Review - Knuckles (2024)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as someone who has loved the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, I was pretty excited when I heard that Paramount would be producing a spin-off series for Paramount+. Knuckles, which released on Paramount+ in April of 2024, is set in the universe of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and features Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles the Echidna, and also stars Adam Pally, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, and Tika Sumpter, with the return of both Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Tails. 

      So, the series is centered on Knuckles the Echidna, who is struggling to adjust to his new life with the Wachowski family, in spite of the best efforts of both Sonic and Tails to help him adjust. It's also centered around Wade Whipple, who is the deputy sheriff of Green Hills, who is struggling to prepare for an upcoming bowling tournament. Unfortunately, however, they do run afoul of a rogue agent named The Buyer, who was previously an associate of Doctor Robotnik, and corrupt G.U.N. agents Willoughby and Mason. The rest of the series is just something you're going to have to see for yourself. 

       Now, some have noted that the series puts more focus on Wade than it does on Knuckles, but I would argue that both of them get roughly equal amounts of screentime and character development as each other. And, much like James Marsden as Tim in the movies, Adam Pally as Wade works well in forming something of a duo with Knuckles in this series. And, the combination of Adam Pally as Wade and Idris Elba as Knuckles is actually pretty funny, as this kind of mismatched duo that ends up working out really well. 

       I also liked seeing Wade's family get their introduction in the series with brilliant performances by Cary Elwes and Stockard Channing as Wade's parents, and Edi Patterson as Wade's sister Wanda. Christopher Lloyd is also in this series as the voice of Pachacamac, who was the chief of the Echidna tribe, and I enjoyed hearing Christopher Lloyd as a character from Knuckles' past. The various villains of the series, like Rory McCann as The Buyer, Julian Barratt as Jack Sinclair, and both Kid Cudi as Agent Mason and Ellie Taylor as Agent Willoughby, were definitely entertainingly hilarious. And, of course, I really appreciated seeing the returns of Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Tails, and Tika Sumpter as Maddie, which helps further tie this series to the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. 

       The series definitely has plenty of action, and it has tons of humor. And, for some reason, a lot of bowling. Yeah, bowling is featured pretty heavily in this series. Heck, there was even an episode that had a musical number set in a bowling alley that more fully explores some of Knuckles' story from the games, and working in a vocal cameo from Michael Bolton for some reason, and it was pretty funny. And, it was nice to see Knuckles get his cowboy hat from the games in this series. 

       Now, the series definitely isn't perfect, as I do feel that the final showdown between Knuckles and The Buyer on the streets of Reno was too reminiscent of the final showdown between Sonic and Robotnik on the streets of Green Hills in the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie. But, I had a lot of fun with the series. I enjoyed the camaraderie between Wade and Knuckles, and I enjoyed the soundtrack, which includes songs like Blink-182's "All the Small Things." And at only six half-hour episodes, it's pretty easy to get through in about a day. 

       Now, the real question remains: is the Knuckles series required viewing to enjoy the forthcoming movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3? No, you don't need to watch Knuckles to enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog 3. But, should you give it a watch if you're a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies? Yeah, I think that it's worth a watch. I give Knuckles a rating of 4.5/5. Log on to Paramount+ and check it out.