How Beautiful It Is to Survive

How Beautiful It Is to Survive is an American adult animated sitcom created by Terry Ward that ran on The WB from 1998 to 2006, before moving to The CW. The series centers on the Delmer family: consisting of parents Geoff and Lana, their children Davy, Sean, and Penny, and their anthropomorphic pet penguin-like bird, Eddie, who go on many misadventures and adventures, while sub-plots involving other characters were involved. The show is set in the fictional town of Smokeville and parodies American culture and society, television, films, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Ward in 1994 while working as a scriptwriter on Animaniacs, who came up with the idea of an adult animated cartoon after being inspired by Fox’s The Simpsons. Ward pitched a seven-minute pilot to The WB in February 1996, and the show was greenlit and began production.

Since its debut on January 11, 1998, 529 episodes of How Beautiful It Is to Survive have been broadcast. The show received critical acclaim since its premiere and has won dozens of awards, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, four Golden Reel Awards, and three Annie Awards. It is the fourth longest-running American animated television series, behind The Simpsons, Arthur, and South Park, as well as the longest-running animated series from Warner Bros.. How Beautiful It Is to Survive’s 25th season began airing on September 26, 2021 and ended on May 15, 2022. The series was renewed through season 28, extending the series to 2025. How Beautiful It Is to Survive is a joint production by Lucky Pig Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

The How Beautiful It Is to Survive Movie: Too Hot for Theaters!, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on April 25, 2003, and grossed over $199 million. A spin-off series, The Frank McDilly Show, featuring Frank McDilly, aired from September 26, 2010 to May 17, 2015. As of May 27, 2020, all prior seasons of the show are available on HBO Max.

Characters
Main article: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive characters


 * Geoff Delmer (voiced by Terry Ward) - A hypersensitive, cocky, yet good-hearted, outgoing, independent, and confident 41-year old worker. He works at the Smokeville Box Warehouse.
 * Lana Delmer (voiced by Jennifer Hale) - A pampered, kind, witty, sarcastic, intelligent, and dazzlingly beautiful 40-year old housewife. She also serves as Geoff’s wife.
 * Davy Delmer (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) - A skilled 16-year old musician with high expectations. He’s friends with Sean, and he’s a very stunning chick magnet due to his musical talents. Sometimes, he's even sexually attracted to women, more so than Geoff. He is the middle child of the family.
 * Sean Delmer (voiced by Gregg Berger) - An overweight, huggable, fun-loving, sensitive, and friendly teenager with a great sense of humor who is the oldest child of the family. He’s friends with Davy, and he’s not sure if he’s doing something real or not. He’s also 17-years old.
 * Eddie Delmer (voiced by Terry Ward) - The Delmers’ sardonic, foul-mouthed, selfish, and ill-tempered purple and green penguin-like creature who was founded in the Southern Hemisphere and sent to the United States by Professor Davey Lioose. He’s also one of the main characters of this show.
 * Penny Delmer (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman (1998-2000) and Lacey Chabert (2000-present)) - The know-it-all of the family, and the brains too. She constantly freaks out when she hears about something bizarre, terrifying, or just plain out-of-context. She is also 15-years old and is the youngest child of the family.

Recurring characters appear alongside the Delmer family. These include Geoff’s best friend Frank McDilly (voiced by Billy West); Robert Villadsen (voiced by Matt Kelly) and his wife Matilda Villadsen (voiced by Jennifer Hale); Ted Norman (voiced by Terry Ward) and his wife Gladys Norman (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman (1998-2000) and Grey DeLisle (2000-present)); Geoff’s father Rolland Delmer (voiced by Terry Ward); former African-American bartender of the Drunk Shack for the first seventeen seasons (killed off in the season 18 premiere "The Life of Nelson") William Linsky (voiced by Robert Guillaume); two recurring antagonists, Roman Antonovich and his partner-in-crime Barry Sanford (voiced by Tim Curry and Andy Dick respectively); Geoff’s boss Grodi Shelby (voiced by Matt Kelly); crazy neighbor of the Delmers (as of Season 3) Karl Blumenthal (voiced by Nicolas Cage); Penny’s shy, moody, depressed goth and emo friend Kathy Lipowski (voiced by Grey DeLisle); Geoff and Sean’s friend Jack Binaski (voiced by Matt Kelly); and local town mayor Mayor James Pucksbottom (voiced by Terry Ward). TV news anchors Nick Smith and Jeffrey Montes (voiced by Terry Ward and Phil LaMarr, respectively) also make frequent appearances. Actor Keanu Reeves guest stars as himself in multiple episodes, as did Tim Conway prior to his retirement and death.

