This is the best cartoon on television right now. Possibly one of the best shows on television period. Deeply layered lore, fully realized characters and some of the most deeply depressing and wholly uplifting storytelling you can find.
The story stars Steven, a young boy with a magical destiny living with three mystic warrior gems, garnet amethyst and pearl, who are slowly trying to help him meet his full potential. They have wildly different personalities and a long history together. His mother Rose Quartz was one of them, their leader, until she met his dad and gave up her physical form to create Steven.
That reads as pretty cookie cutter, but where the show makes itself different is that all of that shit not only happened, but MATTERS. The gems reveal themselves to be lost without her. There's both subtle and overt resentment towards Steven's father over the loss of Rose. Steven himself is an anomaly, a first ever creation and the gems honestly have no clue how to train him. In trying their best they end up supportive almost to the point of condescension, and although he's generally will meaning and full of joy, he isn't an idiot and he picks up on all of it. He plays peacemaker, stumbling his way through learning what he can do and being the leader his family needs him to be even if they never ask it of him.
I honestly can't recommend this show enough. It's a cartoon network show, so there's almost no legal backlog of the now fully aired first season of eleven minute nuggets. Seriously, this series has so many Chekov's guns they could outfit an army. great characters, cool action, and a story I've greatly invested myself in. I was bummed to see a lack of a topic for it.