Showtime: Galavant

Well, Valentine’s Day is once again slowly closing in on us (followed closely by Discount Chocolates Day) so to try and vaguely work with a theme this month, I wanted to talk about a show that I absolutely adore… but that also didn’t get all the love it truly deserved when it was first released. And that is an absolute crime because this show is absolutely amazing from beginning to end and you all need to hear about it because it deserved better.

Let’s talk about Galavant.

---

TV Series      2015–2016      Genres: Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Musical      Rating: TV-PG      Seasons: 2      Episodes: 18      Average Episode Length: 22min      IMDB Rating: 8.1/10

---

Summary

Galavant (Joshua Sasse) is a dashing, heroic, and incredibly handsome knight of legend. Or at least he used to be, before Madalena (Mallory Jansen), the love of his life, was stolen away and married to the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson).

Now, aided by the headstrong Princess Isabella (Karen David) and his faithful squire Sid (Luke Youngblood), Galavant embarks on a noble quest to reclaim his love and his reputation.

But King Richard is desperate to win over the affection of his captured Queen, and killing her knightly champion seems like the perfect way to do it. 

---

*VERY MILD SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES AHEAD*

I’m a child of the Disney Renaissance, so perhaps that’s why I find musical adventures to be endlessly delightful. But even if you’re not the biggest fan of the genre, I still think there’s a lot here to be enjoyed because Galavant is first, and foremost, insanely fun to watch.

The casting is spot on perfection with some truly incredible performances all around. Timothy Omundson was my absolute favourite as the bumbling evil king, but Joshua Sasse and Karen David weren’t far behind with some fantastic performances and incredible chemistry. (And yes, that is live-action Princess Jasmine and she is a million times better here!) 

The story is admittedly fairly predictable, but the twists they do sneak in are both unexpected and hilarious, but if you enjoy general adventures through medieval fantasy land, you won’t be disappointed. The show is also rife with dry Britishisms and humor – one of the songs is called, “Maybe You’re Not The Worst Thing Ever” – and it isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself without veering too far into meta extremes. 

Most importantly, as a musical, it’s spectacular. Which is hardly a surprise with Alan Menken (of Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992) fame) behind the music and lyrics! Each episodes has at least two hilarious and original songs minimum, which is to be expected from the creative minds behind Disney’s Tangled, and every one of them is endlessly entertaining and incredibly catchy while still driving the plot forward and never dragging it down.

Is this a perfect show… okay no, it isn’t. The pacing overall can feel pretty slow at times, and if you absolutely loathe musicals, you probably won’t be convinced to love this one either. That said, the show is available for binge-watching, which drastically improves the pacing overall. And if you can at least tolerate the occasional song and dance, you’ll probably still get a kick out of the incredibly clever lyrics and double entendres sprinkled throughout.

Essentially, if you like my terrible puns, you will love the wordplay in this show.

With a terrific cast, hilarious stories, and the catchiest songs this side of Disney’s Frozen, Galavant is an underrated and underappreciated classic that deserved so much more than just two seasons.

It’s fun, full of heart, never takes itself too seriously, and it’s guaranteed to get at least one song stuck in your head for days. I highly recommend giving this series a watch. Enjoy!

Watch it on Hulu | Disney+

---

Thanks for reading everyone! Check out more of my posts below!