Ever seen a seven-foot-tall, sword-wielding barbarian try to navigate the crushing banality of an office cubicle while wearing a business-casual polo over his loincloth?
That was the vibe of Son of Zorn.
When it hit FOX back in 2016, the show felt like a fever dream. It was a weird, ambitious hybrid of a live-action sitcom and a 1980s-style He-Man cartoon. While the animation was the hook, the Son of Zorn cast was the actual engine that kept the thing from falling apart. Honestly, looking back on it now, it’s wild how much talent they packed into one season of television that most people have already forgotten.
The premise was simple enough: Zorn, a legendary warrior from the island of Zephyria, moves to Orange County to reconnect with his estranged live-action son and ex-wife. It sounds like a one-note joke, but the actors played it with such straight-faced sincerity that it actually worked.
The Voice and the Loincloth: Jason Sudeikis as Zorn
You can’t talk about this show without talking about Jason Sudeikis.
He didn't just voice a cartoon; he gave a 2D drawing a mid-life crisis. Sudeikis has this specific brand of "arrogant but somehow lovable" energy that he’d later perfect in Ted Lasso, but here it was dialed into a different frequency. Zorn was a mass of muscles and toxic masculinity who genuinely thought he was the hero of every story, even when he was just trying to figure out how to use a digital soap dispenser.
Sudeikis wasn't on set, though. While the live actors were filming in California, he was in a booth in New York, often recording his lines months later.
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That’s a tough gig.
You’re essentially doing a solo performance and hoping the timing matches up with the physical actors. To make it work on set, the cast didn't just stare at empty air. They had Dan Lippert, a 6'6" comedian, standing in as the "Zorn IRL" reference. Lippert provided the eye-line and the physical presence for the live actors to play off of before he was painted over by the animators.
The Human Glue: Cheryl Hines and Johnny Pemberton
If Sudeikis was the chaos, Cheryl Hines was the anchor.
Playing Edie, Zorn’s ex-wife, Hines had the hardest job on the show. She had to treat a cartoon barbarian like a disappointing ex-husband she still sort of had a soft spot for. Her timing, honed from years on Curb Your Enthusiasm, made the "hybrid" part of the show feel natural. When she rolled her eyes at Zorn, you didn't see an actor looking at a green screen; you saw a woman exhausted by her ex’s drama.
Then you’ve got Johnny Pemberton as Alangulon (or just "Alan").
Alan was the "son" in Son of Zorn, a shy teenager who was only half-animated—specifically, his legs were sometimes cartoonish, a trait he inherited from his dad. Pemberton played the "disappointed son" trope with a lot of nuance. He wasn't just a nerd; he was a kid trying to build an identity in the shadow of a father who literally fought dragons.
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The chemistry between Pemberton and Hines felt like a real family, which is impressive considering their third family member was a drawing of a guy with a broadsword.
Tim Meadows: The Secret MVP
Kinda feels like Tim Meadows makes everything better, doesn't it?
In Son of Zorn, he played Craig, Edie’s new fiancé. On paper, Craig is the exact opposite of Zorn. He’s an online psychology professor, he’s sensitive, he wears Crocs, and he’s incredibly non-confrontational.
Most shows would make the "new guy" a jerk to make the protagonist look better. Instead, the writers (and Meadows) made Craig genuinely nice and weirdly supportive of Zorn’s presence. Meadows’ delivery is so dry it’s almost desiccated. He treated the fact that a barbarian was living in his guest house as a minor logistical hurdle rather than a supernatural event.
Why the Ensemble Worked (and Why It Ended)
The supporting cast was rounded out by Artemis Pebdani as Linda, Zorn’s boss at Sanitation Solutions. Pebdani is one of those character actors who shows up in everything from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Scandal, and she brought a chaotic energy that rivaled Zorn’s own.
So, if the cast was this good, why did it only last 13 episodes?
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- The Cost: Mixing high-quality 2D animation with live-action is expensive. Every scene Zorn was in required frame-by-frame attention.
- The Niche: It was a "show for everyone" that felt like a "show for no one." It was too weird for standard sitcom fans and maybe too "sitcom-y" for Adult Swim fans.
- The Schedule: FOX was notoriously brutal with its Sunday night animation block back then.
Despite the cancellation, the Son of Zorn cast left behind a cult classic. It was a show that asked "What if He-Man had to get a job at a soap company?" and then actually tried to answer it with emotional depth.
Finding the Show Today
If you’re looking to revisit the series or see these actors before they hit their next big peaks (like Sudeikis’ Emmy run), the show usually floats around on streaming platforms like Hulu or is available for purchase on VOD.
Honestly, it's worth a rewatch just to see Tim Meadows try to explain "boundaries" to a man who thinks the solution to every problem is a decapitation. It’s a masterclass in ensemble comedy acting under the most bizarre technical constraints possible.
Next Steps for Fans
- Check out Johnny Pemberton’s podcast: If you liked his awkward energy, Twisting the Wind is a deep dive into his specific brand of humor.
- Watch the "Making of" featurettes: Look for clips of Dan Lippert on set. Seeing a giant man in a grey suit acting as a stand-in for a cartoon warrior gives you a whole new respect for what Cheryl Hines was doing.
- Track the "Lord and Miller" connection: The show was executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). Their fingerprints are all over the fast-paced, meta-humor.
The show might be over, but the way this cast navigated the "Zephyrian" culture clash remains a high-water mark for experimental network TV.
Actionable Insight: If you're a creator or writer, study Son of Zorn for how to ground a high-concept premise. The secret isn't the animation—it's having actors who treat the absurd as the mundane. Focus on the human reactions to the "weird" element to make it feel real for the audience.