Sonic Prime is an animated television series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, co-produced by Sega Sammy Group, WildBrain Studios and Man of Action Entertainment. It is the sixth animated television series based on the franchise since the last mainline series Sonic X (2003-2006), following the spin-off series Sonic Boom.
The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix on December 15, 2022. The second season, also consisting of eight episodes, was released on July 13, 2023. The third and final season, consisting of seven episodes, was released on January 11, 2024.
Contents
Plot
During a battle with his arch-nemesis Doctor Eggman, Sonic the Hedgehog accidentally shatters the Paradox Prism, a crystalline artifact with reality-bending powers. This drastically warps reality and creates the "Shatterverse", a new section of the multiverse with five alternate dimensions called "Shatterspaces", each of them formed by one of the Prism shards and inhabited by alternative versions of Sonic's friends (Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Rouge the Bat and Big the Cat), but lacking their own versions of him.
Sonic first arrives in New Yoke City, a futuristic dystopian version of Green Hill ruled by a quintet of Doctor Eggman variants who call themselves the Chaos Council and used the power of its shard to conquer it. After learning of the Prism's existence, they seek to conquer the Shatterverse by obtaining all five shards, but are opposed by Sonic and a resistance formed from the city's inhabitants.
While attempting to reassemble the Prism and restore his reality, which became the dull and lifeless Ghost Hill following the Prism's shattering, Sonic ventures to other Shatterspaces to retrieve the shards before the council can. These Shatterspaces consist of:
The Boscage Maze - A jungle world with primitive versions of his friends.
The No Place - A flooded world with pirates.
The Grim - A barren wasteland.
Along the way, he befriends the respective versions of his friends and helps them with their problems, including Nine, the New Yoke City version of Tails who has grown bitter and untrusting due to not having Sonic to help him with bullies, Rusty Rose, the New Yoke City version of Amy who was converted into a cyborg by the Chaos Council and struggles to figure out her loyalties, and Dread, the No Place version of Knuckles whose obsession with claiming his realm's shard as his personal treasure ends up alienating him with his crew.
Later, Sonic's arch-rival Shadow the Hedgehog, who managed to avoid Green Hill's destruction by using Chaos Control, reluctantly agrees to help him. Once the Chaos Council's plans for domination begin to endanger the Shatterverse, the natives of each world join the war against them and work with their counterparts.
Characters
Main
Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Deven Mack): A blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with the power to run at supersonic speeds. Despite being cocky, egotistical, impulsive, and careless at times, he cares deeply for his friends and works hard to protect the world from Dr. Eggman. In the different parts of the Shatterverse, Sonic's footwear grants him different abilities, such as electric capabilities in New Yoke City, climbing walls in the Boscage Maze, hovering across water in No Place, and generating hexagonal platforms and shields in the Grim. Mack is the second Black actor to voice the character, after Jaleel White in the 1990s DiC cartoons.
Shadow the Hedgehog (voiced by Ian Hanlin): A black hedgehog whose air shoes allow his speed to rival Sonic's. As a result of using Chaos Control, he was not split off into the Shatterverse like the rest of Sonic's friends. After seeing the damage the Prism's shattering caused, Shadow makes it his mission to stop Sonic from causing any more damage and help him fix his mistake.
Miles "Tails" Prower (voiced by Ashleigh Ball): An anthropomorphic fox who is Sonic's best friend and genius inventor and can fly with his twin tails.
Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Adam Nurada): A red anthropomorphic echidna who likes to punch with his large fists.
Amy Rose (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent): A pink hedgehog who loves nature and wields her Piko Piko Hammer. Chan-Kent previously portrayed a waitress in the 2020 live-action film.
Rouge the Bat (voiced by Kazumi Evans): A jewel-loving anthropomorphic bat who works as a spy.
Big the Cat (voiced by Ian Hanlin): A purple anthropomorphic cat who likes to fish and is commonly seen with his pet frog Froggy.
Birdie: A Flicky who is friends with Amy.
Doctor Eggman (voiced by Brian Drummond): A mad scientist with an IQ of 300 who is Sonic's arch-nemesis and seeks to use the Paradox Prism for his plans. Drummond previously voiced Knuckles in Sonic Underground.
Residing in The Grim
Tails Nine (voiced by Ashleigh Ball): Tails' counterpart from New Yoke City. After being constantly bullied for his twin tails, he built seven additional mechanical tails to prove himself and get revenge. He was originally an ally of Sonic's, but later becomes his enemy and seeks to use the Paradox Prism to build his own ideal reality until Sonic has him realize the consequences of his actions after a climactic battle.
Alpha Grim Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Birdie and Rouge: Robot counterparts of Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Birdie and Rouge who were created by Nine.
Grim Big: A robot counterpart of Big who was created by Nine and is the largest of Nine's robots.
Residing in New Yoke City
The Chaos Council: A group of five Doctor Eggman-like figures that act as dictators to New Yoke City and each control their own district. After learning of the Prism's power, they make it their mission to obtain its shards. The Chaos Council later helps Sonic when Nine goes rogue.
