With five Emmy wins under its belt, Primal has built a devoted fanbase, but the wait for new episodes has been tough since Season 2 wrapped in 2022. The most recent update came in 2023, when Adult Swim confirmed that a third season was officially in production.
Now, speaking to Collider, series creator Genndy Tartakovsky is providing new details on the show's return. Said the Samurai Jack creator, "It's a new level. Everything that we did in the first season, we upped a bit in the second season, and the third season is even more. I can't say anything without giving everything away, but it's just more, and it's shocking, and it's unstoppable. At some point, you're like, 'I can't believe I'm watching this.' "
He added, "Quality-wise, animation-wise, story-wise, emotionally, I don't want to oversell it, but rarely have I been proud of a project like this. At the end of the day, we'll have these 30 episodes, and thinking back to Dexter and Powerpuff Girls and even Samurai Jack, how much our quality wavered just because of the process and everything, this is just so solid. And to have 30 solid, incredible [episodes] for a modest budget, I'm really proud of it."
Genndy Tartakovsky recently shared that San Diego Comic-Con in July will likely be too early for any major reveals about Primal Season 3. However, he hinted that fans should keep an eye on New York Comic-Con in October, where the show's marketing campaign is expected to begin ramping up.
Tartakovsky has already confirmed that the third season will mark a major shift for the series. Moving away from Spear and Fang’s story, Primal will adopt an anthology format featuring an entirely new cast of characters. This evolution was inspired by the Season 2 standalone episode, The Primal Theory, which broke from the main narrative and teased the show's potential to explore new themes and settings.
During Adult Swim’s panel at the Annecy Animation Festival, it was officially announced that Primal Season 3 is slated to premiere in 2026.
Speculation is running high as fans eagerly debate what direction Primal’s new anthology format might take.
Will Season 3 pick up a generational thread, delving into the lives of Spear and Fang’s descendants?
Or could the series pivot toward a more episodic structure, featuring standalone tales set across different time periods and civilizations?
With Tartakovsky’s creative range and the show's bold storytelling, the possibilities are very exciting!