Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is an American animated fantasy adventure horror comedy television series developed by Tze Chun. A prequel to the film Gremlins (1984), the series is set in 1920s Shanghai and tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met Gizmo, a young Mogwai. Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay serve as executive producers, with Gremlins director Joe Dante as consulting producer.
In February 2021, ahead of the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season. The first episode had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13, 2022, before the series premiered with the launch of Max on May 23, 2023, consisting of 10 episodes. It was set to air on Cartoon Network as part of their "ACME Night" block, though the block moved to Adult Swim before that could happen.
The first half of the second season, subtitled The Wild Batch, was released on October 3, 2024. It shows how Sam and Gizmo move from Shanghai to America before Randall Peltzer discovers Gizmo. The second half was released on April 10, 2025.
Contents
Premise
The series focuses on how 10-year-old Sam Wing met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese mythology and Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by Riley Greene, a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins. The series also delves into the creation of the Mogwai by the goddess Nuwa and her brother, Fuxi. The second season takes place one year after the first season.
Voice cast
Main cast
Izaac Wang as Sam Wing
Ming-Na Wen as Fong Wing, Yin
B. D. Wong as Hon Wing
James Hong as Grandpa Wing
Matthew Rhys as Riley Greene
A.J. LoCascio as Gizmo, Bucky, Clam, Snout Jr., Evil Mogwai
Gabrielle Nevaeh Green as Elle-Marie
George Takei as Noggin
Simu Liu as Chang
Yael Grobglas as Margot
Recurring cast
Eric Bauza as Sebastian, Snout
Dee Bradley Baker as Evil Mogwai, Lion
Yvette Nicole Brown as Mayor Hansen
Michael Paul Chan as The Lion
Ronny Chieng as Big Big
Sungwon Cho as the Circusmaster, Kung Kung
Peyton Crim as Jackalope
Keith David as Bass Reeves
Grey DeLisle as Claw, Duckface, Evil Mogwai
Will Forte as the Warden of Alcatraz
Zach Galligan as Henchman #2
John Glover as Rodney
Michael Greyeyes as Geronimo
Alex Hernandez as Chupacabra
Keisuke Hoashi as Wei
Kelly Hu as The Lioness
Haviland Morris as Theodora
Laraine Newman as Lady Clamp
Sandra Oh as Nüwa
Timothy Olyphant as Johnny Appleseed
Randall Park as Yao / Odd-Odd
Bowen Yang as Celestial Administrator
Julie Nathanson as Warbler
Episodes
Development
On February 25, 2019, WarnerMedia greenlit an animated series based on Gremlins, for its streaming service HBO Max. Tze Chun was confirmed to write the series and serve as an executive producer with Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay. On July 1, 2019, the series, now titled Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, was given a series order of 10 episodes.
In February 2020, Joe Dante, director of the original two films, revealed that he acted as a consultant for the series. In July of that same year, it was revealed that Howie Mandel would not reprise his role as Gizmo for the series. On February 17, 2021, ahead of the series premiere, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season at the TCA virtual Press Tour.
In February 2021, the voice cast of Izaac Wang, Ming-Na Wen, B. D. Wong, James Hong, Matthew Rhys, and Gabrielle Green was announced, with A.J. LoCascio voicing Gizmo. In December 2021, the first clip was shown in an HBO Max trailer for 2022 releases. In July 2022, Zach Galligan, Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang were revealed to have roles in the series. Galligan previously portrayed Gizmo's modern-day owner Billy Peltzer in both Gremlins films. Animation for the series was provided by Blue Spirit Productions and 88 Pictures.
In July 2024, it was announced that John Glover, Michael Paul Chan, Ronny Chieng, Keith David, Will Forte, Kelly Hu, Simu Liu, and Jimmy O. Yang had joined the cast of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai - Season 2: The Wild Batch. Glover previously portrayed Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Release
The first episode of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13, 2022, before the 10-episode series debuted with the launch of Max on May 23, 2023. The series would have aired on Cartoon Network as part of their ACME Night block. However, the block moved to Adult Swim in September 2023 before that could happen. The series aired in the United Kingdom on CBBC, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on October 30, 2023. The series also aired in Japan on Cartoon Network Japan on November 8, 2025 (which was along with "The Deal" (from the episode of The Amazing World of Gumball) and "Pet Feud" (from the episode of The Powerpuff Girls (1998)).
The first half of the second season, which is subtitled "The Wild Batch", debuted on October 3, 2024. The second half of the second season was released on April 10, 2025.
Reception
Critical reception
For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.4/10 based on 21 critics. The website's consensus reads: "Recapturing the original movies' blend of cuteness and mayhem, Secrets of the Mogwai is delightful family entertainment -- just don't feed it after midnight." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on reviews from nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
For the second season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.6/10 based on 7 critics.