Share

cover art for Interview: Scoring Netflix’s ‘Exploding Kittens’ with Composers Jina An & Shirley Song

Geektown Radio - TV News, Interviews & UK TV Air Dates

Interview: Scoring Netflix’s ‘Exploding Kittens’ with Composers Jina An & Shirley Song

Welcome to a new Geektown Behind The Scenes podcast. This week I’m chatting with Jina An & Shirley Song, the composers behind Netflix's brilliant adult animated series Exploding Kittens.


If you haven’t yet caught ‘Exploding Kittens’, the series is inspired by the beloved card game from Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal webcomic, Elan Lee, and Shane Small. After a meeting in heaven, there is a general consensus that Earth sucks, so God (voiced by the wonderful Tom Ellis from ‘Lucifer’) gets fired and sent to Earth to reconnect with humanity. The catch? He’s trapped in the body of a chubby house cat. As part of Godcat’s rehabilitation, he moves in with a dysfunctional family and tries to solve their problems, but ends up spending a lot of time chasing laser pointers. And to top it off, Godcat’s next-door neighbour, who is also a cat, turns out to be none other than his nemesis, the Antichrist. It is brilliant, hilariously funny, and Season 1 is all on Netflix right now!


Jina and Shirley have been composing together pretty much since college, and were tasked with creating a soundtrack that captures the show's explosive energy. This also involved them touching on a huge array of musical genres like 8-bit nostalgia, energetic Cajun flair, heavy metal rock, and both choral and orchestral scores to bring the madcap adventures and quirky characters to life.


Outside of ‘Exploding Kittens’, the duo are also known for working on the beloved Netflix series ‘XO, Kitty’, and have a number of other projects coming up which we talk about in the interview.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Geektown Radio Episode 450: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Two Point Museum, Small Town Big Story, SAS Rogue Heroes Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    56:05|
    We are back with episode 450 of the Geektown Radio podcast, and Dave is joined by Matt from Entertainment Talk to discuss all the latest and TV, film, and gaming news & reviews!Whilst we'd usually have Gray on this week to talk Oscars, he's unfortunately tied up, so Matt graciously stepped in, and brings us a review of the animated series 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' - a show that you should not judge by its trailer! We also chat about the newly released video game 'Two Point Museum', which is the latest building game in the Two Point franchise. Meanwhile, Dave reviews Sky's latest release from Chris O'Dowd, 'Small Town, Big Story', which has a surprising sci-fi edge to it, plus catching up with 'SAS Rogue Heroes' Season 2, and 'Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish'. We also discuss the demise of Skype, and run through the winners and loses of this year's Oscars.Over in the news updates, and we don't really have any cancellations this week, although we do run through some of the data released in Netflix's "What We Watched" report, including our thoughts on the cancelled 'Kaos" series. We also chat about DC’s ‘Lanterns’ Series, ITV's ‘Red Eye’ getting a new lead, Guy Richie’s 'MobLand', and ‘The Boys’ 'Supernatural' reunion, plus lots more!
  • Geektown Radio Episode 449: Invincible, Reacher, Surface, The Substance Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    01:08:03|
    We return with episode 449 of the Geektown Radio podcast, and Dave is joined by Matt from Entertainment Talk to discuss all the latest and TV, film, and gaming news & reviews!Matt is back on the show with armfuls of TV and film reviews, kicking things off with his thoughts on the latest MCU movie, 'Captain America: Brave New World', and also a review of Oscar-nominated movie 'The Substance', which is tricky to talk about without giving anything away! We also discuss the return of 'Invincible' on Prime Video, and Matt heaps praise on Netflix animated series 'The Dragon Prince'. Meanwhile, Dave picks up a review of Apple TV+ series 'Surface', along with diving back into 'Reacher' which returned for Season 3 on Prime Video, and 'Snowpiercer' Season 4, which finally pulled into the station on ITVX. We also talk around the finale on '9-1-1: Lone Star' which recently bowed out on Disney+ UK (without spoilers).Over in the news updates, and we have more renewed and cancelled TV shows to run through including Amazon deciding not everyone needs good ‘Neighbours’, and CBS going on a renewal bonanza! We also chat about a new 'Blue Bloods' spin-off, James Bond getting a new boss, a new '9-1-1' spin-off and the BBC seeming to accidentally leak the return of 'Doctor Who', plus lots more! Listen below!
  • Geektown Radio Episode 448: A Thousand Blows, Captain America: Brave New World, Kill, Spin The Bottle Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    57:37|
    It's episode 448 of the Geektown Radio podcast, and Dave is joined for the first time this year by Darryl from Hollywood North News to discuss all the latest and TV, film, and gaming news & reviews!Darryl is back, and brings his usual eclectic mix of film and TV reviews from across the streaming services. However, we kick off with a cinema review, as he's been to see 'Captain America: Brave New World', the latest MCU movie, so gives his thoughts on that. Back on Netflix he reviews 'XO Kitty', and Nordic noir drama 'The Åre Murders'. We then move to Prime Video for 2024 horror film 'Spin The Bottle', and the (surprisingly violent) Bollywood film 'Kill'. Meanwhile, Dave catches us up with his latest thoughts on 'Civilization 7', along with an interesting mix of TV. We start with the pop doc 'Boyzone: No Matter What', followed by the return of 'Will Trent', and an early review of the brand new Disney+ drama from Stephen Knight, 'A Thousand Blows'. Over in the news updates, and we have more renewed and cancelled TV shows to run through including a series cancelled before it even shot a scene, and a return to Middle Earth. We also chat about Russell T Davies returning for a new Channel 4 drama, Mitchell and Webb returning to sketch comedy, placing bets on whether Sean Bean will last to the end of his new show, and lots more! Listen below!
  • Behind the Beauty of ‘Star Trek: Section 31’: An Exclusive Interview with Makeup Head Shauna Llewellyn & Hair Head Ryan Reed

