The Amazing World of Gumball (also known simply as Gumball or by its abbreviation TAWOG) is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network.^[7] The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend middle school in the fictional city of Elmore, California. They often find themselves in various shenanigans around the city, during which they interact with fellow family members—younger sister Anais, mother Nicole, and father Richard—along with an extended supporting cast of characters.

Bocquelet based several of the series' characters on rejected characters from his previous commercial work while making its premise a mixture of "family shows and school shows", which Cartoon Network was heavily interested in.^[8] After Bocquelet pitched The Amazing World of Gumball to the network, Turner Broadcasting executive Daniel Lennard green-lit the production of the series. The show was produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, in association with Boulder Media (Ireland; season 1) and Studio Soi (Germany; seasons 2–6).

Gumball is noted for its intentional stylistic disunity, with characters designed, filmed, and animated using various styles and techniques, oftentimes within the same scene (stylized traditional animation, puppetry, CGI, stop motion, Flash animation, live-action, etc.).^[2] Although it is a children's series, Gumball comments on topics that are often considered serious or mature, including philosophy, marriage, cyberbullying, political intolerance, mental illness, and the human condition. The series has received critical acclaim and developed a cult following, with particular praises for its extensive references to popular culture and internet culture, sarcasm, subtle innuendos, dark humor, and metahumor.^[5][9]

On 6 September 2016, Bocquelet announced the series would end after season 6; he reaffirmed his position on Twitter in October 2018.^[10] However, Turner Northern Europe was unable to confirm at the time whether the sixth season would be the show's last.^[11] Following the season 6 finale, two miniseries were released: the six-episode Darwin's Yearbook in November 2019 and The Gumball Chronicles in October 2020.^[12][13] On 15 June 2023, it was confirmed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival that the seventh season of the show was in the works, though a release date has not been announced yet.^[14][15]

On 17 February 2021, Cartoon Network revealed that a television film based on the series was in development.^[16] On 21 September 2021, it was announced that a new spin-off series, to be a follow-up for both the show and the movie, had been greenlit for Cartoon Network and HBO Max alongside the film.^[17] On 22 August 2022, it was reported that the film would no longer be heading to HBO Max, but would be shopped to other outlets instead.^[18]

The series revolves around the life of a 12-year-old cat named Gumball Watterson and his frequent shenanigans in the fictional American city of Elmore, accompanied by his adopted goldfish brother and best friend Darwin. Gumball's other family members—his intellectual sister Anais and stay-at-home father Richard, both rabbits, and workaholic mother Nicole, a cat—often find themselves involved in Gumball's exploits. Gumball attends school with his siblings at Elmore Junior High, where throughout the series he interacts with his various middle school classmates, most prominently his love interest Penny Fitzgerald.

One prominent feature of the series since its third season is "The Void", a dimension inside of Elmore where all the universe's mistakes reside. This includes references to aspects of reality as well as in-series elements. Rob is a background character from the first two seasons who became trapped in The Void after becoming "irrelevant". He later escapes in season 3, after which he becomes Gumball's nemesis and main antagonist. He is shown to be aware of his fictional existence in the season 4 episode "The Disaster", and his hatred towards Gumball is a result of his role as the protagonist.^[19]

When Cartoon Network Studios Europe was created in 2007, Ben Bocquelet was hired to help people pitch their projects to the network. However, when the studio decided to have its employees all pitch their own ideas,^[4] he decided to take some rejected characters he had created for commercials and put them together in one series set inside of a school.^[1] Daniel Lennard, vice president of Original Series and Development at Turner Broadcasting System Europe, was impressed by the premise and approved production of the series in 2009.^[20] The first series to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios Europe, making the show a British production,^[21] thirty-six episodes were produced for its first season in collaboration with Studio Soi, Dublin-based Boulder Media Limited,^[22][23] and Dandelion Studios.^[24] On February 17, 2021, the Cartoon Network Twitter account confirmed that a film based on the series is currently in development.^[25]

The first two seasons were released on Cartoon Network channels in over 126 countries, with the third season rolling out through 2014.^[34]

The series debuted on Cartoon Network UK on May 2, 2011, one day before the US premiere.

The show aired on Boomerang from December 1, 2014, to October 23, 2015, its second run from February 1, 2016, to April 2, 2017, and its third run from May 2, 2022, to October 31, 2022.^[35]

In an interview with The Times newspaper, series creator Ben Bocquelet mentioned plans for a feature film based on the series.^[79] However, after Bocquelet announced his departure from the show following the sixth season,^[80] he stated that he doubted a film would be made.^[81]

In March 2018, Bocquelet's interest in a Gumball film was seemingly revitalized as he stated that he "might have a good idea" for a film.^[82] He later added that he had two ideas, one for a potential theatrical film and one for a potential direct-to-video film.^[83]

On September 29, 2018, during a Q&A with the series director Mic Graves at Cartoon Network UK's 25th-anniversary screening, he confirmed that a script for The Amazing World of Gumball film is in the works. He also said that he hopes for the film to happen. Bocquelet^[84] retweeted a tweet which states that the script for a film based on The Amazing World of Gumball is being written, however, it was then unknown if the film would actually be made.^[85] After the season six finale "The Inquisition", was met with mixed reviews from fans of the series due to its cliffhanger ending, Bocquelet stated it was not his choice to conclude the episode that way, adding that it would be resolved if a film based on the series were produced.^[86]

On February 17, 2021, WarnerMedia announced that a television film was in development under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie.^[16][87] On September 21, 2021, Cartoon Network announced that the upcoming film had been greenlit under the title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie!, with original series creator Ben Bocquelet serving as director and executive producer.^[88] The film would focus on Gumball's biggest fan finding a missing episode from the television show and accidentally opening a portal that connects Gumball's cartoon world to his own. After meeting the characters, they'll join Gumball, Darwin, Anais, Richard, and Nicole in saving Elmore from a nefarious menace looking to overtake the town. It would act as the "epic conclusion" to the original series and establish the world for a new accompanying show with the working title The Amazing World of Gumball: The Series.^[17] On August 22, 2022, the film was announced as one of six projects that will no longer be debuting on the streamer HBO Max, but will instead be shopped at a different outlet.^[89] Bocquelet later said in a September 1, 2022 tweet, that the film's fate is "a bit of a Schrödinger's cat question".^[90] He still expressed hope that the film will continue at some point.^[91]

At the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, a seventh season of The Amazing World of Gumball was announced to be in production, with no release date confirmed yet.^[14][15] An EIDR listing would reveal that the seventh season would have 40 episodes.^[92]