Before Gizmo ever met a suburban American family, he had a childhood friend of his own on the other side of the world, and that earlier bond is where this animated prequel series begins.
What is Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai about?
Set generations before the original Gremlins film, the show follows a young Sam Wing growing up in 1920s Shanghai, where he first crosses paths with the small, gentle Mogwai who will one day be known as Gizmo. Adventure, comedy, fantasy and horror genres blend across the season as Sam is pulled away from his ordinary life and into a hidden world of ancient magical creatures, family secrets, and dangerous forces competing for control of the Mogwai. Family ties sit at the center of the story, with Sam navigating obligations to his household even as he's drawn deeper into a supernatural underworld he never knew existed. The animation style leans into period detail while still carrying the mischievous, sometimes unsettling tone longtime fans of the franchise will recognize, balancing lighter comedic beats for younger viewers against darker fantasy-horror elements aimed at the adults who grew up on the earlier films.
About the cast
The voice cast is led by Izaac Wang as young Sam, with Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, A.J. LoCascio, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Simu Liu rounding out the ensemble. It's a lineup with genuine range across animation and live-action work, giving the show's mix of comedy and fantasy-adventure a cast comfortable moving between tones.
Context & significance
Tze Chun directs the series, which arrived in 2022 as an animated expansion of the Gremlins mythology aimed at both younger audiences and longtime fans of the original property. Produced in the United States, it trades the 1980s American small-town setting of the films for 1920s Shanghai, giving the franchise a new visual and cultural backdrop while keeping the core idea of a boy and his Mogwai intact.
Watching Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai on Ktime
The series streams on K-Time with a free account login, no separate purchase needed to start watching. K-Time's Farsi-first interface makes it simple for Persian-speaking households to browse family and fantasy-adventure titles like this one alongside the rest of the animated catalog.