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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 3 Premieres on Friday

The third season of the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series kicks off this week, picking up after season two's cliffhanger. Developed by executive producer Ciro Nieli (Teen Titans), the current incarnation airing on Nickelodeon is arguably the most anime-esque offering to date, with influences in the art style and recurrent motifs. Some spoilers may be mentioned below for season two, so consider this your warning.

We last left our heroes at the end of their bleakest hour: Leonardo comatose, Splinter and Leatherhead unaccounted for, the Lair destroyed, and the Foot and the Kraang completely overrunning New York, and the brothers with Casey and April forced to flee upstate to April's family farmhouse (from a storyline that appears heavily inspired by the Leonardo mini-series in the comics-verse). Season three's premiere episode, “Within the Woods,” deals with their recovery while simultaneously dealing with mysterious creatures lurking around the abandoned farm. Given the backdrop, fans can expect to see a kind of homage to the horror camp-out genre that somehow still ties back to Leonardo's rehabilitation.

Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Phineas and Ferb) makes his debut in this episode, taking over the role of Leonardo. Partly due to the casting or partly due to the evolving storyline, Leonardo seems to be evolving in his role as the leader and big brother. Green himself noted that Leonardo is “less free” than his brothers, but only time will tell how his character development will ultimately play out this season.

“Into the Woods” airs on Nickelodeon on Friday, October 3, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

Update: New images added.