User blog comment:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: (Feat. Mattalamode) Season 1 Debate/@comment-28485972-20170804125538/@comment-31194372-20170805020651

Regarding the show's pop culture status: I definitely think Season 1 was particularly destructive towards the prospects of cultivating a fanbase early on, but it's also just that (as other people have mentioned multiple times both here and elsewhere), the show's design doesn't quite appeal with the zeitgeisty sense of what "cool," "hip" cartoons should be, especially in regards to serialization. There's also the fact that it sticks to a very kiddy, colorful aesthetic, even if the heart of the show, more often than not, takes it with a grain of salt. It's that people have these assumptions about the show either based on how it presents itself (a lot of commericals, for instance, still sell the show in the same way it did Season 1) or based on being burned by the first season.

Even so, you shouldn't deny that Gumball is really popular from an insider's standpoint, and I think the show is highly respected otherwise within the business. I mean, the show's been referenced by South Park, and even if I don't watch the show myself, that's a pretty legitimate form of recognition. At the very least, I'm sure the show is primed for cult status at some point in the future.