Mr. Dr. Eggman (voiced by Brian Drummond): Doctor Eggman's counterpart from New Yoke City who is the leader of the Chaos Council and wears a toupée. He is the one who claims that the Chaos Council are fragmented versions of Doctor Eggman's ego.
Dr. Deep (voiced by Vincent Tong): A member of the Chaos Council with a tattooed arm who speaks philosophically and has an oriental flair to him while making more flamboyant gestures than the other members. In battle, he wears a suit equipped with knives and buzzsaws.
Dr. Don't (voiced by Vincent Tong): A teenage member of the Chaos Council who is lazy and frequently plays video games, but is a skilled programmer. He can control the Eggforcers with his video game controller.
Dr. Babble (vocal effects by Vincent Tong): An infant member of the Chaos Council who, despite his young age, is as physically and intellectually capable as the other members. Although he only makes baby noises, the other members of the council appear to understand what he is saying. A flashback revealed that Dr. Babble was responsible for having the rest of the Chaos Council compromise and divide New Yoke City's districts among themselves.
Dr. Done-It (voiced by Brian Drummond): A member of the Chaos Council who resembles an older version of Doctor Eggman. He wields a cane that can shoot plasma lasers.
Rusty Rose (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent): Amy's counterpart from New Yoke City. She is a cyborg who was formerly controlled by the Chaos Council but joins Dread's crew after the Chaos Council deserts her. Rusty and Black Rose took command of Dread's crew after Dread betrayed them for one of the Prism Shards. Over the course, Rusty forms a sisterly bond with Black Rose and Thorn Rose during their conflict with Nine.
Residing in Boscage Maze
Thorn Rose (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent): Amy's primitive counterpart from the Boscage Maze. She is overprotective of the forest and attacks those who try to harm it until Sonic tricked her into attacking part of the Boscage Maze's roof over a palm tree. In Season 3, Thorn forms a close bond with her counterparts Rusty and Black Rose, viewing them as her "sisters".
Birdie of Boscage Maze: A giant counterpart of Birdie who serves as Thorn Rose's mode of transportation.
The Scavengers: A primitive group that builds their society atop the trees and earned the ire of Thorn Rose for wasting the forest.
Prim Rouge (voiced by Kazumi Evans): Rouge's counterpart from the Boscage Maze and leader of the Scavengers.
Mangey Tails (vocal effects by Ashleigh Ball): Tails' counterpart from the Boscage Maze and member of the Scavengers. He acts like a wild animal commonly walking on all fours and communicating in growls. Sonic was able to teach him how to rotate his tails enough to fly in "Barking Up the Wrong Tree".
Hangry Cat (voiced by Ian Hanlin): Big's counterpart from the Boscage Maze and member of the Scavengers. He stops at nothing to try to scavenge any food that he can find.
Gnarly Knuckles (voiced by Vincent Tong): Knuckles' paranoid counterpart from the Boscage Maze who is a member of the Scavengers.
Residing in No Place
The Kraken's crew (The Angel Voyage Crew): The crew of the pirate ship known as the Angel Voyage.
Black Rose (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent): Amy's counterpart from No Place who is a member of Knuckles the Dread's crew. She and Rusty Rose later take command of Dread's crew after he betrays them for one of the Prism Shards. In the series' climax, Black Rose is officially given the title of captain by the reformed Dread.
Knuckles the Dread (voiced by Vincent Tong): Knuckles' counterpart from No Place who is the captain of his ship, the Angel's Voyage. He is seemingly laid-back. Unlike the rest of his crew, Knuckles appears to show trust in Sonic immediately. Black Rose and Rusty Rose later take command of his crew after he betrays them for one of the Prism Shards. After an ultimate change of heart, Dread officially names Black Rose the new captain.
Sails Tails (voiced by Ashleigh Ball): Tails' counterpart from No Place who created a mechanical arm on his belt to perform more tasks simultaneously.
Batten Rouge (voiced by Kazumi Evans): Rouge's counterpart from No Place who is a member of Knuckles the Dread's crew and shows loyalty to the current captain.
Catfish (voiced by Ian Hanlin): Big's counterpart from No Place who is frequently seen playing music for the crew to sing songs to.
Jack (voiced by Seán McLoughlin): A raccoon and former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew. After a voyage caused the crew to lose their ship, he and the other crew members left Dread and formed their own crew with him as the leader.
Stormbeard (voiced by Brian Drummond): A dog and former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew who left and formed a crew with Jack.
Bunny Bones (voiced by Ashleigh Ball): A cat and former member of Knuckles the Dread's crew who left and formed a crew with Jack.
Episodes
Production
Sonic Prime was officially announced in February 2021, though the development of the series was initially revealed in a deleted tweet in December 2020. 24 half-hour episodes were ordered. Colleen O'Shaughnessey, known for portraying Miles "Tails" Prower since 2014, responded to a tweet on Twitter that she would not be reprising the role in the Netflix series, due to Canadian content and union laws meaning that a large portion of voice actors portraying roles in Canadian television programs have to be Canadian. In May 2022, it was announced that Deven Mack would voice the titular character for the series.
