Carmen Sandiego (TV series)

Main/Team Red

Carmen Sandiego / "Black Sheep" (voiced by Gina Rodriguez) – The eponymous protagonist and heroine, Carmen is a former student of V.I.L.E. who seeks to dissolve the group and donate its stolen funds to humanitarian causes; this Carmen is notably different than previous incarnations, who were leaders of V.I.L.E. and lady thieves. Initially, Carmen believed that she was found as an abandoned baby on the roadside of Buenos Aires, Argentina 20 years ago, taking her name from the brand name tag in a hat she used in her escape disguise. By the end of the second season, Carmen learns that she is the daughter of former V.I.L.E. faculty member Dexter Wolfe, who was killed by the mysterious Chief of A.C.M.E. during an ambush by Interpol and assassination attempt by V.I.L.E., and that her mother may still be alive.
Player (voiced by Finn Wolfhard) – A white-hat hacker from Niagara Falls, Ontario who helps Carmen plan her heists, gives her intel about the places she visits and keeps her updated on the local authorities, V.I.L.E. activity, or any possibilities she may have missed. Player is inspired by the live-action character of the same name from Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, who in turn is a reference to people playing the video games. In Season 4, his last name is revealed to be Bouchard.
Zack (voiced by Michael Hawley) and Ivy (voiced by Abby Trott) – Siblings from South Boston helping Carmen after they met during a Donut shop heist which was a V.I.L.E. front; they are inspired by the A.C.M.E. detectives of the same names from Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. Ivy, the older of the two, often runs interference for Carmen, either through disguises or her engineering skills; she also is much more well-read than Zack, who habitually makes mistakes about their discoveries and is less experienced with going undercover.

A.C.M.E.

A.C.M.E. (short for Agency to Classify & Monitor Evildoers) is the secret global detective and law enforcement agency that often combats V.I.L.E. and the anti-heroes of the series. In this iteration, they seek out finding proof leading to the dissolution of the criminal organization through the means of finding and capturing Carmen and her crew for intel on them.

The Chief / Tamara Fraser (voiced by Dawnn Lewis) – Head of A.C.M.E. and supervises all of the organization; she is inspired by the Chief from the PBS game shows. She has only appeared via hologram in most of the series but believes Carmen may be a lead to helping A.C.M.E. prove the existence and downfall of V.I.L.E. By the end of season 2, it is revealed that her name is Tamara Fraser and that she was the one who killed Carmen's father, Dexter Wolfe, the night she was taken in by Shadowsan.
Chase Devineaux (voiced by Rafael Petardi) – A French Interpol inspector turned A.C.M.E. recruit; he is inspired by the A.C.M.E. agent of the same name from Carmen Sandiego Word Detective. He, along with Julia, is one of the only two agents to get close enough to see Carmen's face. He is inept, arrogant, pompous, and constantly overestimating his own abilities. By the end of the first season, Chase is put into mental strain caused by a device Brunt and Shadowsan used to force him to answer their questions. In season 2, after waking up from his coma, he provides a lead, but is dismissed and returned to Interpol with a desk job. However, he is fired for going off the grid in pursuit of Carmen and finds the Isle of V.I.L.E. only after it was destroyed. By the season 2 finale, A.C.M.E. rehires him after Carmen steals from their databanks and eventually gains a higher opinion of him after his success in preventing 'Carmen' from stealing priceless masks.
Julia Argent (voiced by Charlet Chung) – An Interpol agent turned A.C.M.E. recruit, Chase's partner and opposite: she usually does the logistics and fact-finding that Chase would otherwise overlook or disregard; is more highly intelligent, competent and perceptive; and is the most open to believing Carmen is instead stealing from other thieves. She is inspired by the A.C.M.E. detective of the same name from Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge. In season 2, Julia actively tries to recruit Carmen as an A.C.M.E. agent despite being undermined by the Chief's focus to outright arrest Carmen to gain intel on V.I.L.E. She, along with Chase Devineaux, is one of the only two officers to get close enough to see Carmen's face. She is also the only A.C.M.E. agent to visibly keep her job for the whole of both seasons until season 3, when she quits due to the Chief's mistaken assumptions with Carmen.
Zari (voiced by Sharon Muthu; main – season 2) – A longtime pursuant of Carmen Sandiego's, who becomes Argent's partner in season 2. While focused and efficient, her loyalty is shown to lie with the Chief and not her partner. She is later partnered with Devineaux in season 3.

