As Netflix’s hit animated comedy Big Mouth officially wraps its eighth and final season, fans are saying goodbye to one of television’s boldest, bawdiest explorations of adolescence. But behind the scenes, the creative team revealed one near-miss that left them heartbroken—and it involves none other than pop icon and LGBTQ+ trailblazer Lady Gaga.
Yes, Big Mouth almost had Lady Gaga.
While the Grammy and Oscar winner didn’t end up lending her voice or music to the show, the creators tried—hard—to make it happen in the series’ grand finale. As Big Mouth exits the stage with its signature blend of crude humor and heart, the story of Gaga’s almost-involvement gives fans a glimpse into the show’s ambition and the cultural clout it nearly flexed one last time.
A Coming-of-Age Show That Actually Grew Up
Launched in 2017, Big Mouth follows a group of middle schoolers—including Nick Birch (voiced by co-creator Nick Kroll), Andrew Glouberman, Jessi Glaser, and Matthew MacDell—as they navigate the terrifying terrain of puberty. What set Big Mouth apart was its commitment to growth—literally. Unlike other animated series where characters remain frozen in time, Big Mouth allowed its cast to age, evolve, and graduate into new phases of life.
“It is puberty, and we really covered so much of what we set out to do about this journey,” Kroll told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s Los Angeles premiere. “Most animated shows, they go on forever. People are frozen in whatever time they are in. Our show evolved. The kids evolved, moved through time, grew, and changed—and that was part of the joy of making the show.”
Co-creator Andrew Goldberg, a Family Guy alum, said he initially assumed Big Mouth would mimic the ageless format of other cartoons. “But my collaborators reminded me: this is a show about changes,” he said. “Puberty is a discrete time in life—it doesn’t go on forever.”
The Guest Star Wish List: Gaga at the Top
Over its run, Big Mouth welcomed more than 200 guest stars, from Maya Rudolph and Jordan Peele to John Mulaney, Lupita Nyong’o, and David Thewlis. But not every celebrity pitched responded to the call—and a few dream names remained elusive to the very end.
While celebrating Steve Buscemi’s addition to the final season (voicing a bizarrely lovable feline named Mr. Pink), Kroll revealed they had high hopes for a different kind of superstar.
“We wanted to get Howard Stern and we couldn’t get him. He did so much in inspiring the show; he’s the best, he’s the king,” Kroll said. “And Lady Gaga—we tried to get as well. Turns out she’s busy.”
Andrew Goldberg echoed the sentiment: “We really, really wanted Howard Stern to do the show. He doesn’t do anything, and we were no exception.”
But it was co-creator Mark Levin who revealed the full extent of Gaga’s potential involvement: “We asked Lady Gaga to do a song in the last season and she was too busy. That was sad—but not surprising.”
Lady Gaga and the Legacy She Almost Cemented
For LGBTQ+ fans, Gaga’s almost-involvement is especially bittersweet. With a discography full of queer anthems and a decades-long commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy, Gaga’s presence in Big Mouth would have felt like a full-circle moment. The show, like Gaga herself, has never shied away from embracing queerness in all its complexity.
Matthew MacDell, voiced by Andrew Rannells, became one of the series’ standout queer characters, navigating identity, love, and self-expression in a way rarely seen in mainstream animation. The idea of Gaga performing a track in Matthew’s orbit—or perhaps as a new fantastical being like a Shame Wizard or Hormone Monster—would have been iconic.
While the dream didn’t materialize, the fact that the creators envisioned her as part of their final act speaks volumes about her cultural resonance—and about Big Mouth’s deep-rooted connection to the LGBTQ+ community.
Confronting the Final Monster: The Future
As Big Mouth comes to a close, the theme of the final season is one that resonates deeply with both teens and adults: fear of the future. According to Levin, “Fear of the future and fear of the unknown is the thing that really jumped out as the biggest monster of all for them to confront.”
It’s a fitting end for a show that built a universe around metaphorical monsters—Hormone Monsters, Anxiety Mosquitoes, and Depression Kitties—to externalize internal struggles. In a way, Lady Gaga’s near-appearance as a musical guest could have served as a triumphant anthem to overcoming those fears.
Though Lady Gaga didn’t make it into Big Mouth’s last hurrah, the show’s final season is still packed with emotional revelations, absurd humor, and boundary-pushing storytelling. Its commitment to showcasing queer identity, adolescent awkwardness, and the universality of growing up ensures it will remain a landmark show in animated television history.
The eighth and final season of Big Mouth is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
