Nomad of Nowhere

Nomad of Nowhere is an American 2D animated web series released on the website of Rooster Teeth on March 16, 2018. The show, which was created by Georden Whitman, is a western-fantasy hybrid focused on a mute wanderer hunted for being capable of using magic to give life to inanimate objects.[1][2]

Nomad of Nowhere
Genre
Created byGeorden Whitman
Written by
  • Eddy Rivas
  • Miles Luna
  • Jordan Cwierz
Screenplay byJeb Kendrick
Story byGeorden Whitman
Directed by
  • Jordan Cwierz
  • Yssa Badiola
  • Paula Decanini
Creative directorMaggie Tominey
Voices of
Theme music composer
  • Benjamin Zecker
Composer
  • Benjamin Zecker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
Production locationUnited States
EditorCole Gallian
Running time10–14 minutes
Production companyOtter Media
Release
Original networkRoosterTeeth
Original releaseMarch 23 (2018-03-23) –
September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)

Premise

The series follows "the Nomad", a non-speaking scarecrow brought to life by magic, who can bring inanimate objects to life and wanders a Western fantasy realm ruled by the evil king El Rey while being pursued by bounty hunters and other enemies.[3]

Characters

Main characters
  • The Nomad (of Nowhere) is the series namesake: a non-verbal scarecrow brought to life by magic. Although Red Manuel and Captain Toth describe him as harmful, he is kind and friendly. He can animate plants and objects, and even though Captain Toth says these are magic abilities, he does not show any abilities to use magic. His home, until the end of the show's first episode, is a thorn forest on the edge of a desert region.
  • Captain Toth (voiced by Danu Uribe) leads a group of bounty hunters named the Dandy Lions and is under the command of the forceful Don Paragon. She may have feelings for Skout, her assistant.
  • Skout (voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell) is the assistant of Captain Toth who carries supplies and weapons. She is thoughtful and intelligent but doesn't often understand her strength or have strong self-confidence. Although it is not known why she is loyal to Captain Toth, she clearly has feelings for her. Later in the series, she becomes the only human being who assists The Nomad.
  • Red Manuel (voiced by Alejandro Saab) is a self-absorbed member of Toth's unit, and is hostile toward her and Skout. He is below Toth in terms of commanding the unit but tries to compete for her position as the head of the unit.
  • Don Parragon (voiced by Max Dennison) is the pompous superior officer of Red Manuel and Captain Toth, who fashions himself as the "ruler" of a land known as "the Oasis." He meets his end in the final episode of the first season when El Rey attacks him in the form of a murder of crows.
  • El Rey (voiced by John Swasey) is the ruler of a neighboring region, Nowhere. He was reportedly corrupted through magic, leading all the users of magic to be drained of their power, while the Nomad somehow survived.

Supporting characters
  • Jethro (voiced by Ryan Haywood), Santi (voiced by Eddy Rivas), and Nell (voiced by Stephen Fu) are members of Toth's unit, the Dandy Lions.

People of Bliss Hill
  • Guard (voiced by César Altagracia)
  • Dolores (voiced by Barbara Dunkelman)
  • Sheriff (voiced by Adam Ellis)
  • Null (voiced by Stephen Fu)
  • Eugene (voiced by Caitlin Glass)
  • Old Man (voiced by Chad James)
  • Punk Teen (voiced by Richard Norman)
  • Barty (voiced by Brooke Olson)
  • Old Woman (voiced by Christine Stuckart)
  • Soldier (voiced by Kyle Taylor)
  • Deputy (voiced by Neal Werle)

Twindleweed Brothers Traveling Circus
  • Bailey Twindleweed (voiced by Larry Matovina)
  • Bertha (voiced by Matt Hullum), a strong woman with a beard
  • Lazarus (voiced by Ricco Fajardo), a tamer of lizards
  • Trixie (voiced by Anna Hullum), a "trick shooter"

