Knuckles season 1, the first installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, arrived on Paramount+ on April 26, 2024. With Tom Howe as the music composer, replacing Tom Holkenborg from the Sonic movies, 27 of the 29 music scores were composed by Howe. The opening theme score has Scandal's The Warrior.
Knuckles season 1 is a spinoff series, positioned between the timelines of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Actor Edris Elba returned to voice the lead character, Knuckles the Echidna, from his same role in the Sonic movies. Adam Pally plays his apprentice Wade Whipple in the series.
Toby Ascher is the showrunner besides co-writing the series with John Whittington. Knuckles season 1 dropped all six episodes simultaneously on April 26, 2024.
Under Attack, Gun HQ, and more: The complete list of the soundtrack of Knuckles season 1
While Scandal deserves a special mention for each episode's opening theme with The Warrior, most of the remaining music has been composed by Howe.
A comprehensive list of the first 13 songs along with their length is given below:
The above-mentioned songs cover the first two episodes and part of the third episode, The Shabbat Dinner. Below is the list of the songs covered in episodes 3, 4 and 5.
The sixth and final episode, titled What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno has two songs not composed by Tom Howe. They are Frickin' Human Race by Asa Taccone and Flames of Disaster by Asa Taccone and Julian Barratt. The songs are listed in the table here:
Plot of Knuckles season 1
Knuckles the Echidna, played by Edris Elba, is a character from the Sonic video game series by Sega. In the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 finale, Knuckles had come to Earth to settle here. The series shows Knuckles trying to adjust to the new place and new ways of life.
To make his work easy, he appoints an assistant, Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple. Knuckles then trains Wade for a bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada, by making him learn the ways of the Echidna warrior. Wade's father is also set to compete in the tournament.
Wade reunites with his mother and sister during this time and even reconciles with his father, Pistol Pete, helping Wade move up the levels in the tournament. However, Pete continues to create trouble.
Knuckles season 1: Cast, episodes, and more
As for the other significant cast members, Rory McCann plays the villain, the Buyer, and Cary Elwes plays Pistol Pete Whipple.
Julian Barratt plays Jack Sinclair, Christopher Lloyd plays the ghost of Pachacamac, Scott Mescudi and Elli Taylor are the Buyer's agents, and Stockard Channing and Edi Patterson play Wade's mother and sister respectively.
The six episodes of the series received 65% on Rotten Tomatoes and 61 out of 100 on Metacritic. The episode titles are listed here:
- The Warrior
- Don't Ever Say I Wasn't There For You
- The Shabbat Dinner
- The Flames of Disaster
- Reno, Baby!
- What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno
Knuckles season 1 released on April 26, 2024, and is currently available for streaming on Paramount+.