On the 19th of May, a little show you may not have heard of will wing its way back onto our screens in the US. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if comic book rules applied to the real world, or if you’ve ever wanted to see what would’ve happened if Jonny Quest had been allowed to grow up and face his post-“boy adventurer” days as an adult, or even if you’ve just ever paused to think about how absurd the very notion of “arch villains” really is, then you need to be watching this show. It’s called The Venture Bros. and it’s a must-see for geeky folks like us, so here’s a list of reasons why you should catch up before the season five premiere.

The pedigree

We geeks love a good pedigree, don’t we? If we know that a writer used to work/learn from someone whose work we already respect, then we’re all the more likely to give them a chance. Such is the case with The Venture Bros. The show is written, directed, and edited by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, whose names you probably aren’t familiar with. But what if I told you that Jackson used to work on The Tick? If you’re familiar with that cult classic, then I’ve probably just gotten your attention. Now what if I take it one step further and tell you that Doc and Jackson were introduced by The Tick creator, Ben Edlund, who is the only person other than the two of them to ever write an episode of this show? At least a few of you just decided to give this show a chance, didn’t you? We geeks love a good pedigree, and this show has a great one.

It turns genre conventions on their head

The basic premise of the show is this: Doctor Rusty Venture – former boy adventurer in the same vein as Jonny Quest – is now a failed adult super-scientist raising his twin boys, Hank and Dean, as a single dad along with the family’s bodyguard Brock Samson. Why does the family have a bodyguard? Because they’re under daily threat from Rusty’s various arch enemies. At the forefront of these enemies is The Monarch – a butterfly-themed supervillain – and the Monarch’s paramour, Dr. Girlfriend, along with their seemingly endless supply of henchmen.

But there are rules in this universe for “arching.” There are organizations. There’s insurance.