Summer Memories
Summer Memories[1] is an animated television series created by Adam Yaniv[2] which airs on The Roku Channel In the United States.
The series was produced by Yaniv's A&N Productions Ltd.[2][3] in partnership with Aircraft pictures and Yeti Farm Creative, and premiered on Family Channel in Canada in 2022,[2] followed by ABC in Australia, Amazon Prime in Germany, Showmax in Africa, and Roku in the US.[4]
Created by Adam Yaniv, the series stars Tricia Black as the voice of Jason, a young boy who is romanticizing the memories he made with his best friend Ronnie (Yaniv) over what he sees as the most important summer of his life, which was just a few weeks ago.[5] Yaniv based the show on his own childhood and best friend growing up in Raanana, Israel, and has said that the show draws on Israel both visually and verbally to achieve its unique color palette and joke style.
The series boasts writers and cast members from Prime-Time Canadian comedy hits such as Schitt's Creek, Kids in the Hall, Run the Burbs, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, TallBoyz and more.
Cast
The show's voice cast also includes Jason Priestly, Dani Kind, Andrew Phung, Taylor Love, Rashaana Cumberbatch, Andre Sills, Steffi DiDomenicantonio, Rakhee Morzaria, Jonathan Langdon, Tyler Murree, and Cassie Cao.
Awards and nominations
Black won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in an Animated Program or Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023.[6]
The show was also nominated for Best Animated Program or Series, and Sara Peters was nominated for Best Writing in an Animated Program or Series for the episode "Truth or Dare".[7]
Themes, style and narrative arc
The series is known for its surreal take on its characters’ recollections and playing with points of view, as well as using an unreliable narrator.[8]
It's also known for its original music, including its theme song which in itself is a clue to season 1's ending, and appears in multiple forms during the show.
Yaniv has said that while he based the show on his own memories growing up, the show is really a meditation on memories as a whole, and the choices people face in shaping their own and others' reality.[8]
Yaniv has said that while he has a story for season 2, "season 1 is its own complete chapter" and has described the world of Jason's memories as a 'nested world-within-a-world infinite universe, where the same moments are viewed through multiple lenses'.
References
- "Summer Memories On The Roku Channel". Roku. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- Ramin Zahed, "How ‘Summer Memories’ Creator Adam Yaniv Brought a Season of Wonder to Screens". Animation Magazine, October 11, 2022.
- "SummerMemoriesFans (@summer.memories.f)". TikTok. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- Roku. "Roku". Roku. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- Mark Layton, "News round-up: Prime Video & ABC pick up ‘Summer Memories’; Abacus shops Andrew Tate doc; Netflix & NITV kids’ co-commission". Television Business International, February 6, 2023.
- Connie Thiessen, "2023 Canadian Screen Awards: Children’s & Animation". Broadcast Dialogue, April 12, 2023.
- Mercedes Milligan, "Canadian Screen Awards: 2023 Animation Nominees". Animation Magazine, February 22, 2023.
- Adam Yaniv ~ Director of "Summer Memories" the fully independent cartoon series ~ D.A. Livecast #40, retrieved 2023-06-07