The Raccoon's Den

The Raccoon's Den is a furry-themed docudramedy web series on YouTube that is produced and hosted by Bandit, with Switch, Drake, Abbey and Jackie as secondary cast members.

History
The channel was created on July 17th in 2009 and was inactive until November 29th, 2009. The show reached its fourth season finale on May 26, 2013 and was on hiatus until September 22, when they released their first short film, "The Raccoon's Den: Another Goddamn Furry Movie". During season six, the channel pulled seasons one through three from public view (along with all other material posted during that timeframe, with the exception of "TAKEOVER FC! 2"). On October 16th, the channel launched their own podcast called "Pawsome!", which was advertised to feature previous cast members such as Byrds, Daniel, Skiddy and Kai. On June 11th (ending their sixth season), the show went back on hiatus for the rest of the year, they would later resurface and renew the series for a seventh season on January 5th, 2016 under partnership with Channel Frederator Network and World of Furries, assisting in its production and advertising alongside Catalogue Gamma, YouTube and FurAffinity.

Following a series format (Seasons and Episodes), most of the early episodes consisted of vlogging and featuring furry themed events. Since season two, most of the episodes have been taking place at The Prancing Skiltaire. Series specials of furry conventions and short skits performed by various members of the cast have also been featured on the web show. An artist spotlight (exclusive to FurAffinity artists and albums) was once featured on their website every week, but was later replaced with downloads of all soundtracks from their convention episodes. Upon the seventh season premiere, the website for the series was redesigned for a refreshed appearance, notable changes including open submission of answers and questions to the "Drake's Corner" segment, applications to appear on the "Pawsome!" podcast, full display of every cast member to appear on the series and the ability to contact each one personally through the contact page. Additionally, a Tumblr account for the series has been created to give updates on episodes and cast members and production credits for the series are also viewable to the general public.

The series is acknowledged for its personal approach towards the fandom by letting various convention attendants give feedback on their experiences, as well as engaging the community at local meets by asking them for their personal opinions on furry and non-furry related topics in most episodes. It is also the first to take on the format of a docudramedy series, displaying true-life drama situations through reenactments and seamlessly switching back to the personal perspective sense of a documentary with comic relief. The series received its first article by Dogpatch Press on June 14th, 2016, featuring an interview with Bandit on the concept of the series, aspects of its history and plans for the future.

Timeline

 * Season 1 (1-15) November 29 2009 - May 9, 2010
 * Season 2 (16-29) July 12 2010 - February 13, 2011
 * Season 3 (30-46) March 13 2011 - May 20, 2012
 * Season 4 (47-60) June 10, 2012 - May 26, 2013
 * Season 5 (61-73) October 14, 2013 - June 5, 2014
 * Season 6 (74-87) June 16, 2014 - June 11, 2015
 * Season 7 (88-??) January 5, 2016 - Ongoing

Season 7 format
Upon the renewal of the series for a seventh season, the format of the show was pitched to be changed from the casual showcasing of events and group activities to incorporating the elements of a drama series within most episodes to create a more solid storyline. It was then revealed on Tumblr that the series was a documentary of the fandom all along, but due to the general negative reaction most furries have on them, it was kept secret until recently. The storyline of the series would be mainly focused on the cast members, beginning with Bandit suffering from depression after a bad breakup and Flash being homeless despite his recent record deal in the previous year. A few episodes later, three new cast members were introduced (Jackie, Switch and Abbey). Since then, the series follows the group and their adventures at conventions and features general character development.

