Watch the season premiere of 'McTucky Fried High,' your fave LGBTQ cartoon about food

McTucky Fried High isn’t exactly your average teen show. Starring a hot dog, a box of french fries, and a smorgasbord of other foods, the acclaimed cartoon web series (it won the Critics Choice Award at the 2015 Shorts Showcase) takes a unique, hilarious, and entirely relatable approach to gender and LGBTQ issues as well as how body image, sexting, and privacy play out in high school.

Naturally, we’re super excited to premiere the first episode of season two here on Fusion. Stick around for our email Q&A with creator and director Robert-Carnilius!

Congrats on another season! How has the feedback been? Have you heard from fans of the show?
Thank you! We have received an overwhelming amount of support for McTucky! We really couldn’t do this without our fans and cheerleaders. People tell us they are inspired, affirmed, or [amused] by the show in a lot of different ways. From fan art, likes and shares on social media to YouTube comments detailing character crushes! Also, our friends at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo connected with our message so much so they dubbed season one in Japanese.

Season one dealt with a huge range of topics, like gender identity, body positivity, and privacy. What’s in store for season two?
In season two, we introduce a lot of new characters and locations—including McTucky’s rival school, Caramel Heights High! We also explore the intersections of race, religion, feminism, sexuality, and gender identity, to name a few. One storyline we’re particularly excited for is watching Sheri as she leads the followers of Cheesus on a crusade to “save” McTucky, shredding all who resist.

How will season two expand on the message of diversity and inclusivity that guided season one?
Creating conscious, diverse and inclusive media both in front of and behind the camera is a priority for McTucky Fried High. For us, that means continuing to nurture our diverse team, using comedy to highlight underrepresented voices and issues, and peeling back the layers to reveal the glitter and shade of it all.

Are there any shows, cartoons, or even web series that inspired McTucky Fried High?
Definitely! We are inspired stylistically and tonally by a lot of different shows including Degrassi, SpongeBob SquarePants, South Park, and Drawn Together. But the driving force ultimately became seeing shows like Steven Universe, The Legend of Korra, and Sailor Moon hint at queer characters and stories but be limited by censorship. At that point it became loud and clear that the unapologetically queer characters of McTucky Fried High wanted to be shared with the world.

Do you have a favorite character?
I feel like every character reminds me of myself a little, and I love them all and how the animators and actors bring them to life. In season one, my favorite character was Angela because of her ruthless ambition ;). But I really love Sheri in season two: Her story arc always makes me laugh. Out of all of the characters, though, Peanut and me are the tightest. They’ve inspired me and pushed me to acknowledge and celebrate being gender non-conforming on a whole new level.