The Heart, She Holler
Encyclopedia
The Heart, She Holler is a live action
miniseries
on Cartoon Network
's late night programming block, Adult Swim
. The series, which premiered on November 6, 2011, is produced by PFFR
.
The show, described as "Southern Gothic
drama" and "an inside-out blend of soap opera
and politically incorrect
surrealist comedy
," is about the long-lost son of the Heartshe dynasty – played by Patton Oswalt
– returning to run the town and being locked in conflict with sisters Hurshe (Kristen Schaal
) and Hambrosia (Heather Lawless).
The title of the series is a play on words, in that the name of the family which controls the town is "Heartshe", and "Holler" is an Appalachian
pronunciation of the word "hollow", meaning small valley, essentially making it "The Heartshe Hollow".
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's late night programming block, Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
. The series, which premiered on November 6, 2011, is produced by PFFR
PFFR
PFFR Forever Ltd., PFFFR or traditionally known as PFFR is a Brooklyn based production company/art collective/electro-rock band consisting of Alyson Levy, Vernon Chatman, Jim Tozzi, and John Lee...
.
The show, described as "Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
drama" and "an inside-out blend of soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
and politically incorrect
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
surrealist comedy
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
," is about the long-lost son of the Heartshe dynasty – played by Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
– returning to run the town and being locked in conflict with sisters Hurshe (Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
) and Hambrosia (Heather Lawless).
The title of the series is a play on words, in that the name of the family which controls the town is "Heartshe", and "Holler" is an Appalachian
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
pronunciation of the word "hollow", meaning small valley, essentially making it "The Heartshe Hollow".
Characters
- Hurlan Heartshe (Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
) - Secret son of Hoss Heartshe, hidden away in a cave and having never seen the light of day until he is brought out to run the town of Heartshe Holler. Of his character Oswalt said “I thought of Kaspar HauserKaspar HauserKaspar Hauser was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his subsequent death by stabbing, sparked much debate and controversy....
. That was my model – lethally nonjudgmental of the world to himself, that he trusts everything’s going to be awesome.” - Hershe Heartshe (Kristen SchaalKristen SchaalKristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
) - Psychotic, vindictive and oversexed sister to Hurlan and Hambrosia. Endlessly plotting to take over the town from Hurlan. - Hambrosia Heartshe (Heather Lawless) - Hurlan's other sister, who possesses telekinetic and mind-reading powers. She is also trying to take over the town and/or kill the competition (her sister Hershe). Very religious and married to a cop.
- "Boss" Hoss Heartshe (Jonathan HadaryJonathan HadaryJonathan Hadary is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Hadary arrived at Tufts University already an accomplished actor. He was promptly cast by every director at Tufts, both student and faculty. During his sophomore year, he became an understudy for the...
) - The leader and owner of the town, who died at the beginning of the series, after working tirelessly on his extensive video will. He appears in every episode through the video will which is used to teach and guide Hurlan.