Cast members (current)
Bandit is the creator, host, editor and graphic designer of the show. Initially going solo when the series started, he would later form a duo when he began working with Byrds in season two. By season four, Bandit had accumulated a team of five cast members and has kept the concept throughout the rest of the series. In attempt to incorporate his musical work into the series, Bandit produced the web show's opening theme song, which has been used since season four (with its full version being released as a single upon the web show's fifth anniversary). Six months after Califur XI, it is shown that he stopped making videos due to his depression from a bad breakup, resulting in his friends giving him encouragement to keep going. Though he briefly struggles to bring the group back together for his project, he manages to succeed with new people later on. In his personal intro, he reveals he is a documentarian on the fandom, in hopes to show the public eye that the truth of the furry fandom is not necessarily what many others mistake it for. Switch is an artist, writer and aspiring filmmaker who joined the cast early into season seven, following her message on Hiphop's decline to join the group. Replacing Kai's position on the series (as shown through her color code), she is closely associated with Drake and relays updates to Bandit regarding Hiphop, who was originally intended to join the group in the seventh season after he seemingly became more involved with helping Bandit with his project, but due to an event during FC 2016, becomes less interested in the fandom and puts more of his attention into his job and personal hobbies. Drake became a new cast member on the channel at the beginning of season five after his debut appearance in the short film "The Raccoon's Den: Another Goddamn Furry Movie". During season six he started his own block on the web show called "Drake's Corner", where viewers can submit questions and dares for him to respond to. The segment briefly discontinued late into the season but has since then continued in the following season. Six months after the events of Califur XI, Drake is shown to still be in touch with most members of the group, primarily Daniel, Flash and most recently, Switch. Due to Daniel's inability to participate, Drake keeps his spot in the group. Abbey is an artist who joins the cast early into season seven following the sudden opening left by Byrds. He is shown to be a close friends with Flash, first appearing in the season premiere to console him after finding him homeless and later helps him get off the streets. Due to his connection with him, he replaces Flash's position on the series (as shown through his color code). Jackie is a stage actress who also works backstage alongside her studies in college to major in theatre. She joins early into season seven alongside Switch and Abbey, replacing Ninja's position. She is the second cast member in the series that is not part of the furry fandom. She appears in the season premiere as a close friend of Bandit, consoling him during his depression due to a breakup after Califur XI and encouraging him to continue his project.
 * Bandit (Christopher Richard Parque-Johnson)
 * Switch (Tiffany Riedlinger)
 * Drake (Takehiro Diaz)
 * Abbey (Abbey Preston)
 * Jackie (Jackie Heaton)

Another Goddamn Furry Movie (short film)
On September 22, 2013, the channel released "Another Goddamn Furry Movie", a short film that that takes place during the time the series was on hiatus (after ending it's fourth season) The film follows the cast (mainly Bandit) as they attend various events, equipped with a new camera. Bandit and Culpeo give a short recap of the channel's past, two new cast members (Drake and Kai) join the crew and Culpeo becomes the new co-host. The film declares the return of the group and the beginning of season five.

Series specials (off season)

 * TAKEOVER FC! 2 is an 8-part series special of the channel that takes place at Further Confusion 2013 . The series special features clips from each day of the convention, including the fursuit parade, a running gag with Quix, a music video collage of the channel's past events, and more.
 * BLFC BASH! is a 3-part series special of the channel that takes place at Biggest Little Fur Con 2013 The series special features various interviews, clips of the fursuit parade and the dance competition. This was the last special on the channel.

Segments

 * Other News - "Other News" was an in-episode skit that started during the last few episodes of season two, where one of the cast members talk about something random in a "breaking news" manner. It was discontinued during season six to be replaced by "Drake's Corner".
 * Hidden Facts - "Hidden Facts" is an in-episode extra that displays 3 different facts at the end of an episode. This extra started on the second episode of season two, and currently over 170 facts have been displayed.
 * Raccoon Scraps - "Raccoon Scraps" are various comedy skits performed by the cast members, the segment had been inactive throughout the entire fifth season, but is occasionally updated.
 * Drake's Corner - "Drake's Corner" was an in-episode block created by Drake to replace "Other News". Drake offers to answer questions, take on dares (both of which that are submitted to him by viewers), and discusses various topics. It's currently a standalone segment on the channel.
 * Pawsome! - "Pawsome!" is the channel's new bi-weekly podcast that was launched during season six, the podcast is advertised to feature previous cast members Byrds, Daniel, Skiddy and Kai, with new episodes on Wednesdays.