V.I.L.E.

V.I.L.E. (short for Villains' International League of Evil) is a shadowy international crime syndicate of thieves and the main antagonists of the series. Its undercover name is Valuable Imports, Lavish Exports. Their origins date back to the medieval ages where the original founders pillaged trades routes, ancient monuments, and tombs. According to the Chief, their operations have been involved in manipulating financial markets and contaminating food staples in the past decades. Their headquarters are located on one of the Canary Islands and use the academy there to train their new recruits for a one-year semester. As of the end of Season 2, V.I.L.E. Island was destroyed after the V.I.L.E. Faculty believed that A.C.M.E. had found their location. V.I.L.E. was relocated to a castle in Scotland in Season 3.

The Faculty

A council of five masterminds who are the leaders of V.I.L.E., the instructors of V.I.L.E. Academy, and the primary antagonists of the series; Carmen considered them the only family she knew before betraying them. They each have equal authority, and reach decisions by a majority vote; thus they try to ensure an odd number is always present.

Professor Gunnar Maelstrom (voiced by Liam O'Brien) – A Swedish-Norwegian psychiatrist and teacher of psychological manipulation. Sinister and quite psychotic, often the classic Machiavellian-type villain and coming off as creepy to the V.I.L.E. graduates and faculty. Unlike his 1994 series counterpart, Maelstrom is part of V.I.L.E. itself, often acting as the leader, mediator, and head spokesperson for the faculty as a group.
Coach Brunt (voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn) – A Texan coach and teacher of combat and physical training. She was Carmen's favorite teacher, and the two had soft spots for each other. Carmen always thought that Coach Brunt was the one who found her, so the two shared a good relationship. Brunt, like the other faculty members, was quite upset over Carmen's betrayal. However, it seems that Carmen still has a soft spot for Coach Brunt, despite her true motivations.
Countess Cleo (voiced by Toks Olagundoye) – An Egyptian wealthy debutant and teacher of culture, class, and forgery. She seems to not really care that much about Carmen, and always tries to use her etiquette lessons to get rid of Carmen's rebellious streak. Her crimes deal with obtaining fine art and fashion which she keeps for short periods before selling them off. Her name is based on that of Pharaoh Cleopatra.
Dr. Saira Bellum (voiced by Sharon Muthu) – An Indian mad scientist and V.I.L.E.'s master inventor, responsible for creating all of the many gadgets and tools V.I.L.E. uses in their heists and schemes. She is shown to be slightly more reasonable than the other faculty, though still willing to destroy the food supply of Indonesia just to shill in a market for an artificial commercial brand; she also has trouble understanding metaphors. She tends to multitask even during council meetings, focusing on numerous screens of information, much to Maelstrom's annoyance. Her name is a pun on the word cerebellum, a part of the brain.
Shadowsan (voiced by Paul Nakauchi; main – season 2) – A Japanese master thief, skilled swordsman, assassin, and a former member of the V.I.L.E. Faculty teaching stealth and covert thievery. He gave a test where students had to find and steal a dollar from his coat when Carmen was still in school and emptied his coat so she would not be able to find the dollar, which caused Carmen's need to outdo Tigress. In the season one finale, Shadowsan reveals that he was really on Carmen's side all her life and that he was the one who found her in Argentina when she was a baby. He is a secret member of Carmen's team as well, providing her with a new drive on V.I.L.E.'s financial data at the end of the season. By season 2, his betrayal is revealed and he becomes an enemy of V.I.L.E. while helping Carmen foil their plans. In "The Daisho Caper", his real name is revealed to be Suhara, having stolen his katana from his brother decades earlier and regretting the life he chose. In the season 2 finale, Suhara joins Carmen's search to find her mother, who went into hiding just before Wolfe's death. In the 1994 animated series and Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math, Suhara was a Japanese detective who mentored Carmen when she was an A.C.M.E. agent.
Roundabout / Nigel Braithwaite (voiced by Trevor Devall) – A British veteran V.I.L.E. operative and MI6 double-agent who is the chief of the agency and takes the place of Shadowsan at the end of season 2. He utilizes his influence in British Intelligence to give V.I.L.E. a leg up on any law enforcement that may zero in on their operations, as well as divert attention away with proper diversionary substance. By the end of Season 3, he is exposed to world as a criminal for stealing the Crown Jewels.

