From Big Mouth to the Woods: Nick Kroll’s Evolution in Mating Season

When Netflix audiences hit play on Mating Season, they are greeted by an unapologetic opening: real-life footage of woodland creatures engaging in the rituals of reproduction, set to the sultry sounds of Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” It is a bold, irreverent tone-setter that signals the arrival of a new project from the creative team behind Big Mouth.

While the animated series, which recently dropped its 10-episode first season, shares a creative lineage with its predecessor, series creator Nick Kroll is quick to clarify that this is not simply Big Mouth in the wild. Instead, the show marks a deliberate pivot from the angst of adolescence to the complex, often messy reality of adult romance.

A New Demographic for a Signature Style

For Kroll and his co-creators—Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett—the transition from middle schoolers to adults allowed for a natural evolution of their signature brand of sex comedy. While Big Mouth served as a profound exploration of identity and the physical changes of puberty, Mating Season centers on a community of forest animals navigating dating, breakups, and the general bewilderment of being in one’s late 20s or 30s.

“That format allows us to do an extension of the stories that we were telling on Big Mouth, but those were middle schoolers and high schoolers,” Kroll noted in an interview with IndieWire. “To be able to make those a continuation of that kind of storytelling, but with adults in the dating world, it felt like a great opportunity.”

A Focused Ensemble

Unlike the sprawling, multi-perspective approach that Big Mouth eventually adopted, Mating Season takes a more contained, intimate path. The narrative is anchored by four central characters: Josh, a bear voiced by Zach Woods; Ray, a raccoon voiced by Kroll; Fawn, a deer voiced by June Diane Raphael; and Penelope, a fox voiced by Sabrina Jalees.

Kroll emphasized that this tight focus was a strategic choice to help the audience connect with the characters early on. “If you go too wide too early, it’s just a little confusing and disjointed for an audience to absorb it all,” he explained. By sticking to this core group, the show functions more like a traditional hangout sitcom, following the friends as they navigate the forest trading post and the emotional hurdles of modern romance, from recovering from a brutal breakup to managing the awkwardness of an ex’s wedding.

The Art of Improvisation

Production on Mating Season leaned heavily into the collaborative nature of the cast. While many animated projects have shifted to recording sessions where actors work in isolation, Kroll prioritized bringing his cast together in the booth whenever possible. This preference for group sessions allowed for a level of spontaneity and improvisation that the creators feel elevated the final performance.

For Kroll, the role of Ray the raccoon was also a personal milestone. The actor has long harbored a self-described fascination with the animals, frequently incorporating them into his previous work, including Oh, Hello on Broadway. “Wherever I get a chance, I’ve mentioned or think about raccoons, and so when we started to work on the show, I felt like, ‘Well, for sure, I will be a raccoon,’” Kroll said.

Key Takeaways

• Creative Continuity: The show reunites the creative team behind Big Mouth but shifts the focus to adult dating and romance.
• Character-Driven Narrative: The first season focuses exclusively on four main friends, allowing the audience to build a deeper connection with the ensemble.
• Production Style: The creative team utilized in-person recording sessions to encourage improvisation among the cast.
• Availability: All 10 episodes of Mating Season Season 1 are currently available to stream on Netflix.

By blending the familiar comedic sensibilities of their past work with a more grounded, adult-centric perspective, the creators of Mating Season have crafted a show that feels both like a natural evolution and a fresh start. Whether it’s the relatable struggles of their animal protagonists or the sharp, improvised dialogue, the series offers a distinct look at the trials of the modern dating world.