ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER: A Psychedelic PBS Meltdown in Outer Space

What happens when a wholesome public television art program drifts into deep space and loses its mind? ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER answers that question with gallons of neon paint, explosive slapstick, and a generous dose of cosmic dread. The new ten-episode series follows the spectacular misadventures of a doomed PBS-style television production that attempts to create fine art in the most hostile environment imaginable: outer space.

Each episode, running approximately fifteen minutes, centers on Captain Skinner as he sets out to create a singular, visually stunning piece of artwork. But this is no gentle instructional series in the spirit of quiet landscapes and calming brushstrokes. Instead, every attempt at artistic transcendence is thwarted by meteor showers, malfunctioning spacecraft, intrusive thoughts, and the existential terror of an uncaring universe. It is art instruction colliding headfirst with the void.

A Love Letter Splattered in Neon

ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER proudly nods to classics like The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross and retro children’s adventure programs such as Commander Mark and the Secret City. But rather than soothing viewers into serenity, the series flips the script entirely. It becomes a bombastic, futuristic, gore and color-saturated spectacle that oozes hyper-phantasmagorical slapstick and body horror.

The show gleefully embraces absurdity. Alongside Captain Skinner is a tiny, overmatched crew that includes a stop motion animated Space Cowboy, adding a layer of tactile charm to the chaos. Together, they attempt to produce a functioning television show while everything, including the cosmos itself, conspires against them. The result is a wild hybrid of art tutorial, sci-fi parody, and psychedelic fever dream.

The Mind of Skinner

At the heart of the series is Skinner himself, co-creator, writer, and star. A beloved artist and multi-hyphenate creative force, Skinner’s career spans music, film, commercial art, and festival culture. He has designed artwork for Grammy-winning bands such as High on Fire and Mastodon, created award-winning music videos and films, and collaborated with brands including Adult Swim and Warner Brothers. He has also hosted shows for Super Deluxe and appeared at major music festivals.

Skinner’s visual style is unmistakable. His work lives on murals around the world and appears on skateboards, comics, toys, and apparel. It blends humor, horror, psychedelia, and high-intensity color into a singular aesthetic that feels both playful and unsettling. In ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER, he channels that same chaotic energy into narrative form, becoming a bizarre mixture of entertainer and visual provocateur.

The series allows Skinner to inhabit a character that feels like an amplified extension of his artistic persona. He is both guide and victim, optimistic instructor and cosmic casualty. As he attempts to teach and create, the show becomes a meta commentary on the fragile nature of creativity itself.

The Vision of Allen Cordell

Co-creator, writer, and director Allen Cordell brings his own fascination with the weird and beautiful to the project. An award-winning filmmaker, Cordell has directed music videos for artists including Beach House, Dan Deacon, and Girl Talk, demonstrating a talent for translating sonic intensity into striking visuals. He also directed the short film The Lizard Laughed, adapted from a comic by Noah Van Sciver.

Cordell’s love of intricate sound design and visually ambitious storytelling finds a perfect match in Skinner’s explosive imagination. Together, they construct a world that feels meticulously crafted yet perpetually on the brink of collapse. Every frame pulses with deliberate chaos, layered textures, and unexpected humor.

The Dark Magic of ETCH

The series is produced by ETCH, an independent animation and production company known for its commitment to provocative, intelligent, and innovative storytelling. Run by the award-winning trio Philip Gelatt, Will Battersby, and Morgan Galen King, ETCH has built a reputation for projects that blend the fantastical with the horrific.

Gelatt, an Emmy and WGA Award winner, is known for works including The Spine of Night, Europa Report, They Remain, The Bleeding House, and contributions to Love Death + Robots. Battersby and King have collaborated on similarly ambitious projects, cementing ETCH’s identity as a studio that embraces risk and creative control.

ETCH’s philosophy centers on maintaining ownership and artistic integrity through novel approaches to production and distribution. Recent projects include FIRST WORD ON HORROR, featuring acclaimed authors such as Stephen Graham Jones and Paul Tremblay. Upcoming productions include CASSIE WORKMAN IS WITCHY AF and ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER.

Art, Chaos, and the Cosmos

Ultimately, ART SHOW! WITH CAPTAIN SKINNER is more than a parody. It is a surreal meditation on creativity in the face of entropy. By placing an art show in outer space, the series literalizes the idea that making something beautiful can feel like battling the universe itself.

With ten compact, high-energy episodes, the show promises a relentless barrage of color, comedy, and cosmic catastrophe. It celebrates the act of creation while acknowledging its absurdity. In doing so, it becomes both tribute and rebellion, honoring the gentle art instructors of the past while gleefully splattering paint across the stars.