Sonic Prime is made by Man of Action, WildBrain Studios, and Sega's animation studio Marza Animation Planet. It is the second collaboration between Man of Action and WildBrain Studios (then known as DHX Media) for a series based on a video game franchise after Mega Man: Fully Charged. This is also the fourth Sonic the Hedgehog animated series under WildBrain's portfolio, as the company previously acquired Cookie Jar Group in October 2012, which in turn, acquired DIC Entertainment in July 2008. As a result, WildBrain also currently owns the rights to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), and Sonic Underground respectively.
One of the writers, Duncan Rouleau, stated that the series would be set in "the video game universe created by Sonic Team" and that "possible Sega crossovers [were] not ruled out." According to executive producer Logan McPherson, the series is canon to the games' timeline. In June 2021, concept art of the series was discovered on a now-deleted artist's portfolio.
Duncan Rouleau later confirmed that Ian Flynn, who has written for the Archie comics, Sonic Boom, the IDW comics, and the newly-released game Sonic Frontiers, would be a consultant. Additionally, The Willoughbys director Kris Pearn worked on the series as a creative consultant with My Little Pony: Equestria Girls director Ishi Rudell as an episodic director.
Release
The show's 24 half-hour episodes were split up into three seasons. The first season, consisting of a double-length premiere episode and seven regular episodes, was released on December 15, 2022. The first episode premiered on Gamefam's Sonic game on Roblox, Sonic Speed Simulator, on December 10, 2022. The first episode of the first season premiered on YouTube on December 24, 2022.
Season 2, comprising eight further episodes, was released on July 13, 2023. The first episode of season 2 premiered on YouTube on July 4, 2023. On July 14, just a day after the release of the second season, writer Duncan Rouleau revealed that the third season will be released at some point in January 2024. Four days later on July 18, 2023, the second episode of season 2 premiered on YouTube. The third season, consisting of the remaining seven episodes, was released on January 11, 2024. The first episode of season 3 premiered on YouTube on January 5, 2024. The second episode of season 3 premiered on YouTube on January 18, 2024.
On December 5, 2024, WildBrain announced that Nickelodeon had acquired pay broadcast rights to the series in the United States, Australia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK and Ireland. In the US and Australia, the series began airing two days later on December 7, 2024. On July 15, 2025, WildBrain and Nickelodeon extended their broadcast partnership for the series to include APAC, EMEA and Latin American territories beginning on July 21.
Home media
The first two seasons of Sonic Prime were released on Blu-ray, while all three seasons are available on Digital. NCircle Entertainment released the first season on Blu-ray and Digital on March 12, 2024. The second season was also released on Blu-ray and Digital on August 27, 2024 as well. The third season got a Digital release on February 25, 2025. The complete series was released in Australia on June 4, 2025 by Madman Entertainment. A complete series Blu-ray steelbook was released on June 24, 2025.
Reception
Audience viewership
On December 20, 2022, Netflix announced that Sonic Prime was ranked number five of the top 10 on English television to be watched with 27.7 million hours watched between December 12 and 18.
Critical response
Sonic Prime received generally positive reviews from critics with praise given to the voice acting, story, and animation; but some criticized its writing, with a few calling it "repetitive". On Rotten Tomatoes, season one holds a 60% approval rating based on reviews from 5 critics, with an average score of 6.3/10.
Polly Conway of Common Sense Media said that it is a fun, frenetic animated series that touts teamwork, also mentioning that it features violence. Kennet Seward Jr of IGN gave season one a score of 8 out of 10, calling it a "fun and family-friendly" show for new and old fans, said "Sonic Prime is a fun and overall entertaining, family-friendly show. Sitting tonally between the 1993 Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and 93’ Sonic the Hedgehog – which features a similar 'freedom fighters seeking to overthrow a cruel leader' vibe – it offers an exciting look at the past while presenting some new ideas. It has some issues concerning pacing and the abrupt ending of the first season won't do it any favors. That said, Sonic Prime should be well received by new and longtime franchise fans."
Joshua Kristian Mccoy of Game Rant gave Prime 3.5 out of 5, labeling it "very good" and also calling it a lot of fun: "Sonic Prime is yet another argument for Sonic as a TV star first and a game character second. Sonic fans will love the showcase for their favorite characters and the fast-paced action. Despite some weak writing and a bit too much repetition, Sonic Prime is a lot of fun. Enjoy the Blue Blur's journey into the multiverse."
In other media
Select characters from Sonic Prime were featured in the mobile games Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces Speed Battle in 2022 to coincide with the series' release. Dash was later re-released with additional Prime content via Netflix's mobile game service in July 2023, under the name Sonic Prime Dash, to promote the second season. Nine, Rusty Rose, and Dread appear as playable characters in the 2025 video game Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds through downloadable content (DLC).
IDW Publishing produced a comic book adaptation of the series. The first volume released on May 13, 2025.