If you’re anything like me, you’ve always got your eye out for new shows to watch, stream, and binge. With new streaming services popping up seemingly every day, it can be difficult to know what to watch and where to start— so much so that we often turn to friends or the internet for recommendations. That might be exactly why you’re here, and I hope that even if it’s not, you’ll take some time to watch one of my favorite series. It’s no question why so many people have fallen in love with this series— and the reasons for that love are the same reasons you should stream Infinity Train.
Infinity Train was created by Owen Dennis and made its debut on Cartoon Network’s Youtube channel in 2019. After the pilot garnered millions of views, the show got two full seasons on Cartoon Network’s Youtube channel and app. Following the series’ initial success, Infinity Train was moved to HBO Max for two more seasons. While there are only four seasons in existence now, the series has left a great impact on its viewers, so much so that fans are rallying for a fifth season at any given opportunity.
The show is an anthology series, and while it follows new characters each season, every character takes the viewer on a journey of self-discovery, healing, balancing relationships, and growth. The train in question in the show’s title provides passengers with trials and tribulations that allow the passengers to make choices about themselves and the lives they wish to lead. The first protagonist we follow is a young girl named Tulip; we explore the nature of the train alongside Tulip as she is faced with the potential to accept change and accept that some things in life simply don’t make sense. While Tulip’s journey is individualized, the protagonists of the following seasons work through the lessons the train has to offer in groups or pairs. Infinity Train doesn’t shy away from showing its audience the nitty-gritty of healing, of what it means to work through trauma. The show allows the viewer to learn and grow alongside the protagonists if they so choose, but can also just be enjoyed as an exciting adventure full of both comedic and touching moments in all the right places.
Not only is the writing of the show superb, but the show’s creators have worked hard to provide viewers with the representation of groups that often go unrepresented in media. The first season’s protagonist is a young girl interested in STEM, specifically coding. Much of her journey relies on her ability to use programming to escape dangerous situations; while representation of women in STEM has increased in recent years, Tulip’s interest in video game creation and coding is a very important stride in women’s representation, especially for any young female viewers. The second season introduces us to a POC lead and a queer-coded lead. Many fans of the show believe the season two protagonist, Lake, to be representation of a non-binary or trans person, as their character arc focuses heavily on creating a new identity for themself. Their co-lead of the season is a young Latinx boy. A good representation of both the Latinx and Trans communities is heavily lacking in media, but these characters have filled so many fans of said communities with joy in seeing parts of their identity on screen and hope for more representation in the future. Season 3 continues to uphold Infinity Train’s model of representation, the lead being that of a young black woman in a position of leadership and strength named Grace. Many viewers of the show have expressed gratitude for the way Grace’s character is written; even her animation is praised as she is dark-skinned with natural hair. Black characters are often whitewashed or sidelined in media, and Grace’s character defies these standards, prevailing as, in my opinion, one of the show’s best-written characters. The fourth and most recent season addresses representation directly. It follows two Asian best friends pursuing a career in music as a band in the 80s, and midway through the season one of the boys states, “Even if we get off this train, even if we become the best musicians in the world, you and me? We’re just two Asian guys from BC in a band called Chicken Choice Judy. Can you think of anybody doing what we wanna do who looks like us?” The writers directly call out the lack of POC— in this specific case Asian— representation in mainstream media. Infinity Train challenges media representation and provides viewers with POC & queer representation, allowing for great strides to be made in animation. Each season lends itself to the representation of an under-represented group simultaneously tackling important lessons and trials in life, making it one of the best shows currently available for streaming.
Infinity Train is the perfect show for people of any background to enjoy. It provides viewers with much-needed representation, emotional depths, escapism, and a compelling story. The series is a fantastical piece of fiction but feels more real with every episode and every introduction of a new character. It features an incredible and unique soundtrack, comedic relief at every perfect moment, and allows its audience to escape or to heal alongside the protagonists. Infinity Train is changing the world of animation and media for the better, and it is one ride you certainly won’t want to miss.