Setting
The primary setting of How Beautiful It Is to Survive is Smokeville, a fictional city in California that was founded by a group led by Bucky Smokeville. It is possibly based on Fresno, California.

Development
Coming soon!

Animation
The first two seasons of the series were produced with traditional ink-and-paint by Film Roman. However, due to production issues, the production was switched from Film Roman to Rough Draft Studios for the third season onwards.

Writing
Coming soon!

Voice actors
See also: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive cast members and List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive guest stars

Coming soon!

Guest stars
Many episodes of How Beautiful It Is to Survive feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, entertainers, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest-stars voiced supporting characters, although many voiced themselves. Recurring guest stars include Seth Green, Jodi Benson, Mark Hamill, Alex Rocco, Corey Burton, Jim Cummings, Keanu Reeves, Tim Conway, Wayne Knight, John Goodman, John DiMaggio, Amy Poehler, Clancy Brown, Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, George Takei, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Bill Hader, Patrick Stewart, LeBron James, Snoop Dogg, and Chris Parnell.

Music
Coming soon!

Episodes
Main article: List of How Beautiful It Is to Survive episodes

"Road to" episodes
Coming soon!

Humor
The series is known to subject itself to pop culture references. Such references they make include but are not limited to Star Wars, The Simpsons, Sesame Street, Alien, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, South Park, Jeopardy!, The Waltons, The Sopranos, Beavis and Butt-Head, Indiana Jones, The Jerry Springer Show, Oprah, Law & Order, The Twilight Zone, Planet of the Apes, The Matrix, Titanic, The Wizard of Oz, That '70s Show, Harry Potter, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, High School Musical, and many others.

Ratings
Coming soon!

Critical reception
Coming soon!

Awards
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by How Beautiful It Is to Survive

Criticism
Coming soon!

The episode “For-Twenty” (season fifteen, 2012) was banned in Venezuela due to the episode's cannabis references.

The series was banned in Russia in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the episode “Bomb Russia” (season eighteen, 2014), had Davy and Sean travel to Russia so they can kill Vladimir Putin. Similarly, on February 28, 2022, HBO Max pulled the aforementioned episode as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, due to its depiction of Vladimir Putin and Russia. A rerun of said episode was slated to air on TBS on March 4, 2022, but was replaced with “Sean Comes Out” three days before it was scheduled to air. This episode is still on the season 18 DVD.

Broadcast
How Beautiful It Is to Survive premiered and aired in the United States on The WB from January 11, 1998 – May 21, 2006, it was later moved to The CW from September 24, 2006 - present. Adult Swim carried the series in the US from September 3, 2001 - present, followed by TBS from June 4, 2004 - present. The syndicated broadcast of the series in the US began in September 2002. As of May 27, 2020, all prior seasons of the series are currently available to stream on HBO Max.

More coming soon!

Comic books
Coming soon!

Film
Main article: The How Beautiful It Is to Survive Movie: Too Hot for Theaters!

Spin-off
Main article: The Frank McDilly Show

Ward co-created, alongside Matt Kelly, the How Beautiful It Is to Survive spin-off The Frank McDilly Show, which premiered on September 26, 2010. They began discussing the project in 2008.

Video games
Coming soon!

Merchandise
Since the series’ premiere, the series has spawned various forms of licensed merchandise, including home media releases, action figures, books, clothing, calendars, and more.

Trivia
Coming soon!