The Pole is an adult animated series which is created by Matthew Bass and Theodore Bressman. The show concerns a scandal at the North Pole, which is kicked off by Santa taking a dick pic during his Christmas trip. leading to a struggle for the Red Suit. As Santa struggles with the scandal, his wife keeps the political machine afloat. Part of the cast is the two elves Matilda and Helenor, Harry and Jack (who are Santa's two children), and Cocoa, the penguin host of the North Pole's news program.
The show was created for Syfy's short-lived animation block TZGZ and premiered on the 17th of March 2021.
Tropes in this series:
- Alphabet News Network: NPNN, the network which airs in the North Pole in this series.
- Bait-and-Switch Suicide: An elf is initially believed to have killed themself from jumping off a building, to Santa's horror. Turns out that they had a trampoline on the ground.
- Cliffhanger: The first episode ends on one with Jack gaining a surprise victory and becoming the next Santa, which carries the risk of a Bad Future.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: When Santa is faced with a moral dilemmia involving cutting all ties with the Naughty community, tiny versions of Mrs Clause and Helnelor appear on his shoulder, with Mrs Clause urging him to in a bid to save Christmas and Helenor urging him not to cut ties.
- How We Got Here: The first episode opens with two elves accidentally running over Santa. The series then cuts back to several weeks earlier to show how it gets to that point.
- Interspecies Romance: The human Mrs Clause is in a relationship with Dasher the reindeer.
- Legacy Character: As with Arthur Christmas and The Santa Clause, the role of Santa Claus is a title that is passed down from parent to son, with the current Santa being the 20th to inherit the title.
- Scandal Gate: The scandal which helps to kickstart the series is referred to as "Penis Gate".
- Show Within a Show: "Morning Cocoa", a morning news show hosted by Cocoa.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: In the fifth episode, Mrs. Claus is visited by three ghosts, with the Ghost of Christmas Past being Charles Dickens (most notable for creating A Christmas Carol), the Ghost of Christmas Present being Mrs Claus the Fifteenth and the Ghost of Christmas Future being "Shitty Nick".
