Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (voiced by Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, humanoid aliens named Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall), Garnet (Estelle), and Amethyst (Michaela Dietz)—in the fictional town of Beach City. Steven, who is half-Gem, has adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind. Steven Universe premiered on November 4, 2013, and is Cartoon Network’s first animated show solely created by a woman. The themes of the series include love, family, and the importance of healthy interpersonal relationships. Books, comics and video games based on the series have been released, and a film is in development.

Sugar based the lead character on her younger brother Steven, who is an artist for the series. She developed Steven Universe while she was a writer and storyboard artist on Adventure Time, which she left when Cartoon Network commissioned her series for full production. The series is storyboard-driven; when episodes are being produced the show’s storyboard artists are responsible for writing the dialogue and blocking out the action. The series has developed a broad fan base and has been critically acclaimed for its design, music, voice acting, characterization, prominence of LGBTQ themes and science fantasy worldbuilding. It has been nominated for four Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards, and was renewed for a fourth and fifth season in March 2016.