After rocking the Hanukkah sweater in 2015’s underrated The Night Before, Seth Rogen is starring in another holiday-themed project, this one an animated series with Sarah Silverman about the first female Santa Claus. Santa Inc. features Silverman as Candy Smalls, the highest-ranking female elf in the North Pole. “When the successor to Santa Claus (Rogen) is poached by Amazon on Christmas Eve, Candy goes for her ultimate dream— to become the first woman Santa Claus in the history of Christmas,” according to HBO Max, which is releasing the series.
There are a few reasons to be excited for Santa Inc., beginning with “it’s called Santa Inc.” (which is also the name of a trucking and excavating business in Seattle?). Also, it’s being written by Shrill and Parks and Recreation producer Alexandra Rushfield, and Sarah Silverman and Seth Rogen are both very funny, obviously, and she has a pretty good track record of voicing animated characters named after candy. That’s a promising collection of talent, but it’s all for nothing if Weird Al Yankovic’s “The Night Santa Went Crazy” isn’t the theme song. Spoiler: Candy Smalls becomes the new Santa after the old Santa is sentenced to federal prison for his infamous crime.
Set to be eight episodes long, Santa Inc. does not have a premiere date yet. But HBO Max, which will also have Rogen’s immigrant pickle movie, launches on May 27.