Other characters
  • Ranch Hand (voiced by Ian Sinclair)
  • The Undertaker (voiced by Shannon McCormick)
  • Oil Man\Witch Hunter (voiced by Billy B. Burson)
  • Oil Man's wife (voiced by Becca Frasier)
  • Big Jib (voiced by Blaine Gibson)
  • Old Lady (voiced by Jen Brown)
  • Bandit Leader (voiced by Lee Eddy)
  • Travelers (voiced by Jordan Cwierz and Connor Pickens)
  • Y'Dala Elder (voiced by Melissa Sternenberg)
  • Toro (voiced by SungWon Cho)
  • Melinda (voiced by Brittney Karbowski)
  • Young Melina (voiced by Yssa Badiola)
  • Papa (voiced by Daman Mills)
  • Passenger\Bounty Hunter (voiced by Jeb Kendrick)
  • Passengers (voiced by Al McClelland and Kim Newman)
  • Dandy Lion Guards (voiced by Josh Ornelas, César Altagracia and Luis Vazquez)
  • Bandits (voiced by Jenn Tidwell and Stephanie Ard)
  • Woman (voiced by Alena Lecorchick)
  • Soldier (voiced by Kyle Taylor)
  • Dandy Archer (voiced by Chris Kokkinos)
  • Bartender (voiced by Kent Williams)
  • Dandy Lion (voiced by Todd Womack)

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedCumulative views (thousands)
First airedLast aired
Season 112March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)587

Season 1
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Dreaded Nomad"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasMarch 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)
The search for The Nomad of Nowhere, said to be a user of "dark magic" continues. Captain Toth, her Dandy Lions, and Skout, her companion, are on the trail of this man. When she faces the Nomad, she is confronted with a situation that tests her unlike any before...
2"Bliss Hill"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasMarch 30, 2018 (2018-03-30)
When Skout and Toth come back to the Oasis and tell Don Paragon that the Nomad hasn't been apprehended, Red Manuel tries to impress the Don with his plan, posing another way to get the nomad. At the same time, the Nomad attempts to help a town, although it doesn't go as he planned...
3"Trouble on Purpose"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasApril 6, 2018 (2018-04-06)
The Nomad is faced with a bounty hunter who will stop at nothing to capture him. Toth grows annoyed with her mission while the Nomad is faced with the tough choice of whether to help those who chased him out of the small town.
4"The Twindleweed Brothers Traveling Circus"Jordan CwierzMiles LunaApril 13, 2018 (2018-04-13)
The Nomad comes upon a circus while Toth and Skout are also attending, as Skout wants to relax Toth, with the situation getting tense when the performers are actually armed ex-bounty hunters.
5"The Kindness of Strangers"Jordan CwierzMiles LunaApril 20, 2018 (2018-04-20)
In an attempt to hide from Skout and Toth, the Nomad accepts an offer from an undertaker for passage across the desert. Unfortunately, this man has his own disturbed idea of how the Nomad should "serve" him...
6"El Rey"Jordan CwierzJordan Cwierz and Eddy RivasApril 27, 2018 (2018-04-27)
As Skout and Toth continue to track the Nomad, even through a sandstorm, the Nomad comes upon a fort which has been long abandoned, having visions of something which happened far in the past. At the same time, Toth fights a creature which takes its power from sandstorms.
7"Eagle Canyon"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
When a local governor visits Don Paragon, he is left with a hard decision. While the Nomad attempts to assist an injured creature, Skout tries to assist Toth, leading to an outcome neither wants...
8"End of the Line"Jordan CwierzEddy RivasAugust 31, 2018 (2018-08-31)
Coming upon a train station, The Nomad sneaks aboard a train, and Skout does at all, trying to get away from her problems. At the same time, Toth encounters the Champion of Toro who is also attempting to track the Nomad.
9"Compass"Miles LunaEddy RivasSeptember 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
As the chase continues, Skout and the Nomad try to lose the Champion of Toro, but he seems to keep catching up to them. In order to get information, Toth engages in some unethical behavior and the Nomad has a choice of whether he should keep running from those trying to catch him.
10"The Witch and the Knight"Yssa BadiolaEddy RivasSeptember 14, 2018 (2018-09-14)
The Nomad remembers back to a friend he loves from the past, with the memories of the experience flooding back to him.
11"The Red Carpet"Paula DecaniniJordan Cwierz, Miles Luna, and Eddy RivasSeptember 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)
While Don Paragon boasts about the capture of the Nomad, Toth comes back to the Oasis, as does Skout, leading to an inevitable confrontation...
12"Fiesta"Paula Decanini and Yssa BadiolaJordan Cwierz, Miles Luna, and Eddy RivasSeptember 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)
As the Nomad prepares to fight for those living in the Oasis, Don Paragon desperately tries to capture the Nomad, engaging in measures which are seen as extreme.

