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Matt Groening's new Netflix-commissioned series to air in 2018

Matt Groening
Matt Groening will create 20 episodes, to be aired in two series. Photograph: Phil McCarten/Reuters

A new series by the creator of the Simpsons, Matt Groening,will hit our screens next year and features a booze-addled princess living in a down-at-heel medieval kingdom.

Groening, whose Simpsons show first aired in 1987, has been commissioned by Netflix, the online TV and film provider, to create 20 episodes of the adult-themed animated comedy, called Disenchantment.

Its leading character is Princess Bean, a royal with issues, and will be voiced by Abbi Jackson, a comedian and illustrator.

Groening says it will cover topics such as “life and death, love and sex, and how to keep laughing in a world full of suffering and idiots, despite what elders and wizards and other jerks tell you”.

Noel Fielding, the British comedian currently presenting the Great British Bake Off for Channel 4, is also in the cast.

Other characters include a side kick elf called Elfo – voiced by Nat Faxon, an Oscar-winning screenwriter and comedian – and Luci, the princess’s personal demon, played by Eric Andre.

According to Netflix, which announced the series on Tuesday morning, viewers can expect more of Groening’s brand of edgy humour as they follow the misadventures of the trio alongside ogres, sprites, trolls and lots of human fools.

Groening has previously branched out from his Simpsons success with Futurama, a comedy set in a high tech world but featuring a human race whose personal development has not kept up. Now it appears he is moving on from using sci-fi to poke fun at modern life to turn his wit to a Game of Thrones-style fantasy.

Netflix’s vice-president of original content, Cindy Holland, said: “Matt Groening’s brilliant work has resonated with generations around the world and we couldn’t be happier to work with him on Disenchantment. The series will bear his trademark animation style and biting wit, and we think it’s a perfect fit for our many Netflix animation fans.”

The shows are due to be aired in 2018 in two separate series of 10 episodes each.