The Idiom Idiots is an American-South Korean animated edutainment surreal comedy/farce children's television series created by Grayson Lorentzen for The CC, and the first TV series that she has ever created in general. The show aims to teach children the meaning of idioms by showcasing four animated comical misinterpretations of particular idioms in each episode (that last for 90 seconds, with at least one-minute intervals for commercials), before explaining the true meaning behind them. The first season began airing on February 1, 2019. Two seasons and 26 episodes were initially ordered. On the heels of TV show renewals and cancellations for the 2018-19 season, The CC opted not to renew the show for a further third season, and cancelled it on May 11, 2019. Despite this, the second season is still planned to fully air, as it premiered on January 10, 2020. On March 2020, 2 episodes into the second season, the series entered an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus epidemic. It would later return on December 4, 2020, and conclude the following year on February 26, 2021, thereby ending the series for good.
The theme song is "Idiomsyncratic" by The Raging Idiots.
Plot[]
Four idioms are featured in each episode as wildly, hilariously-misinterpreted situations before their true meanings are revealed.
Voice cast[]
Note: Each voice actor listed provide voices for a variety of characters in the show.
- Sam Lavagnino
- Cheri Oteri
- Jeff Bennett
- Kevin Michael Richardson
- Mo Collins
- Cree Summer
- Grey DeLisle
- Rob Paulsen
- Jess Harnell
- Frank Welker
Production[]
The series began production at an unspecified date in the winter of 2016, when its origins as a monthly comic book did not come to fruition. It wrapped up sometime in mid-2018 with 26 episodes completed. They were later split evenly hot on the heels of their 2-season order, with the first season to start broadcast on February 1, 2019. Even with the episodes' completion, there was plans to eventually produce more episodes, but these plans were cut short by the May 11, 2019 announcement that the series had been cancelled during the 2018-19 TV season series renewals and cancellation reports by a number of television networks. During airing of the second season, the series went into hiatus as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed airing on December 4, 2020.
Casting[]
On January 19, 2019, the voice casting for the series was announced. All of the voice actors named will play a multitude of characters throughout the series, alongside guest voice stars.
Series overview[]
| Season | Episodes | Segments | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 13 | 52 | February 1, 2019 | October 25, 2019 | |
| 2 | 13 | TBA | January 10, 2020 | February 26, 2021 | |
Season 1 (2019)[]
- Each episode consists of four, 90-second segments, with a minute in between segments reserved for commercial airings.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Prod. Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Nose To The Grindstone" | Matt Hoverman | Carin Greenberg | February 1, 2019 | 108 |
| Nose To The Grindstone: An unnamed boy (Mo Collins) reassures himself that he needs to "put [his] nose to the grindstone, while an unnamed girl, presumably a relative (Grey DeLisle) assumes he is speaking figuratively; that is, until he begins rubbing his nose on an actual grindstone for an indefinite amount of time, while the girl face slaps in reaction. Chip Off The Old Block: A dad (Jess Harnell) sees his young son (Sam Lavagnino) hit his first baseball, which reminds him of his younger self as a baseball player, so he refers to him as the "chip off the old block." His son mishears this literally and chips away at a decrepit, abandoned warehouse that falls apart quickly. A demolition crew nearby are hilariously relieved that they will not have to arduously demolish the warehouse since "Bae Ruth tore it apart for [them]". The Devil Is In The Details: An English teacher (Cheri Oteri) warns her students that they will see "the devil is in the details" as they learn to analyze the literary aspects of a book. However, a religiously fanatic girl (Kari Wahlgren) truly does believe the Devil is literary in the details of the book, and so attempts an exorcism on the book before being dragged away by two police officers. Over My Dead Body: An older brother (Jason Griffith) quarrels with his younger brother (Lavagnino) over possession of the biggest chair in their dinner table, with the older sibling stating that the other brother will only claim the chair "over [his] dead body. The younger brother then pretends to be his older brother and fakes passing out. When his older brother goes to check on him in fear that he indeed may have fainted, the younger brother hauls ass to the chair, finally having it all for himself. | |||||
