'Steven Universe' season 4 news: Creator Rebecca Sugar says all people deserve love

"Steven Universe" has received much praise for its handling of the hot-button issues of gender and sexuality, but creator Rebecca Sugar recently revealed that she has had to fight hard for the show's treatment of these themes.

During the New York Comic Con last weekend, Sugar, who made it to the James Tiptree Jr. Award Honor List in 2015, talked to Polygon about the struggle to keep the show's representation of gender and sexuality as diverse and positive as possible. According to Sugar, it hasn't always been easy getting Cartoon Network to see eye-to-eye with her on these topics.

"There's always a back and forth," she revealed. "There have been fights. I try to be very emphatic about what I wanna do, and why I wanna do it, and I've been very lucky," she said.

Jennifer Paz, who voices the gem Lapis Lazuli, spoke about how "Steven Universe" has shed some light on what are often controversial and divisive themes.

"It's normalizing these kinds of relationships," she said, "and I feel like these themes, I can actually use the show as a tool to teach [my son] about puberty and healthy relationships and toxic relationships."

According to Paz, while "Steven Universe" is a cartoon for children, it also tackles some adult themes in ways that young people can relate to. Even better, Steven, the titular character, is unrelentingly positive and accepting of all the other characters.

Sugar said this attitude is what sets the animated series apart.

"Just to see characters love each other and be these people," she said, has a huge impact on the show's fans. "[A]nyone can know that all people are deserving of love — and [so are] wacky cartoon aliens," she added.

Meanwhile, a new trailer for an upcoming "Steven Universe" episode has dropped.

In the episode titled "Gem Harvest," Peridot and Lapis have taken to growing pumpkins. One of the pumpkins has developed a personality — and a liking to Steven. But after Steven carved a face into one of the inert pumpkins, the first one began growling at him and sought comfort with Peridot and Lapis.

"Gem Harvest" currently doesn't have a premiere date yet.