V.I.L.E. Operatives

Tigress / Sheena (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) – A spy with a literal catsuit with claws and a technological mask to match her namesake, who is particularly antagonistic toward Carmen, even while at the academy. She is based on the character of the same name from the original 1994 animated series; though, unlike the original, who was nothing more than a disguise donned by Ivy, Tigress is a separate person in the 2019 continuum. She is the longest-running combatant against Carmen, who felt like she needed to prove she was better than Tigress at pick-pocketing due to Tigress acing a test set by Shadowsan that Carmen failed (however, this is only because Shadowsan cheated so Carmen could fail). Tigress also dislikes Paper Star. In the interactive special, it is shown that in spite of her dislike of Carmen, Tigress is still capable of returning the favor if Carmen helps her out, showing that she has a sense of honor.
El Topo / Antonio (voiced by Andrew Pifko) and Le Chèvre / Jean Paul (voiced by Bernardo de Paula) – A pair of V.I.L.E. operatives who used to be in Carmen's group of friends before she left. El Topo is a wisecracking Spanish spy with streamlined powerful digging gauntlets, while Le Chèvre is a no-nonsense French spy with incredible parkour and climbing skills. In the interactive special, if Carmen works with El Topo, he holds no hostility towards her, stating his belief they are just pawns in the game of life; Le Chèvre, on the other hand, will taunt her. With the destruction of V.I.L.E. at the end of season 4, they open a food truck together as partners. In September 2021, series creator Duane Capizzi confirmed that Le Chèvre and El Topo were a gay couple.
Mime Bomb – A silent spy and mute informant who dresses as a mime artist for public camouflage. He is usually used by the faculty to spy and snitch on the students, which is also how the faculty found out that Carmen had stowed away. However, they sometimes wonder if it was a good idea to hire a mime as a spy since they can't really understand what he's trying to say though he does communicate through charades and sign language.
Paper Star (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) – A psychopathic master of origami weapons, she is Maelstrom's favorite pupil. In contrast, Shadowsan rightfully believes Paper Star to be too psychotic to carry out orders, as Paper Star refused to hand over the stolen goods to Le Chèvre per V.I.L.E. protocol. Paper Star has little combat experience outside of her origami techniques such as throwing paper shurikens whenever they have been negated.
Dash Haber (voiced by Troy Baker) – Countess Cleo's executive courier and personal assistant. Dash Haber's main weapon is his hat, which is embellished with razor-sharp blades and can be thrown and retrieved through magnets in his gloves. His name is a pun of the word haberdasher.
The Cleaners / Vlad and Boris (voiced by Liam O'Brien) – Two Russian men who not just have janitorial duties as the cleaning crew at V.I.L.E. but they are also the men-in-black who are deployed to extricate V.I.L.E. members who have failed their missions by being apprehended and "Scrub" any evidence of V.I.L.E.'s existence. They are based on Rick and Nick ICK, commonly known as The ICK Brothers, a pair of V.I.L.E. henchmen who had similar jobs, seen in the 1996 edition of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?.
Cookie Booker (voiced by Rita Moreno) – V.I.L.E.'s bookkeeper and financier; she believes in white collar crime above other forms. Rita Moreno was the voice of Carmen Sandiego in the 1994 animated series, a connection subtly referenced when Carmen steals her trademark outfit from Booker as a kind of "passing of the torch."
Lady Dokuso (voiced by Sumalee Montano) – a veteran V.I.L.E. operative who is a prominent poison expert stationed in Tokyo, where she runs a nightclub frequented by Yakuza and noted to be a woman of great skill. She has excellent reflexes, having been able to effectively repel an attack from Paper Star using only an umbrella. She also displayed skillful acrobatics during fights with Shadowsan.
Neal the Eel (voiced by Rhys Darby) – A New Zealander thief that wears a wet suit allowing him to slip through vents, tight spaces, and anyone that attempts to grab him. He mostly works for Dr. Bellum. His offensive weapons are a pair of tasers.
Spin Kick (voiced by Dante Basco) – A member of V.I.L.E. Academy's newest graduated class that specializes in kickboxing and is partnered with Fly Trap.
Fly Trap (voiced by Sarah-Nicole Robles) – A member of V.I.L.E. Academy's newest graduated class that wields a pair of bolas and is partnered with Spin Kick. Carmen outwits her by using the bolas in ricochet attacks to catch Fly Trap off guard.
The Troll (voiced by Osric Chau) – A Korean skilled computer tech and internet hacker who is considered an evil counterpart to Player. He has demonstrated as high proficiency in encryption breaking, hacking and data collection like Player. The Troll hates it when people call him simply "Troll", though he admits that it's not always best to pronounce it that way.

