# Total Drama Action (2009)

> Eliminated campers from a reality competition get a second chance at a million dollars through movie-themed challenges in this animated parody.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/7987

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 27
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, comedy, reality
- Created by: Jennifer Pertsch, Tom McGillis
- Network: Teletoon
- Cast: Christian Potenza, Clé Bennett, Megan Fahlenbock, Adam Greydon Reid, Kristin Fairlie, Drew Nelson, Dan Petronijevic, Sarah Gadon
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: irreverent, sardonic, breezy, playful, self aware

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with viewers appreciating the irreverent competition format and its movie-themed challenges.

## Synopsis

Total Drama Action (2009) is a Canadian animated comedy series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis for Teletoon. It is a single-season sequel to Total Drama Island, a parody of reality competition shows. Chris McLean (voiced by Christian Potenza) hosts a second chance at a million dollars for the campers who lost their earlier shot, and the challenges are built around movie genres and action set pieces. Principal campers include Gwen (Megan Fahlenbock), Duncan (Drew Nelson), and Heather (Rachel Wilson), and their rivalries, alliances, and romances drive the comedy from one elimination to the next. Chef Hatchet (voiced by Clé Bennett) adds a menacing foil to McLean's bright, manipulative hosting. The engine is simple: each week a new challenge narrows the field, and the contestants scheme to survive. Across twenty-seven episodes the show runs as a single continuous competition with escalating stunts and running gags. The tone is breezy, sardonic and irreverent, with a sincere streak beneath the mockery of television formats. Fans of Total Drama Island, Survivor and Teen Titans Go! will find resonance in its cartoon satire of competition TV and its teen rivalries. The overall register is playful, fast and self-aware, suited to a short evening of gleeful animated absurdity.

## Shows like Total Drama Action

- [The Challenge (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/55)
- [Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63699)
- [Total Drama: Revenge of the Island (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/30836)
- [Total Drama Island (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/6179)
- [Summer Camp Island (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69849)
- [Wrecked (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58648)
- [Stoked (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/20052)
- [Total Drama Island (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/143152)
- [The Gumball Chronicles (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/110255)
- [MXC (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/2848)

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