This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places and delicious food of Pennsylvania. "Stunningly original." "A triumph of imagination.
" "Uniquely thrilling." Scavengers Reign, an animated sci-fiseries, debuted on Max in 2023 to huge critical acclaim. It's now nominated for an Emmy alongside "X-Men '97," "The Simpsons," "Blue Eye Samurai" and "Bob's Burgers.
" The show was co-created by Charles Huettner, an Adams County-based animator. He answered PA Local's questions via email about the nomination, his show's Pennsylvania-inspired elements and more. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
PA Local: Can you talk about the highs and lows of this year? The show was canceled by HBO Max, nominated for an Emmy, then arrived on Netflix where a whole new audience awaits — stoking fan hopes of a possible Season 2 on a new platform. Is your head spinning? What do you hope comes next? Huettner: My perspective on it is that getting to make the show in the first place, in the way we wanted to, was an absolute gift. The entertainment industry always seems to be in some kind of turmoil.
I didn't enter into all this with any expectations or sense of entitlement that we would get to make the show forever. Sometimes business decisions made at the top of these large entertainment companies can seem random, and that was always on my mind from the very beginning. I'm very proud of ou.