Back in 2021, Hannah’s love of all things nerdy collided with her passion for writing — and she hasn’t stopped since. She covers pop culture news, writes reviews, and conducts interviews on just about every kind of media imaginable. If she’s not talking about something spooky, she’s talking about gaming, and her favorite moments in anything she’s read, watched, or played are always the scariest ones. For Hannah, nothing beats the thrill of discovering what’s lurking in the shadows or waiting around the corner for its chance to go bump in the night. Once described as “strictly for the sickos,” she considers it the highest of compliments.
At a time when television often feels driven by safe bets and familiar formulas, it is becoming increasingly rare to see a series that genuinely feels unpredictable. Between franchise extensions, algorithm-friendly storytelling, and shows designed to appeal to the widest possible audience, risk-taking can sometimes feel like a lost art. That is exactly why Primal, Genndy Tartakovsky’s brutal and emotionally powerful animated fantasy series, stands out as such an important success story as it finds new life on HBO.
Originally debuting on Adult Swim, Primal has quietly built a reputation as one of the boldest animated series of the modern era. Now, as new viewers discover the show through streaming, it is proving something important about what audiences actually want: sometimes the most compelling television is not the safest option, it is the one willing to trust its audience the most.
‘Primal’ Takes Storytelling Risks Most Shows Would Avoid
Primal Season 3Image via Adult Swim
From its very first episode, Primal makes a creative choice that most television shows would never dare attempt. It tells its story with almost no dialogue, relying instead on visual storytelling, music, and emotional expression. In an industry that often overexplains its plots and motivations, Primal succeeds by doing the exact opposite. That decision was a genuine creative gamble. As Tartakovsky told Collider last year, the series itself began as an experiment in just how far visual storytelling could be pushed. "Season 1 was experimental, like, can we tell a story with no dialogue? And then we did," Tartakovsky said. "Then the deeper we got into the season, the more complex we got with our storytelling."
That willingness to experiment is part of what makes Primal feel so different from most modern fantasy television. While many genre shows rely heavily on exposition and mythology dumps, Primal builds its world through experience instead of explanation. Viewers are asked to feel their way through the story rather than simply being told what to think. The result is a series that feels far more immersive than many of its contemporaries. Every injury feels painful, every quiet moment feels earned, and every victory feels fragile. By stripping away dialogue, Tartakovsky forces the audience to engage with the characters on a more instinctive level.
COLLIDER.
Collider · Quiz
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival QuizWhich Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Ten questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
QUESTION 1 / 10INSTINCT
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?The first instinct is often the truest one.
QUESTION 2 / 10RESOURCE
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
QUESTION 3 / 10THREAT
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night?Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.
QUESTION 4 / 10SKILL
04
Which of these comes most naturally to you?Your strongest skill is your best survival asset — use it accordingly.
QUESTION 5 / 10AUTHORITY
05
How do you deal with authority you don't trust?Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
QUESTION 6 / 10ENVIRONMENT
06
Which environment could you actually endure long-term?Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
QUESTION 7 / 10ALLIANCE
07
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
QUESTION 8 / 10TRUTH
08
A comfortable lie or a devastating truth — which can you actually live with?Some worlds offer one. Some offer the other. Very few offer both.
QUESTION 9 / 10MORALITY
09
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.
QUESTION 10 / 10PURPOSE
10
What would actually make survival worth it?Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been CalculatedYou'd Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. Read all five — your result is the one that resonates most deeply.
💊
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things, the places where the official version doesn't quite line up. In the Matrix, that instinct is the difference between life and permanent digital sedation. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you. The machines built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.
🔥
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
🌧️
Blade Runner
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.
🏜️
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, pattern recognition, political awareness, and an understanding that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic, earn its respect, and perhaps, in time, reshape it entirely.
🚀
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You're someone who finds meaning in being part of something larger than yourself. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. Whatever you are, you fight. And in Star Wars, that willingness is what makes the difference.
Why ‘Primal’ Feels Different From Modern Fantasy TV
What truly separates Primal from many fantasy series is the fact that beneath all the brutality, the show is deeply emotional. At first glance, Primal might seem like a straightforward survival story about Spear, a caveman, and Fang, a dinosaur, fighting their way through a hostile world. But what keeps viewers invested is not the action, but the relationship between these two unlikely companions and the emotional weight behind their journey. Tartakovsky emphasized that this emotional foundation is always the true focus of the series.
"On the surface, it might seem one thing, but when you really start to watch the episodes, you realize it is all about the emotion. There is plenty of violence and action, but the storytelling is rooted in a character’s journey."
That philosophy explains why the series resonates so strongly despite its minimal dialogue. The connection between Spear and Fang is communicated through body language, shared trauma, and small gestures rather than speeches. A hand placed gently on a snout during a storm can carry more emotional weight than pages of dialogue ever could. This approach also helps explain why Primal has managed to stand out in a crowded fantasy landscape. While many genre shows try to compete through scale, lore, or spectacle, Primal succeeds by focusing on something much simpler and much harder to execute: emotional authenticity.
The success of Primal on streaming also highlights something important about the current television landscape. While studios often prioritize recognizable brands and safe investments, audiences continue to respond to originality when they are given the chance to discover it. Primal is not based on an existing franchise, it does not rely on nostalgia, and it does not try to chase trends. Instead, it succeeds because it has a clear artistic vision and the confidence to follow it wherever it leads. That kind of creative freedom is becoming increasingly rare, especially in animation, which is still too often treated as a secondary storytelling medium rather than a serious dramatic form. Primal challenges that perception by delivering storytelling that is as emotionally complex and visually ambitious as any live action prestige drama. Its continued popularity also reinforces the idea that audiences are willing to embrace something different.
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As Primal continues to reach new viewers through HBO, its popularity serves as proof that bold storytelling still has a place in modern television. In an era where so much content is designed to be instantly digestible, Primal stands as a reminder that audiences still crave something raw, emotional, and artistically fearless. And perhaps most importantly, it proves that when television truly takes risks, viewers are still willing to follow.
Laëtitia EïdoMira (voice)
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