‘Solar Opposites’ EPs on Terry and Korvo’s Wedding in the New Valentine’s Day Special: “We Naturally Got to That Place”

The latest Solar Opposites special, titled “An Earth Shattering Romantic Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Opposites Special,” begins as an anti-Valentine’s Day affair but quickly shifts into an epic romance as executive producers Mike McMahan and Josh Bycel move towards their overarching objective: “We wanted Terry and Korvo to get married!”

The new episode, which premiered Feb. 5, 2024 on Hulu, joins the ranks of the show’s other holiday specials, 2021’s  “A Very Solar Christmas Opposites Special” and 2022’s “A Sinister Halloween Scary Opposites Solar Special.”

In the special, the alien family — Korvo (Dan Stevens), Terry (Thomas Middleditch), Jesse (Mary Mack), and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) — debate over the value of Valentine’s Day. Frustrated by the romantic festivities, Korvo takes matters in his own hands and rids Earth of the “stupid, stinky hormone” love, sparking chaos.

Decider hopped on a Zoom call with McMahan and Bycel to chat about the new special and what Terry and Korvo’s relationship development means for Season 5.

“There were two things we knew about this episode, and it’s that we wanted Terry and Korvo to be married — we felt like we had naturally gotten to that place with those characters — and that we were going into Season 5,” McMahan told Decider. “We wanted to write an episode that made an event out of it. It couldn’t just be a regular episode; it had to be a standalone.”

The co-creator continued, “They’re married now, and Season 5 carries that forward. This episode takes place between the first two episodes of Season 5. So, Season 5 is heavily about what happens when you get married and how it changes your life.”

The recent development in Terry and Korvo’s relationship is monumental given what has previously been portrayed in the series. In an interview timed to the first season, McMahan had told Decider’s Kayla Cobb, “We’re not exactly geniuses when it comes to commenting on sexuality…I do think that it’s fun when we write [Terry and Korvo] somewhere in between co-parents and team leaders, and people who will occasionally, when they get drunk, kiss by accident.” In the same interview, former showrunner Justin Roiland said, “In terms of [their] relationship, they’re not like fucking if that’s what you’re asking.”

Well, that’s no longer true.

Korvo and Terry’s connection has steadily developed since Season 1, and viewers have witnessed a few on-screen kisses and allusions to their sexual relationship play out on screen. The Valentine’s Day special brings their physical and romantic relationship to the next level. The episode features the two in a delightful — albeit kinky — sex montage after they discover that their Planetary Love Level is far above the friendzone, and concludes with them tying the knot.

Regarding the explicit scene, McMahan said, “The artists love this show as much as us. Our director of that episode was like, ‘How far can I go with this?’ And we were like ‘Do whatever you want!'”

Bycel added, “Looking back on it, we have a bit of a history of trying to pull off graphic sex scenes with cartoon characters…We did that in the first season, right? It’s just funny to us to try to do graphic sex scenes with the goofiest characters.”

Though, when doing so, McMahan and Bycel often wonder if they are pushing Hulu’s boundaries. “First of all, [Hulu] is the best partner. If you’ve watched the show, you know that they allow us to do a lot…but yes, we’re always like, ‘We might have to rewrite this entire thing, but let’s find out.’ That’s how you know you’re doing something worth making,” McMahan shared.

As for what Korvo and Terry’s marriage means for Season 5, “you’ll see a big funny tone shift,” McMahan revealed. “Terry and Korvo were basically married before this episode happened. This just codified it into law. [The marriage] does change how Korvo and Terry speak about each other. It’s an allowance for them to love each other even more, but they’re still chaotic, they’re still funny, they still get their feelings hurt, and they can still be petty.” 

McMahan continued to tease the upcoming season, “You still get a big, funny fucking season of Solar Opposites with a great Wall story and a little check-in with the SilverCops, and all this crazy stuff.” Bycel added, “Now that they’re married, they realize, ‘Oh, what is getting the Pupa into a school look like?’ …They’re just more domestic things. And then what does that look like as a Solar episode? Or what have [Terry and Korvo] heard about marriage on TV that they feel like they have to do. It’s that feeling of like, ‘None of this is scripted. Am I supposed to do that stuff?’ They go through that stuff, too.”

There’s a lot in store for our favorite alien family, but for now, let’s just watch Terry’s epic wedding vows on repeat and work on renaming Valentine’s Day as “Terry and Korvo Day!”

An Earth Shattering Romantic Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Opposites Special is currently streaming on Hulu.