Cast members (previous)
Skiddy became a cast member during season three in episode 42, "PRE-VDAY PARTY!". She was the only cast member who was not part of the fandom at the time, and was replaced by Culpeo during season four in episode 50, "WTF IS THIS SHIT?". Skiddy later returned in episode 80, "AZFC 2014" as a guest, and was featured in Scrap 28, "Building Character" and participated in one episode of "Pawsome!" before seemingly becoming inactive again until season seven where she makes another brief appearance at the Prancing Skiltaire. Byrds was a regular attendee of "The Prancing Skiltaire" who became the Co-Host of the channel during season two. Since then, she has appeared in most episodes during her time, and was replaced by Culpeo after season four ended. Byrds later makes a cameo appearance at the end of episode 82, "Further Confusion 2015", followed by a guest appearance in episode 83, "Inside Edition & Furries". She currently participates in the channel's new podcast, "Pawsome!". She makes another appearance six months after Califur XI where she appears to still be in touch with Bandit and shows interest in rejoining the group but is later unable to participate as mentioned by Jackie. Daniel became a member of the cast during season three in episode 36, "Reaction Episode". Due to his rare appearances, he took over Byrds' role in "Other News" to make up for his absence until he moved to Modesto, CA before season four ended. He was later replaced by Drake after the end of the fourth season, but returned during season six to participate in "Pawsome!". Daniel moved out of California to live in Louisiana in 2014, later moving back during December 2015. His return was tied into the show and although he initially shows interest in joining the group again, Drake later mentions that Daniel changed his mind. Kai was a cast member during season five, and has appeared numerous times during season four, prior to partnership. Her debut as a cast member was in the short film "The Raccoon's Den: Another Goddamn Furry Movie". She was replaced by Clockie in season six, but returned shortly after to participate in "Pawsome!", and has continued to make guest appearances throughout recent episodes. Six months after Califur XI, she is seen again at FC 2016 and is offered to rejoin the group, though she declines due to lack of free time because of college and her job. Culpeo became a member of the cast during season four in episode 50, "WTF IS THIS SHIT?", as a replacement for Skiddy's position in the group, and was co-host from season five up until early season six where she was replaced by Ninja. While she is the only former cast member to be seemingly excluded from "Pawsome!", she appeared as a guest in episode 81, "A Furry Christmas" after supposedly making amends with the rest of the group. Ninja is an artist who was introduced as the new co-host during season six in episode 78, "Fursuits" after Culpeo's departure. She remained in the group up until the end of the season. Six months later it was revealed she was moving out of California due to the cost of living, resulting in her being unable to participate in the group any further. Her departure from the series was later shown in episode 92, "Furries & Zootopia". Flash became a cast member on the channel in episode 42, "PRE-VDAY PARTY!". His first appearance was in Episode 2, "Talent Show [Part 2]" and his wedding with Jane was featured in Episode 64, "Merry Matrimony". Towards the end of season six, Flash got a record deal and had advertised the release of his debut single "Spilled Life" (which would later be promoted at the beginning of every episode of Pawsome! until the season finale). In the 17th episode of Pawsome!, it was mentioned that Flash may be departing from the series to focus on his record deal and job, which was later confirmed on FurAffinity through the show's hiatus announcement journal. Flash appears as a B-Story early into the seventh season where he is shown to be homeless, but with the help of his friend Eric (Abbey), he is currently no longer homeless and is employed, occasionally visiting his friends. Flash was the longest serving cast member in the entire series. Clockie is the concept artist of the channel who joined the cast at the beginning of season six, after Kai's departure in the previous season. She was featured in the advertisement for season six. Six months after Califur XI, it is mentioned that she had enrolled in college and was unable to continue participating in the group. She is only seen once in the seventh season at FC 2016.
 * Skiddy (Crystal Olea)
 * Byrds (Kelly Elsbernd)
 * Daniel (Daniel Steven Hamamoto)
 * Kai
 * Culpeo (Seanna Micaela Downey)
 * Ninja (Maddy Davis)
 * Flash (Andre Steven Abreo)
 * Clockie (Adria Bruneio)

Guest stars
During season five and so on, the series began select episodes with a shoutout from various celebrities within, and outside the furry fandom.
 * Son Lux (Ep. 68: Furries & Religion)
 * Drake Bell (Ep. 71: Fair Weather Friends)
 * Megan Tibbits (Ep. 75: Bronies)
 * Blü the Dragon aka Heyo Damo (Ep. 78: Fursuits)
 * DJ Ear (Ep. 80: AZFC 2014)
 * Biogodz (Ep. 83: Inside Edition & Furries)

Events
The channel has featured 9 events up to date.
 * Califur (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
 * Further Confusion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
 * Biggest Little Fur Con (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
 * Arizona Fur Con (2014)
 * Midwest FurFest (2015)
 * The Prancing Skiltaire
 * FurBQ (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
 * LMFAO (Lake Murray Furry Anthro Outing)
 * LA Griffith Park
 * The BamFox Lounge