Former V.I.L.E. operatives

Graham Calloway (voiced by Michael Goldsmith) – Also known as Gray or Crackle, Graham is an Australian electrician, an Ex-V.I.L.E. operative and Carmen's former best friend at V.I.L.E. Academy. However, after a failed mission, Graham had his memories erased by Bellum. He returned to Australia where he met up with Carmen once again (only this time, he didn't remember her) and asked her out for coffee. However she left before she even got there, because she thought that Gray had a chance to start over, and that Carmen Sandiego would ruin that chance. In "The Crackle Goes Kiwi Caper", Carmen recruits him to help her infiltrate Dr. Bellum's New Zealand lab, but upon his realizing Carmen's true mission, he helps destroy Bellum's experiment; they then finally have coffee together and talk more. By the end of season 3, it is revealed that Graham has been spied on by A.C.M.E. since then, acknowledging that he is the last and only link they have to Carmen, and it is hinted they intend to bring him in.
Dexter Wolfe / The Wolf – Carmen's late father and Shadowsan's predecessor as both a member of the V.I.L.E. Faculty and Stealth 101 Professor at V.I.L.E. Academy, he was a master thief who was often allowed to leave V.I.L.E. Island due to his expertise, though he preferred stealing for the thrill rather than for selfish gain. However, when Carmen was born, the rest of the faculty realized that he was planning to leave the organization and sent Shadowsan to assassinate him. By this point, he was attempting to make his escape with Baby Carmen to be reunited with his wife "Vera Cruz" but was accidentally killed instead by the current Chief of A.C.M.E. after hiding Carmen in the closet, leaving her to be taken to V.I.L.E. Island by Shadowsan.