| 2 | "Spill The Beans" | Trevor Wall | Amy Keating Rogers | March 1, 2019 | 103 |
| Spill The Beans: A girl (Andrea Libman) probes another girl, Derpina (Hynden Walch), over her possible romance, telling her to spill the beans. Derpina literally spills the beans due to her intellectual disability, which garners a retort from the other girl on how her mental retardation is the cause of her loneliness. Derpina then cries, fully aware that she'll be "forever alone". Burn Bridges: After his kid (Lavagnino) reports bullying from his "friend" to his father (Rob Paulsen), who advises him to "burn bridges" with said friend. During dinner, as he's viewing the local newscast, his son is featured on the news for his incarceration upon literally committing arson on some bridges with his friend, and his father amusingly speeds out to bail him out. Cutting Corners: A romance paperback author (Cree Summer) is told by her editor to cut corners in order to pump out her latest steamy novel, so she literally cuts the corners of the pages of her first draft. Piece of Cake: A man (Kevin Michael Richardson) refuses his wife's (Retta) help in moving furniture, bragging that it's a piece of cake, until his wife flatly denies him and attempts to show pieces of cake into his mouth so he can finally crack and say those are actually pieces of cake. | |||||
| 3 | "An Arm and A Leg" | Shane Poettcker | Joe Ansolabehere | March 29, 2019 | 106 |
| An Arm and A Leg: A man (Mo Collins) looks to purchase perfume at a store titled Hi*Mart, but the cashier (Jess Harnell) adverts him that it will cost him "an arm and a leg". Foolishly, the purchaser lends him his severed left arm and left leg, causing the cashier to faint in shock and most likely bafflement. The Early Bird Gets the Worm: As a department store employee (Cheri Oteri) sets up for an "Early Bird" sale at the store, a somewhat mentally unstable man (Jeff Bennett) "flies" into the store, demanding for the "worm" since he's an "early bird". The employee cynically objects to any worms crawling around the store, telling him that she's currently in hold of one, mimicking the action of throwing one far away for him to get a hold of. He scours for it, and she shows amusement at this. Cut the Mustard: A boss at a white-collar job (Billy West) counsels his employee to "cut the mustard", or work more productively. Later that day, he arrives at his house to find his house drenched with mustard from cut-open mustard jars and his employee in the process of slicing one open, telling him with bugged-out eyes if he's getting a raise for literally cutting the mustard. Kill Two Birds With One Stone: When a kid (Sam Lavagnino) complains about being tasked with completing a project and an essay, his mom (Tara Strong) banters that he will have to "kill two birds with one stone" in order to successfully finish both of these things. She is later called by her son, who says he "did it" in his backyard, and when she notices what he's been referring to, she's horrified...to discover that her son broke her two bird statues with a medium-size rock. | |||||
| 4 | "Break A Leg" | Krista Tucker | Holly Forsyth | April 26, 2019 | 111 |
| Break A Leg: A hockey player (Ray Chase) is bid good luck by his girlfriend, present in the audience on a hockey game he is participating in. She expresses it as "break a leg", however, and his misunderstands her as he swings his leg at his leg and voluntarily amputates it. This sends him to the hospital, where his girlfriend laughs off his mishearing and admits she still loves him in spite of this. Cry Over Spilled Milk: When a woman (Grey DeLisle) is told by her mother (Cree Summer) not to "cry over spilled milk", believing she's still upset over the loss of her father, the woman laments that the milk was just too good to waste, revealing she was actually distraught over actual milk that was spilled on accident. Sit On The Fence: A boy (Sam Lavagnino) is ordered by his mother (DeLisle) to chose between two cereals at the supermarket, and because of his indecisiveness, he instead elects to "sit on the fence". It is later shown that he is literally prowling around town in search of a fence. Break The Ice: A man (Jeff Bennett) who goes to his friend (Scott Menville) for advice on impressing his date is told by him that he must "break the ice", which means making her comfortable. The man takes this to heart and shows off to his date by breaking increasingly bigger chunks of ice at a coffee shop. She is actually amazed at his ice-breaking skills and proclaims him her boyfriend. | |||||
| 5 | "Hit The Road" | Howard E. Baker | David Pitlik | May 24, 2019 | 102 |
