Image via HBO Max
By
Safwan Azeem
Published Feb 25, 2026, 8:00 PM EST
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Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapHBO Max’s global charts are usually crowded with franchise comfort watches and fresh-release momentum, but this one is different. Genndy Tartakovsky’s brutal, nearly dialogue-free survival saga plays like a prestige animation dare with minimal exposition, maximum visual storytelling, and long stretches where emotion is carried by movement, sound design, and raw violence. The show has been trending continuously since November, and the streaming come-up seems to be the strongest now that Season 3 is airing.
The show premiered in 2019 and has built its reputation as one of adult animation’s boldest genre hybrids. It amalgamates fantasy, horror, and action into something far more intense than its caveman and dinosaur team-up premise suggests.
As per FlixPatrol, Primal is holding around the sweet spot of #8 position and enjoying consistent placements across countries from Australia and Armenia to Spain, Ukraine, and much of Latin America (including repeated top-10 holds in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Panama). That kind of stability matters more than a one-day spike. And even when it’s not hitting #1, it’s refusing to fall off. In Germany, Primal was recently trending at #7 and #8 on the Apple TV Store in Germany.
‘Primal’ Has Grown to Become an Animated Cult Heavyweight
The key context behind the surge is that Primal is now a 3-season modern cult heavyweight, with 27 episodes total and a third season that premiered in January 2026. It also carries an 8.7/10 on IMDb and a 100% Tomatometer / 89% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes — and that’s critical and audience validation that helps explain why this dark sci-fi fantasy masterpiece keeps clawing its way back into the conversation.
Primal Season 3 picks up after Spear’s apparent death, bringing him back in a darker, supernatural turn as an undead version of himself. The new season follows Spear as he regains fragments of memory and fights through brutal new threats while searching for Fang. It’s still the same visual-first, dialogue-light storytelling, but with a bigger mythic edge, death, resurrection, and vengeance now shaping the journey as much as raw survival.
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Join our newsletter for concise analysis and context on Primal's visual-first storytelling, cult ascent, and Season 3 mythic turn, plus curated picks and deeper animation coverage you'll actually use. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Primal is currently trending on HBO Max. Primal Season 3, Episode 8 will air on March 1, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Primal
Like Follow Followed TV-14 Animation Drama Action Adventure Thriller Release Date October 8, 2019 Network Adult Swim Showrunner Genndy Tartakovsky Directors Genndy Tartakovsky Writers Genndy Tartakovsky, Darrick Bachman, Bryan Andrews, Nagisa KoyamaCast
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Laëtitia Eïdo
Mira (voice)
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Aaron LaPlante
Spear (voice)
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Primal
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HBO Max
Subscribe for smart takes on Primal and animation
Join our newsletter for concise analysis and context on Primal's visual-first storytelling, cult ascent, and Season 3 mythic turn, plus curated picks and deeper animation coverage you'll actually use. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.What To Watch
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