    18:30|
    Welcome back to a new Geektown Behind The Scenes podcast. This week I’m chatting with two people - Shauna Llewellyn, the makeup department head, and Ryan Reed, the hair department head, behind Paramount+'s film ‘Star Trek: Section 31’ film, starring Michelle Yeoh, which is out not on Paramount+, and 'Star Trek: Discovery'.In 'Star Trek: Section 31', Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Yeoh) joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and must face the sins of her past. Shauna and Ryan previously worked together on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, which earned Shauna an Emmy nomination, so while familiar with the universe in ‘Star Trek: Section 31’, they got to explore a section in space that we haven't seen in any Star Trek universe. As the film is set outside of Starfleet space, there were no pre-existing looks, and the team could really explore and push the envelope, which was perfectly showcased in the club scenes featuring party hair and makeup looks from across space.They also created multiple captivating looks for the main cast, including the two club looks for Rachel (Kacey Rohl), which are so different from her more natural look featured in the rest of the film that the audience can barely recognise her. For Michelle Yeoh's character, they also worked closely with her and the costume designer to create an edgy and glamorous look for a former ruthless empress unlike her clean star fleet member look from ‘Star Trek: Discovery’.Shauna’s other previous work includes shows such as ‘Lost Girl’, ‘Killjoys’, ‘Private Eyes’ and ‘Frankie Drake Mysteries’, whilst Ryan has worked on ‘Pachinko’, ‘The Umbrella Academy’, ‘The Strain’, and ‘Defiance’. Their current project is the upcoming series, ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’.
  • Geektown Radio Episode 447: Hacks, Star Trek: Section 31, Amandaland & Civ 7 Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    53:41|
    We return with episode 447 of the Geektown Radio podcast, and this week, Dave is joined by Gray to discuss all the latest and TV, film, and gaming news & reviews!Predictably for Gray, as it's the start of the year, that means his TV chat includes 'Traitors' and 'Traitors US' which both returned for new seasons. He also discusses the return of 'Am I Being Unreasonable?' for a second season, and the new 'Motherland' spin-off series 'Amandaland', and Channel 4's 'Patience'. Dave and Gray also heap high praise on 'High Potential', and rejoice over the return of 'Hacks' to the UK. Meanwhile, Dave discusses three new game releases - the city builder 'Foundation', RPG 'Kingdom Come: Deliverance II', and the return of the daddy of the turn-based strategy game, 'Civilization 7'. He also talks about the return of 'Invincible' to Prime Video, and reviews the Paramount+ movie 'Star Trek: Section 31'.Over in the news updates, and we have more renewed and cancelled TV shows to run through including discovering (in a rather entertaining way!) that Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon seem to be teaming up again, and a favourite BBC crime drama looks like it could be returning for a new season. We also chat about the trailers for 'Fantastic Four' and the new 'Jurassic World' movie, Kiefer Sutherland starring in a Christmas film for Sky, the potential return of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, and lots more! Listen below!
  • Geektown Radio Episode 446: High Potential, Paradise, Severance & The Night Agent Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    01:04:15|
    We are back! Welcome to episode 446 of the Geektown Radio podcast and our first episode of 2025! This week, Dave is joined by Matt from Entertainment Talk to discuss all the latest and TV & film news and reviews!As we've been off for a few weeks, we have a lot to cover, and Matt dives in with some of the things he watched whilst we've been away, including his thoughts on the 'Gavin and Stacey' finale, catching 'An Evening with Dua Lipa', and catching up on both '9-1-1' and '9-1-1: Lone Star'. He also discusses the issues with trying to play through the original version of 'The Last Of Us' on the original PS3, which surprisingly, is something he has never done before. Meanwhile, Dave is back from his trip to LA... where everything was unexpectedly on fire... so he gives his thoughts on that experience. However, he also caught up on some new TV series including 'Paradise' and 'High Potential' on Disney+, along with new seasons of 'The Night Agent' on Netflix, and 'Severance' & 'Mythic Quest' on Apple TV+. Over in the news updates, we have a stack of renewed and cancelled TV shows since we've been away including so frustrating cuts by Disney, some not unsurprising cancellations from Netflix, and a very surprising scrapping of a show by Apple! We also chat about casting for '‘Ahsoka' Season 2, a potential new Jared Padalecki, the potential return of 'Grimm', and lots more! Listen below!
  • The Geektown Awards - The Results Podcast 2024!