Promotion, production, and release

On January 17, 2018, Collider published an article about the show, describing it as a "western adventure that takes cues from Samurai Jack," quoting show director Jordan Cwiecz as describing it as a "western/fantasy mash-up about a mysterious nomad traversing a western wasteland that hasn’t seen magic in 100 years," saying that people should think of it "as two-parts Samurai Jack and True Grit with just a dash of The Lord of the Rings" with humor, fun, and much more.[4] The series had been announced as part of the Rooster Teeth animation slate, along with gen:Lock, RWBY volume 6, Red vs. Blue, Camp Camp, RWBY Chibi, and others, the same day.[5]

In February, RoosterTeeth released a promotional video for the series.[6][7] Another teaser was posted in early March.[8]

Season 1 of Nomad of Nowhere began airing on March 16 for FIRST members, and March 23 for everyone else.[9]

In April 2017, Jordan wrote a post announcing the mid-season break of the show and noted that the first season would have a total of 12 episodes.[10] The first season aired its last episode on September 28, 2018.[11]

In late March 2018, show director Jordan was interviewed by Collider, calling the series a slapdash of "a bunch of spaghetti westerns got mashed up with all your favorite fantasy series to create one epic adventure," saying the idea of the show came from Georden Whitman, a production artist for a show named Camp Camp, and was inspired by his college animation, Sir Knight of Nothing.[12] He also said that his main source of inspiration came from live-action drama like spaghetti westerns and Deadwood, which have nostalgia and themes of despair in harsh lands with hard lives. Jordan also described the show as ambitious, challenging, and unique, allowing for an exploration of animation styles, inspired by Disney art books, Studio Ghibli, and more, calling it a show that "has the ingredients of things like Samurai Jack and Trigun while still having the legs to stand on its own pretty much sums up what we strive to do."

In May 2022, it was announced that FilmRise has acquired streaming rights for Nomad of Nowhere, Camp Camp, and Red vs. Blue, grouping episodes from each series into "traditional half-hour formats and seasons for streaming."[13]

Apart from airing on Rooster Teeth and the Rooster Teeth animation YouTube channel, the series is on Tubi,[14] and other platforms, such as iTunes,[15] and Prime Video[16] as a movie.

LGBTQ representation

The series protagonist, Skout, is a lesbian character[17] who has a crush on her superior, Captain Toth.[18] Often trying to inspire confidence in her superior, Skout is often the voice of reason for Toth, who is rule-oriented and may have feelings for Skout,[19] despite the fact she is occasionally dismissive, causing fissures in their relationship. As series creator Georden Whitman described it, the narrative growth of Skout and Toth was his favorite part of the story;[20]

Reception

Reviews of this series were relatively positive. In his first review of the series, Dave Trumbore of Collider called the show excellent, saying that whilst it has a Western plot, it has "more of a fun, playful feel," especially when it comes to the Nomad.[12] In a later review, he called the series a story which brings together the Wild West, cartoonish magic, and classic 20th century cartoons, serving as a magical and adventure tale which features a "very silly collection of characters" who encounter the nomad, stating that it is "just a bit different from the rest" of the cartoons out there.[21] Padraig Cotter of Screen Rant described the show as a "mixture of fantasy and western" with a "quirky sense of humor and blend of genres," saying it has earned a loyal fanbase, and even said that some compared it to Trigun and Samurai Jack.[2] Tommy Williams of Geek Tyrant described the series as "very family friendly" and "lighthearted fun".[22] Other reviewers pointed to Western genre themes,[9] and praised Rooster Teeth for branching "into new avenues," citing the show as one example of this.[23]

Future

Although the Season 1 finale[11] teased that the show would continue into a second season, series creator Georden Whitman, who left RT before Season 1 ended, publicly criticized RoosterTeeth, citing "creative differences" as a reason[24] and saying he gave the show's writers "the outline of the whole story, including the ending."[25] Responding to claims that RoosterTeeth engages in "heavy crunch periods," resists providing benefits, has work weeks which are eighty hours, and other issues, he agreed that these claims were correct.[26]

On July 11, 2020, on an episode of the podcast Talk CRWBY to Me, Miles Luna revealed writer Kiersi Burkhart originally joined Rooster Teeth to work on Season 2 of Nomad of Nowhere and the process went "pretty far along," but production was halted when it was decided continuing the series at the time was not advisable.[27] In a September 2020 Tumblr post, RT Animation director Jordan Cwierz explained Rooster Teeth does not cancel shows it owns, but under the company's restructuring, shows like Camp Camp now fall under the RT Studios label, meaning they are no longer produced on their own and are being shopped to partners.[28] Cwierz added that the same applies to shows like Nomad of Nowhere, although his only comment was that they were "trying to make" more episodes.

