise of Exploding Kittens, the series centers on God as he finds himself ousted from Heaven and stranded down on our planet to help clean up its mess. However, he's not in the godly form he's known to take; instead, he's in the body of a house cat. Soon, Godcat discovers that his next-door neighbor cat is the Devil, who faces similar circumstances.

Here's a full description of the show's plot via Netflix:

"Earth sucks, so God (Tom Ellis) gets fired and sent to Earth to reconnect with humanity. The catch? He's trapped in the body of a chubby house cat. As part of his rehabilitation, he moves in with a dysfunctional family and tries to solve their problems, but ends up spending a lot of time chasing laser pointers. And to top it off, Godcat’s next-door neighbor, who is also a cat, turns out to be none other than his nemesis, the Antichrist. The result is the ultimate fight between good versus evil…except, Godcat (Ellis) is distracted by a pigeon he saw in the yard and Devilcat (Sasheer Zamata) is busy napping on someone’s laptop."

The series centers itself in the push and pull of good versus evil, while also navigating themes of redemption and and other themes rooted in the reality of humanity. But of course, the messages are mostly dependent on a cat. So, should you watch all nine episodes of Exploding Kittens, or should you opt to skip the Netflix original adult animated series? Here's what to know!

Give Exploding Kittens a chance!

Do you enjoy watching left-of-center, oddball, expressly weird, and over-the-top animated series? Then Exploding Kittens will likely be the perfect show for you. The series has jokes and gags, both in dialogue and in its visuals, that are humorous for a certain audience who are familiar with the beats and rhythms of mature cartoons. Adult Swim fans will probably like this one best.

Exploding Kittens comes from executive producer Mike Judge — best known for his work on Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, Office Space, and Silicon Valley — as well as executive producer Greg Daniels, who's known for King of the Hill, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Netflix's Space Force. The show has a similar, though not identical, sense of humor to these well-known titles.

So far, the series has been garnering mixed reception, with The Guardian calling the series "unfunny, infuriating, and life-sapping," and The Daily Beast praising the series for making the leap from a card game to a zany animated comedy "somehow work." Clearly, it's not a one-size-fits-all show and some viewers might not find its quirks satisfying.

In my opinion, without getting into spoiler aspects of the episodes and plot, potential viewers who have loved watching any adult animated comedy series, whether it's Archer or Bob's Burgers or Rick and Morty or The Simpsons, will find some easy laughs from Exploding Kittens. But if you don't like animated comedies, then you won't find much to love in the first place. Bottom line: Give it a chance! You might be surprised and have some fun with this weird little show.

Watch Exploding Kittens only on Netflix.

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