| Hit The Road: Whilst starting up the truck loaded with commodities for a road trip, a man (Rob Paulsen) tells another man, presumably his friend (Jeff Bennet), that they should now "hit the road". The other man responds by retrieving a stick from the ground and repeatedly hitting the road with it. He continues this activity for another 90 hours and 30 minutes, with his friend already gone by then. That Ship Has Sailed: When an unprofessional businessman (Jess Harnell) arrives tardy at a super important business meeting, he's told the meeting has concluded and that the "ship has sailed." The businessman is adamant that that's not the case, and proves his point by jumping into a nearby harbor and swimming after a ship that has just set sail. Cold Shoulder: During an argument between a man (Mo Collins) and his wife (Jennifer Hale), the wife states that because of their tension, she will give him the "cold shoulder". The man angrily counterattacks with "no, I will," before setting an ice pack on her shoulder. His wife laughs in reaction to this and confesses that his naivety is the reason she loves him very much. Rocket Science: A girl (Cheri Oteri) is frustrated by her Geometry homework, but her adoptive father (Kevin Michael Richardson) comforts her by assuring her it's not "rocket science". Two hours later, he checks up on her again and is astounded that she has constructed a rocket from scratch using legitimate rocket science. Her father questions her homework completion, to which she acknowledges that she has not finished her homework because her father had reminded her it wasn't rocket science. | |||||
| 6 | "Pulling Your Leg" | David Knott | Michael Rabb | May 31, 2019 | 105 |
| Pulling Your Leg: Two friends are horse-playing around, and one of them (Mo Collins) confesses to having pulled the leg of the other (Misty Lee), but she debunks his confession and pulls his leg precisely to demonstrate actual leg pulling. However, she actually smells his smelly feet and gets angrily grossed out, all while her friend laughs at her reaction. Apple A Day: A little kid (Sam Lavagnino) is terrified at the prospect of going to the doctor's, so his dad advises him that apples "keep the doctor away". The kid, with a plastic container full of apple slices as a snack, begins chucking them at the doctor during his check-up. Fortune Favors the Bold: A college-aged man (Beck Bennett) ponders on whether he should ingest hot wings or super hot wings (known as "Bold"), to which his friend requests the super hot since "fortunte favors the bold." The collegiate dude takes this to mean the Bold flavor, so he secures the Bold wings and quickly regrets it. Leave No Stone Unturned: A grandma (Allison Janney) aids her grandson (Lavagnino) in searching for a misplaced marble at a central park, and she suggests to "leave no stone unturned", or to investigate everywhere in the park. Her grandson takes this at face value and legitimately turns over all the rocks and pebbles present in the park. | |||||
| 7 | "Once In a Blue Moon" | Guy Moore | Cynthia Petrovic | August 16, 2019 | 112 |
| Once In a Blue Moon: A nerd-like character (Danny Pudi) fawns over the thought of getting married one day, to which his emo-like friend (Mitchel Musso) retorts that it will only occur "once in a blue moon", insinuating that his buddy will never, ever get married. Flash forward into the future, the nerd is shown marrying his girlfriend during an actual blue moon and concurring with his emo friend, who is present at the wedding and fuming with jealousy, that he would get married once in a blue moon. Beat Around the Bush: A kid (Lavagnino) announces to the teacher that he wants to warn her of something but frets over its inappropriate subject matter. In response, the teacher advises him not to "beat around the bush" or else get time out. The kid remarks that he'd rather get in trouble for actually beating a plant bush, and proceeds to do just that to a bush outside his elementary school before being seized by the principal. Rain On Someone's Parade: A novice band member (Jeff Bennett) for a float parade who fantasizes over not having to participate in said parade is cautioned by the band leader not to "rain on [the] parade" because they'll inevitably face the consequences for doing so. Ignoring his admonishes, the band member sets of his plan by hosing the entire parade, which initiates chaos and anarchy everywhere. The band member is promptly dismissed, which he finds liberating, and he runs off into the sunset, never to be seen again. On The Ball: After a soccer player (Scott Menville) scores for his team, his father (Rob Paulsen) comments from the sidelines that he's "on the ball", or doing a very good job. But the athlete's little brother (Lavagnino) complains that he too can be on the ball, taking it literally, and borrows the ball to sit on it, deflating it. later, he can be seen mowing the lawn to pay off the new ball for his brother's soccer team. | |||||
| 8 | "Last Straw" | Chris Gilligan | Becky Friedman | August 23, 2019 | 101 |
