Spy Groove

Television series

Spy Groove (also known as SG) is an American adult animated series created by Michael Gans, Richard Register and Kevin Thomsen for MTV. Originally airing for thirteen episodes, it premiered on June 26, 2000 and ended on July 13, 2002. It aired on Teletoon Detour in Canada. Spy Groove was created by Michael Gans, Richard Register and Kevin Thomsen, who also wrote and performed the voices for the show. The general plot is about two suave yet cocky secret agents, Agent #1 and Agent #2, and their boss, Helena Troy, who assigned them their missions. Like the tone of MTV's animated programs, Spy Groove is consistently tongue in cheek and often employs fast paced banter between the protagonists. It also features a number of pop songs in some episodes at the time of its broadcast.

Co creators Michael Gans and Richard Register were comedy duo performers before becoming writers and utilized their fast paced rapport in the show based on their acts. The end credits sequence shows the protagonists (voiced by Gans and Register) chat and bicker together on topics irrelevant to the events of each episode, which was the only use of improvisation from the voice actors. The "Spy Groove" aesthetic is based on artist Glen Hanson's style, who was the art director and designed the characters and settings. It is basic and shiny, with brilliant colours and dark lines. Because of Hanson's caricature work, many characters are modeled after celebrities including Agent #1 and Agent #2, who were modelled after Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, respectively. As a homage to classic cartoons, the show practices limited animation, with most of the animation being limited to lip synching, facial expressions, some movements and action scenes, as characters are often still in most scenes of each episode.