See also

References
  1. Trumbore, Dave (March 23, 2018). "'Nomad of Nowhere': Jordan Cwierz on the Animated Antics of the Wild New Western Series". Collider. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  2. Cotter, Padraig (March 15, 2019). "What To Expect From Nomad of Nowhere Season 2". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. "Series Nomad of Nowhere - Rooster Teeth". RoosterTeeth. Otter Media. May 2, 2020. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  4. Trumbore, Dave (January 17, 2018). "Rooster Teeth Unveils 2018 Animation Slate & New Animated Series 'Nomad of Nowhere'". Collider. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. Milligan, Mercedes (January 17, 2018). "Rooster Teeth FIRST Reveals 2018 Animation Slate". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022.
  6. Weiss, Geoff (February 6, 2018). "Rooster Teeth Shares Teaser For Western-Style Animation 'Nomad Of Nowhere'". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  7. Milligan, Mercedes (February 6, 2018). "Daily News Bytes: 'GoT' Guys Tapped for 'Star Wars' Slate, 'Isle of Dogs' Clip, 'Nomad of Nowhere' Teaser & More!". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  8. Schwarz, Jon (March 10, 2018). "Rooster Teeth News: "Red vs Blue" Season 16 Gets Start Date; "Nomad of Nowhere" Gets New Teaser". Bubble Blabber. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  9. Milligan, Mercedes (March 23, 2018). "Daily News Bytes: 'Nomad of Nowhere' Ep. 1, Netflix Doubles Its 'Oddbods,' Teen-Lead Animation Ambition in Guyana, & More!". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  10. Cwierz, Jordan (April 2018). "Nomad Mid-Season & Camp Camp Season 3?!". RoosterTeeth. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  11. Trumbore, David (May 3, 2020). "Exclusive: Rooster Teeth's 'Nomad of Nowhere' Finale Clip Gives Power to the People". Collider. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020.
  12. Trumbore, Dave (March 23, 2018). "'Nomad of Nowhere': Jordan Cwierz on the Animated Antics of the Wild New Western Series". Collider. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  13. Yossman, K.J. (May 11, 2022). "FilmRise Acquires Streaming Rights for Rooster Teeth Web Series Including 'Red vs. Blue,' 'Camp Camp' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  14. "Nomad of Nowhere". Tubi. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  15. "Nomad of Nowhere". iTunes. January 2018. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  16. "Nomad of Nowhere". Prime Video. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  17. Luna, Miles (2019). "Yup <3 [in response to a question titled "Is Skout a new LGBT character?"]". Reddit. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  18. War, Hounds of (2019). "Skout is officially confirmed to have a crush on Toth". Reddit. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  19. Kaldor, David (2019). "Season Review: Nomad of Nowhere Season One". Bubble Blabber. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  20. Whitman, Georden [@geordenwhitman] (July 31, 2019). "Thanks yo! Also wanted to say thanks for all your kind words on Nomad, Skout and Toths narrative growth was set up to be my favorite part of the story, and I hope at some point that can be shown for you all somehow! Maybe a comic or who knows what the future holds! Thanks again!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. Trumbore, Dave (December 13, 2018). "2018's Best New Animated Series for Kids". Collider. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  22. Williams, Tommy (2018). "NOMAD OF NOWHERE is a Fun Animated Show for Everyone". Geek Tyrant. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  23. Jones, Jordan (January 17, 2018). "A Tease for Rooster Teeth's 'gen: Lock' is on the way". Geeks of Color. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  24. Whitman, Georden [@geordenwhitman] (October 10, 2018). "Ya I left RT a while back for some creative differences, and now am workin on a new show of mine" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
  25. Whitman, Georden [@geordenwhitman] (March 13, 2019). "We had Nomad fully written before season 3 of camp camp / when i left, and I handed them the outline of the whole story, including the ending, so if RT does its their call and they maybe still thinking over things or busy with other productions. Its a small team and it takes time" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
  26. Dan K. (June 17, 2019). "The Exploitation of American Creators: Rooster Teeth's Abusive Crunch Culture". Pop Dust. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022.
  27. "Always Take Notes". Rooster Teeth. Talk CRWBY to Me. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020. Here's the clip and an .
  28. Cwierz, Jordan. "Squashing Camp Camp Rumors & Misinformation". Jordan Cwierz's Tumblr. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
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