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TV Media Weekly | September 24 - 30, 2016 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media I t's an age-old story: absen- tee father appears out of the blue to make good with the wife and kids and winds up upending everybody's lives. Such a figure is seldom able to make a seamless re-entry into the lives of those he's been away from for years on end, but in some families it's an especial- ly jarring event. Like in "Son of Zorn," for in- stance. The partly animated comedy joins Fox's cartoon- packed Sunday night lineup this fall and features the voice tal- ents of Jason Sudeikis. The "Sat- urday Night Live" alum stars as Zorn, an animated barbarian hailing from the far-off island of Zephyria, who returns to Orange County to reconnect with his live-action ex-wife and son. The series premieres Sunday, Sept. 25, on Fox. Poor Zorn. The long-haired, hulking, muscle-bound toon may be hot stuff in his home- land, but in suburban California, he's pretty much at sea. The ani- mated island nation of Zephyria is located somewhere in the Pa- cific Ocean and is utterly chaot- ic. Its landscape is dotted with ice caves and lava pits, it's teem- ing with monsters, and killing and violence are part of every- day life. What a shock, then, to make the move to sunny Orange County, where he learns that his ex-wife, Edie (Cheryl Hines, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), is en- gaged to a mild-mannered psy- chology professor named Craig (Tim Meadows, "Saturday Night Live"), and his teenage son Al- angulon (Johnny Pemberton, "21 Jump Street," 2012) is a sensitive, slightly dweeby vege- tarian. Undaunted, Zorn is deter- mined to establish himself in the 'burbs, where he can begin to be a father to Alangulon (who goes by Alan) in earnest, which is ter- ribly entertaining. Evidently, what constitutes an impressive résumé in Zephyria doesn't go far in Orange County, but Zorn manages to land an assistant job at an industrial soap compa- ny, where he pairs an office-ap- propriate shirt and tie with his knee-high boots and furry briefs. He's delightfully oblivious to the fact that his boss is female, the concept of a woman being his superior being entirely foreign to him. For her part, Linda (Ar- temis Pebdani, "Scandal") takes her subordinate's eccentricities in stride, displaying the patience of a saint. As for the fact that Zorn is clearly a cartoon, nobody in the live-action world is too phased by it, and that's exactly the way showrunners wanted it. Zephyr- ia's a far-off land, but it's not a secret — the general popula- tion is aware that some of the world's inhabitants are simply animated. "We never wanted to call him a cartoon," co-creator and exec- utive producer Reed Agnew ex- plained at this summer's Televi- sion Critics Association press tour. "We talk about it as if you were to see someone from Libe- ria who would seem strange and look weird." Says Sudeikis of his character: "He wears a battle strap and furry underpants. Other than that, he's just a normal guy." Ten years is a long time to be away, but Zorn's desire to be a father to Alan is sincere and fun to watch. He takes him to dinner, where Zorn is baffled and dis- mayed by his son's refusal to eat meat; he helps Alan with girl problems; he buys his son an enormous "death hawk" — which Edie quite understandably balks at — much as a father might buy his son his first car. The series boasts some re- spectable star power in front of the camera, but there are some big names behind the scenes as well. Executive producers Chris- topher Miller and Phil Lord have their names attached to a num- ber of funny and successful proj- ects, and "Son of Zorn" isn't their first foray into the cartoon world. The pair wrote and direct- ed the animated films "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" (2009) and "The Lego Movie" (2014), both of which scored Golden Globe nods for Best Ani- mated Feature Film. They also directed "21 Jump Street" (2012) and its 2014 sequel, and have several writing, directing and producing credits, including "Clone High" (which they also co-created and lent their voice talents to), "How I Met Your Mother," "The Last Man on Earth" and "Brooklyn Nine- Nine." Expect some big names on the list of guest stars this sea- son, too. Sudeikis's "SNL" cast- mate Fred Armisen guests as Vulchazor, Zorn's evil, vulture- headed nemesis, who's been wreaking havoc in Zephyria since Zorn left. "Parks and Rec- reation" star Nick Offerman plays a cave-dwelling doctor, and "Key & Peele's" Keegan-Mi- chael Key plays Zorn's warrior pal Gobos the Great. Sudeikis's fiancée Olivia Wilde ("House") voices Zorn's ex-girlfriend, Radi- ana, whom our desperate hero brings as a date to Craig and Edie's engagement party. All in all, "Son of Zorn" sounds like a good time. After all, there's nothing like a good fish-out-of- water story, and this is one to a tee. "[Zorn] comes from a world where, every day, there's a battle and monsters to be slain," said Agnew at the TCA panel. "Now he can't figure out how to work a vending machine. These are the battles he's fighting now." Don't miss the series pre- miere of "Son of Zorn" when it airs Sunday, Sept. 25, on Fox. Artemis Pebdani as seen in "Son of Zorn" Fox blends animation with live action in 'Son of Zorn' 2 | Cover story Harvey Hinklemeyers Martino's 3 x 5" A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Expires 10/6/16

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