Web Series Wednesday – Max and Friends

By: Spring Marie Cullen

WHAT? Max and Friends

BY: Mike Devore

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

Max and Friends is a brand-new animated web series about Max (Peter Arsenault), a young man in the midst of mourning who goes to an animal shelter in search of companionship and comes home with much more than he bargained for. Created by Mike Devore, this original comedy looks like something straight out of Adult Swim.

When Max doesn’t feel an immediate connection with any of the animals available for adoption, he decides to cut his losses and leave. But when he finds out what happens to the dogs that don’t go home with a new owner at the end of the day, he changes his mind and decides to take three. Each dog has a personality all their own and they’re definitely a handful, but in the best way possible. Daisy (Arijana Ramic) is an extremely anxious pup whose anxiety makes Max nervous himself, Dimitri (Nikita Oster) is a gruff, rough around the edges Husky with a smoking problem and Milo (Thomas Nichols) is a Beagle-Corgi mix that is overweight. Together they make up a trio of lovable troublemakers you can’t help but find amusing. My personal favorite is Milo as his array of social media accounts, one liners and self-proclaimed street cred are too funny not to love him.

Something about the sweet and simplistic animation style is so charming. It makes it feel like a true passion project and finds a way to elevate the story, too. I found myself really feeling Max’s pain and suffering from secondhand embarrassment whenever he’d say something stupid, overcorrect himself and end up with those three blue sweat dots on the side of his face.

Max and Friends is a cute little series about life, dogs and everything in between. There are currently only four episodes available and each episode is only a few minutes long, but it was plenty of time for me to want to know more of the story. There’s just something about dogs that makes you attached to them extremely quickly. The final episode is a serious cliffhanger, but thankfully the next episode is currently in post-production. If you’re in the mood for some quick, casual viewing, you’re a dog lover or you’re a fan of animation, do yourself a favor and check out this new show.

WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes are available on YouTube.

Follow on Social Media:

Devore’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsmikedevore

Devore’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmikedevore/?hl=en