| Last Straw: A little boy (Lavagnino) attempts to get his mother (Maria Bamford)'s attention, as she's on the phone with somebody, on a shortage of straws in their home, and she becomes increasingly enraged over his interrupting nature which leads to her screaming "That's the last straw!" Her son proceeds to say "Of course it is!" while brandishing the only straw remaining the household, to the dismay of his mother. Under the Weather: A little girl (Elsie Fisher) complains about feeling "under the weather" to her mother, who misinterprets this for her daughter's wanderlust nature and books a flight with her to Macau, which makes the girl airsick and prone to vomiting. I Heard It Through the Grapevine: A very social girl (Renée Elise Goldsberry) hears gossip about her crush's latest fling from her gossipy best friend (Maria Canals-Barrera), who "heard it through the grapevine." At first, the other girl takes this to mean she heard the rumors from somebody else, until her friend ushers her to an actual grapevine where a bunch of other teenagers are waiting on the other side, prepared to spill the tea to any willing eavesdroppers. Bite the Bullet: A geriatric lady (Cree Summer), on the day of her knee surgery, is assured by her granddaughter (Diamond White) that she will endure this surgery by admonishing that she should "bite the bullet". Following the successful surgery, the grandmother reprimands the granddaughter for advising her with this particular idiom after the doctor told her before surgery that she should never actually chew off any bullet. | |||||
| 9 | "Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch" | Trevor Wall | Adam Wilson | August 30, 2019 | 109 |
| Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch: At a farm, a kid (Lavagnino) counts the eggs laid in a chicken coop, which takes him quite some time. His grandmother demands to know what he's up to, to which he replies that he's counting chickens, only to be told by his grandmother that he shouldn't "count [the] chickens before they hatch". The kid appears confused and repeatedly questions why, which irritates the grandmother, who grounds him. Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: During a science expo, a scientist (Tom Kenny) exhibiting his newest invention declares it the "best thing since sliced bread". Another scientist coequal (Brian Stepanek) then pipes up and counters his claim by stating his 107-year old grandmother's the best thing since sliced bread, as she was born long before sliced bread became a reality. Chew the Fat: On a date at a grill and bar, a man's (Alex Hirsch in a special guest appearance) date (Amy Sedaris) propositions that they "chew the fat" while they await their food. He misconstrues her to mean they should chew actual animal fat. However, she did indeed mean animal fat, the segment concluding with the two on the verge of breaking into a dairy facility. | |||||
| 10 | "Dog Days" | Mårten Jönmark | Chris Nee | October 4, 2019 | 107 |
| 11 | "Apple of My Eye" | Howard E. Baker | Amy Keating Rogers | October 11, 2019 | 104 |
| 12 | "Wrong Side of the Bed" | David Knott | Nicole Dubuc | October 18, 2019 | 110 |
| 13 | "Falling For You" | Ehud Landsberg | Holly Forsyth | October 25, 2019 | 113 |
Season 2 (2020-21)[]
- The series went in hiatus in March 2020 due to the recent coronavirus pandemic.
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Prod. Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "It's a Small World" | Krista Tucker | Cynthia Petrovic | January 10, 2020 | 205 |
| 15 | 2 | "Hot Potato" | Guy Moore | Joe Ansolabehere | February 28, 2020 | 209 |
| 16 | 3 | "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover" | Matt Hoverman | David Pitlik | December 4, 2020 | 202 |
| 17 | 4 | "Piece of Cake" | Howard E. Baker | Amy Keating Rogers | December 11, 2020 | 206 |
| 18 | 5 | "Under the Weather" | Chris Gilligan | Chris Nee | December 18, 2020 | 211 |
| 19 | 6 | "Raining Cats and Dogs" | Trevor Wall | Holly Forsyth | January 8, 2021 | 203 |
| 20 | 7 | "Feast Your Eyes" | Ehud Lansberg | Carin Greenberg | January 15, 2021 | 210 |
| 21 | 8 | "Mum's the Word" | Mårten Jönmark | Becky Friedman | January 22, 2021 | 201 |
| 22 | 9 | "Catch Red-Handed" | Shane Poettcker | Adam Wilson | January 29, 2021 | 207 |
| 23 | 10 | "A Taste of Your Own Medicine" | David Knott | Michael Rabb | February 5, 2021 | 212 |
| 24 | 11 | "When Pigs Can Fly" | Guy Moore | Nicole Dubuc | February 12, 2021 | 208 |
| 25 | 12 | "See Eye to Eye" | Trevor Wall | Amy Keating Rogers | February 19, 2021 | 204 |
| 26 | 13 | "Cloud 9" | Mårten Jönmark | Cynthia Petrovic | February 26, 2021 | 213 |
Reception[]
The series has an influx of average to positive reviews, although some have gauged a couple of segments for their mildly inappropriate content. It currently has, on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, a 75% approval rating based on 10 reviews.