Birds of a feather sure do flock together
in the trailer for Netflix’s new animated series Tuca & Bertie, where two 30-year-old human-sized female birds find their friendship tested as they face new challenges in their transitioning lives.
Feisty, care-free toucan Tuca, voiced by Tiffany Haddish, and her anxiety-ridden songbird best friend Bertie, voiced by Ali Wong, exist in a zany, vibrant, dream-like world of anthropomorphic animals and plants, created by cartoonist, animator, and Bojack Horseman producer Lisa Hanawalt. When Bertie’s boyfriend Speckles (voiced by an exuberant Steven Yeun) moves in and Tuca moves into a neighboring apartment, the two women help each other navigate their respective lives — Tuca tries to balance adulthood with her penchant for living wildly, while Bertie is caught in a constant struggle with asking for what she wants in her career and relationship.
Hanawalt previously spoke to EW about wanting to create a female-fronted adult animated comedy that explores the lives and loves of women. “I’d consistently go on Netflix or whatever and try to find a cartoon that really felt like it was for me, and I just wasn’t finding it,” Hanawalt said. “There are animated shows for adults, but they’re created by men and largely written by men and so they don’t have the themes that I want. They’re not speaking to me,” she added.
Thus, the first season will see Bertie encountering sexual harassment at work, receiving an apprenticeship offer at a bakery and contending with her past. Meanwhile, Tuca decides to adopt an impractical house pet, tries to reign herself in on a date and is shamed for her personal choices. The series also features a starry voice cast including Richard E. Grant, Tessa Thompson, Reggie Watts, Nicole Byer, and Tig Notaro.
