Men in Black: The Series (also known as MIB: The Series, MIB: The Animated Series, and Men in Black: The Animated Series) is an American animated television series that originally aired on Kids' WB from October 11, 1997, to June 30, 2001. The show features characters from the science fiction film Men in Black, which was based on the comic book series The Men in Black written by Lowell Cunningham and drawn by Sandy Carruthers, originally published by Marvel / Malibu Comics. The series was produced by Adelaide Productions, a division of Columbia TriStar Television, and Amblin Entertainment as a half-hour series originally airing on Saturday mornings, and later moving to weekdays during its final run.

Plot

The show is set after the first Men in Black film in an alternate timeline. The most significant differences in the series are that Agent K did not retire, and Agent J is still regarded as a rookie. Agent L, on the other hand, is depicted as a senior staff of the organization, a radical change from the first film. Some episodes do incorporate aspects of the film franchise. While the series offers internal continuity and extended plot arcs, it is primarily presented in standalone episodes. Some recurring themes include the exploration of K's origins, as well as J encountering individuals from his life prior to joining MIB. Unlike the film series, the MIB headquarters is located at what looks like a disused area under LaGuardia airport instead of 504 Battery Drive in New York City.

Episodes

Characters

Characters design

The aesthetics of the characters were designed by comic book artist Miguelanxo Prado.

Voice cast

Main

Additional voices

Home media

United States

In the United States, six episodes from the first half of the first season were issued on three two-episode VHS volumes, all made available on March 16, 1999. On May 11, 2012, the entire first season was released on DVD for the first time in the United States, being made available as an exclusive product for Target stores in the country. Thus far, no plans have been announced to issue any further seasons of the show on DVD as of 2021. The series is available on the streaming service Crackle, alternating between the first two seasons and the last two.

International

In the United Kingdom, the first season was released by Columbia TriStar Home Video on two bumper-edition VHS tapes in 1998 and 1999, alongside a tape containing the first two episodes of the season. The first volume contained the first seven episodes with the first episode included as a bonus "Pilot" episode. The second volume contained the other six episodes. They were reissued by Cinema Club in 2000, and UCA in 2002 and 2003. On July 12, 2004, UCA released a single-disc DVD containing the first three episodes of the first season. Further releases were planned, but sales were not strong enough to warrant any other DVD releases from UCA. The entire first season was issued on DVD for the first time on July 4, 2007, in Australia, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The set contained two discs, one containing seven episodes and the other containing the remaining six. On July 16, 2007, the set was made available in the United Kingdom but was split up into two separate volumes instead of a whole box set.

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

Video games

A video game based on the series, titled Men in Black: The Series, was released for the Game Boy Color in 1999. A sequel, titled Men in Black 2: The Series and also based on the show, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2000. A different version of Men in Black: The Series was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Another game based on the series, titled Men in Black: The Series – Crashdown, was released for the PlayStation later in 2001.