Civilians

Dr. Pilar Marquez (voiced by Carla Tassara) – Dr. Pilar Marquez is an archaeologist hunting for the Ecuador 8 Escudos. She appears in The Fishy Doubloon Caper.
Miro (voiced by Andrew Pifko) – Miro is tour guide and an Aboriginal Australian. Team Red paid him to travel to Uluru. He waited as he observed the Team stop the rocket launch hijacking. He appears in The Opera in the Outback Caper.
Dr. Jeanine Dennam (voiced by Sharon Muthu) – Dr. Jeanine Denman is a scientist for HelioGem working on the Boomerang, a rocket. She appears in The Opera in the Outback Caper.
Hideo (voiced by Mike Hagiwara) – Hideo is the museum curator of Matsumoto Castle in Japan and is Shadowsan's brother. He first appears in The Daisho Caper.

Pre-release

The announcement saw a positive response by the media, who appreciated the throwback, and a return for the Carmen Sandiego franchise to the small screen. TVShowsOnDVD wrote "It's awesome to see this franchise return to television". The Rolling Stone thought the TV series' origin story subject matter offers what was once one of "golden age of television's favorite thematic trappings". Commenting "children of the 90's rejoice", Maxim suggested that Netflix enlist the talents of World game show theme song performers Rockapella to provide music for the show. ScreenRant noted that "those who still hold fond memories of the property" would be intrigued as to what type of shape the new series will take; adding that it has a "storied legacy" to live up to and will likely take some inspiration from Earth. Dark Horizons expressed sadness that the show was two years away. Toonzone wondered if the new show would maintain the established backstory of the red fedora-wearing villain, which in mid-to-late '90s canon involved Carmen Sandiego beginning as an A.C.M.E. agent before finding the work too easy so wanting to outsmart her former colleagues. Gizmodo thought the new series would "bring the character's trademark blend of edutainment to new audiences". Mashable said "fans demanding the series NOW". Pedestrian thought the trend toward series such as this was a sign that producers were aiming to " trap people in a downwards vortex of nostalgia ". Fortune suggested that the new show offered Netflix "huge merchandizing potential", and that the company could follow in the footsteps of Disney by creating a merchandising arm to support its shows. Rom-Game saw this as a sign that Netflix was "indirectly interested in gaming heritage". MiscRave mentioned how much potential the franchise with its interactive edutainment in a compelling package it previously had. NerdHQ noted that the new series offered an opportunity to resuscitate the "once-dormant" and "dying" franchise. Apart from these media reviews, various Latina women across the United States were excited and energized by the show's release.

Post-release

The show currently holds a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews, with the site's consensus reading, "Vivid animation and creative reconstruction of the Carmen Sandiego backstory elevates this property beyond its edutainment roots."
Megan Summers of Screen Rant highlighted Wolfhard's role as Player, calling it one of his best roles, and Prabhdeep Dhaliwal in The Peak stated that while the show is "geared towards a younger demographic," adults can still be entertained by it. He also stated that the show has sympathetic characters and an "overarching theme of good winning over evil."
Other reviewers are more critical. Renaldo Matadeen of CBR, for instance, critically reviewed the series. He argued that the second season ended on a "very intense note," while noting the family history themes in the show, and stated that the final episode of the third season remixes all the movies of the Ocean's franchise. Additionally, Katherine Smith of Paste felt that Carmen Sandiego had returned to relevance with the Netflix series, but also highlighted how animated projects "hustle their employees out of sight," contrasting the gains in visible representation with "very plausible worker exploitation." She cited an example of Filipino company, Top Draw (working on the animation), which fired a whistleblower who demanded proper compensation. She concluded by saying that in the current series, Carmen Sandiego is a female thief who "steals only from thieves now," and worried about where her character had gone when compared to the original story. On the other hand, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described the series as "action-packed" and argued that the series "incorporates solid geographical and cultural information" into the story in "creative ways."
In a review of all the episodes of the third season, Matadeen wrote that there is a "lot packed in" the third season, predicting the revenge of the villainous Roundabout, saving Gray, a face-off between The Chief and Carmen, and the continued search for Carmen's mom in the show's next season.
At the same time, Martha Sorren of Bust also predicted that the fourth season could explore the relationship between Carmen and her mother.