    47:49|
    It's the last Geektown Radio podcast of 2024, and Dave is back with Matt from Entertainment Talk and our "film reviewer" Gray to go through all of the results from The Geektown Awards 2024!2024 has been another spectacular year for TV both in the UK and around the world. We've also seen a great selection of video game and films over the last 12 months, and The Geektown Awards gave visitors to our website the opportunity to vote on what they thought were the best, and which TV, films, and video games they were looking forward to in 2025. I want to give a big "Thank You!" to all the thousands of people who took the time to vote in the awards this year.Whilst some categories gave results we could have guessed (I'm looking at you, "Most Anticipated Game Of 2025..."), there were some big surprises too. We also had some really close voting, with some of the top three spots having less than 1% between them in some places. We also have the shows which were voted this year's top ten TV series of all time!If you want to know what was voted the best drama, comedy, procedural, sci-fi, fantasy, game, film and many other categories, or what people are looking forward to next year, just listen below!
  • Geektown Radio Episode 445: Wicked, Arcane, Dexter: Original Sin, Outlander Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    51:20|
    It's episode 445, and our last regular Geektown Radio podcast of 2024, as Gray (somewhat unexpectedly!) joins Dave to chat about all the latest TV & film news and reviews!Gray steps in as a last-minute replacement for Matt, who has come down with some sort of lurgy (get well soon!), and amazingly actually has a film review, as he went to see 'Wicked' this week. He also chats about catching up with some TV shows such as 'Doctor Odyssey', 'A Man on the Inside', 'The Diplomat', 'Smoggie Queens', 'Cheaters', and... 'Is It Cake?'... Meanwhile, Dave chats about catching up with the latest series of 'Outlander', along with finally stepping into the acclaimed Netflix animated series 'Arcane'. He also reviews whether the new Paramount+ prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin' manages to "kill it" with its opening episode.Over in the news updates, we have a few cancellations and a surprising number of Netflix renewals which makes a nice change from the, usually murderous, streaming service. We also chat about the dire state of Sony's Spider-man "universe", the possibility of a new ‘Prison Break’ series, Henry Cavill's Warhammer 40k series, Bryan Cranston returning to his comedy roots, and lots more! Listen below!
  • Geektown Radio Episode 444: Black Doves, Matlock, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, MCM Birmingham Reviews, Plus TV News & UK Air Dates!

    54:47|
    It's all the fours with episode 444 of the Geektown Radio podcast as Darryl From Hollywood North News joins Dave to chat about all the latest TV, film and games news & reviews!As always Darryl brings an interesting mix of mainstream and slightly more obscure film and TV reviews along with him! Firstly he kicks off with the movie 'Werewolves Within', which is available now on demand, and follows that with his review of the recently released Prime Video series 'Cross'. He has also picked up the first season of Netflix dramedy 'The Lincoln Lawyer', and moves on to a new legal drama which has recently dropped onto Sky Witness and NOW, 'Matlock'. Meanwhile, Dave reviews the new Netflix (and surprisingly festive!) thriller from the brilliant Joe Barton, 'Black Doves' starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, along with the really fun new Disney+ series 'Star Wars: Skeleton Crew'. He also chats about what he got up to at the recent MCM Comic Con Birmingham.Over in the news updates, we have one cancellation and a surprising number of renewals for the time of year, including the Paramount hiring 'The Agency' again, more adult adventures on Disney+ from Jilly Cooper, and more murdering from the ubiquitous Ella Purnell. We also have news on a 'Scrubs' revival, whether another spin-off from 'The Rookie' is a good idea, the showrunners from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ doing English period drama, and lots more!

Comments