You'd Be Surprised How Long It'd Take You to Binge 'The Cuphead Show' on Netflix

For some wholesome and zany fun for the whole family, look no further than The Cuphead Show. Based on the critically acclaimed video game from Studio MDHR, the 1920s-cartoon-homage video game lends itself perfectly to an animated series, which is now streaming on Netflix. With the premiere of the first season, how many episodes does the show have so far? Can you binge it over the weekend or will it require small doses? Let's break down the episode count.

Originally released in 2017, Cuphead is a beloved indie game that takes plenty of inspiration from the rubber hose style of animation used throughout the 1920s and well into the '60s. After losing a bet in the Devil's casino, Cuphead and his brother Mugman are forced to collect contracts for the Devil in exchange for their souls. Their adventures pit them against all sorts of kooky boss enemies as they try to devise a plan to outwit the Devil and save everyone's souls.

With a new animated series adapting the game, how long would it take to watch the whole thing? Fortunately, it's shorter than beating the game.

The story for the Netflix series differs only slightly from the original game. The mischievous Cuphead and timid brother Mugman wander into a suspicious carnival, where its many games and operations are actually a front for the Devil to collect souls. After Cuphead loses one of the games, he and Mugman narrowly escape the Devil's wrath as he attempts to claim Cuphead's soul. Throughout the series, the Devil and his henchmen make all sorts of attempts to steal what he believes is rightfully his.

But aside from the two having to dodge the Devil, the show takes a different direction than the source material. Instead of the characters having to fight off wacky boss enemies at every turn, The Cuphead Show highlights the episodic misadventures of Cuphead and Mugman as they interact with the inhabitants of Inkwell Isles. Each episode sees the young boys get into all sorts of trouble, but most of it is in good fun gone wrong. And every so often, the show returns to the Devil trying to get his due.

For all intents and purposes, the format for The Cuphead Show lends itself more to a traditional cartoon, with silly new characters, crazy antics, and lessons (hopefully) learned in each episode. The season lasts a total of 12 episodes, with each episode lasting only 14 to 16 minutes each. Though the number of episodes is pretty standard for Netflix originals, it's still a far cry from the hour-long or even half-hour-long episodes we're used to. One could even finish the season in a day.

Thankfully, Netflix released all 12 episodes at once on Feb. 18, 2022, so you can binge-watch to your heart's content.

The Cuphead Show represents a unique and effective way of adapting a video game into a series or movie. Unlike with other ill-fated attempts to adapt popular games into other media like the lukewarm-received Uncharted film, Cuphead had an initial art style and presentation that made the game pitch-perfect for becoming an animated series. Between The Cuphead Show, Castlevania, and Arcane, maybe Netflix should make more games into animated series.

The Cuphead Show is currently streaming on Netflix.