Buddy Teaser Turns a Children’s TV Unicorn Into a Nightmare
Childhood television takes a vicious turn in the first teaser for Buddy, a new horror-comedy from Too Many Cooks (yes, that iconic short) creator Casper Kelly. Set within the unnervingly cheerful world of a fictional children’s program, the film introduces an orange unicorn host whose lessons about happiness and friendship begin collapsing into violence. And following its world premiere in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, Buddy is officially heading to theaters through Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. Here’s everything you need to know!
Welcome to the World of It’s Buddy!
At the center of the film is It’s Buddy!, a brightly colored, ’90s-inspired television show where children are expected to sing, dance, play, and follow the instructions of their relentlessly upbeat host. Buddy presents himself as an encouraging figure built to teach kindness and emotional lessons, but the arrangement begins to fracture when one of the children refuses to participate.
While the official Sundance synopsis keeps the larger mystery relatively guarded, we do know that a brave girl and her friends must find a way to escape the children’s show. Outside the program, Cristin Milioti plays Grace, a mother who becomes convinced that she and her husband once had another child.
Casper Kelly Expands His Surreal Horror Style
Buddy marks Kelly’s feature directorial debut after he built a reputation for transforming familiar television formats into increasingly surreal experiences. His viral Adult Swim short Too Many Cooks began as an exaggerated sitcom opening before spiraling into horror, while Adult Swim Yule Log similarly used an ordinary piece of seasonal programming as the gateway to something far stranger.
Kelly co-wrote Buddy with Jamie King, and the cast also includes Michael Shannon and Patton Oswalt alongside Milioti, Quinn, Grace, and Key. During the film’s Sundance premiere, Kelly cited The Shining as an influence and described the concept as a “Barney horror movie,” a comparison that neatly captures its collision of childhood nostalgia, oversized costumes, and sudden brutality.
Sure enough, the teaser embraces that contrast immediately. Kid-friendly songs and broad smiles give way to frightened children, threatening puppets, bloodshed, and a visibly furious Buddy whose cheerful persona can no longer contain what lies underneath. Then there are its simple handmade sets and practical character designs, which also give the footage the texture of an older children’s series, making every violent interruption feel even more aesthetically unsettling.
Between Kelly’s taste for elaborate absurdity, the cast’s comedic and dramatic range, and Buddy’s immediately memorable design, the film appears ready to make compulsory happiness feel genuinely terrifying.
Buddy arrives exclusively in theaters on August 28, 2026.
