Adult Swim, on Cartoon Network
Adult Swim Wiki; Cartoon Network Wiki; facebook; official website; TV IV; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
For more links see tek's animation links
Brought to you by Williams Street Studios, who had previously created Toonami and later Miguzi
About the block
This is a late night block, mostly of animation (both Western and anime), but later also included some live-action series. The block officially began in September 2001, though in December 2000, there had been stealth premieres of some new shows that would be part of the block's lineup. (But I don't remember now if I had seen those before the official debut of AS, or not.) Of course, even before Adult Swim debuted, Cartoon Network had done some adult-oriented programming, probably most notably with the 1994 series Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which would later become part of Adult Swim's lineup. (There had also been some late nite programming blocks that I don't think I ever saw, or if I did, they obviously didn't matter enough to me to remember them.) In 2005, Adult Swim became a new network, in name only. It's still technically just a block on Cartoon Network. Oh, and I should say that Adult Swim has always been famous for its bumpers (or "bumps"), which originally were videos and later were mainly text-based, but always rather amusing (and often would be specific nods to the block's own fandom). The bumps are archived on a fansite called Bumpworthy.
I also kind of feel like mentioning that in August 2001, Cartoon Network aired a marathon of pilots for potential new series, the second annual (and last) Big Pick. This doesn't really have anything to do with Adult Swim, but the pilot that was chosen to become a series was Codename: Kids Next Door (which also has nothing to do with Adult Swim), and if memory serves... "adult swim" was mentioned in the pilot. Of course, it was referring to the real world concept used at public pools, which is also where the name of the block "Adult Swim" was derived. I can't remember if when I saw that pilot, I took note because I was aware that Adult Swim would be starting the next month, or if when I later saw Adult Swim, I thought of the KND pilot, but either way, I've always vaguely associated the two things. Partly this is because I don't think I'd ever heard the term "adult swim" prior to that time (though I could be wrong about that), and partly it's because I just like making weird connections that probably aren't really there.
But I digress. There are just countless things I'd like to say about Adult Swim, because it very quickly became pretty important to me, and ultimately became my favorite programming block ever. It was probably in 2002 that I started going to The Adult Swim Message Board (it's on Yuku now, which was ezboards, at the time). An unofficial message board frequented by numerous fans of Adult Swim, and a good alternative to the official Adult Swim forums, which I don't think I ever went to. (I know some of the other members of ASMB went to the official forums, and I'm pretty sure they didn't like them.) Anyway, I liked a lot of the folks on ASMB, including its founder, outerspacekid (aka Kon). But alas, after several years, people stopped posting there as much. Used to be hard to keep up on all the discussions, but nowadays there's maybe a few posts a year, if that. I should also mention that for awhile, people on ASMB were all making their own banners for the board, which I eventually put in an archive on my own site. Oh, and there were probably one or two different Adult Swim fansites hosted by outerspacekid, which don't exist anymore. But luckily, you can still see The Best Adult Swim Webpage on the Internet thanks to the miracle of modern science known as The Wayback Machine.
Anyway, as I said on the main programming blocks page, I meant to start a page about Adult Swim for some time before I finally got to it, in January 2014. But a couple days after I started writing this page (and then got sidetracked by pages for other Cartoon Network blocks), I remembered that once, years ago, I actually had a page for "Adult Swim Comedy," which I later deleted. But now that I've remembered that page once existed, I managed to find it thanks to The Wayback Machine. So I am giddy about that. And I decided to restore it, for the sake of nostalgia or whatever. As that page says, when Adult Swim first started in 2001, it was originally on Sunday nights, and its lineup would rerun on Thursday nights.
2001
Home Movies (9/2/2001 - 4/4/2004; first 5 episodes originally aired on UPN in 1999)
The Brak Show (9/2/2001 - 12/31/2003)
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (9/2/2001 - 7/22/2007)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (9/9/2001 - 8/30/2015)
Sealab 2021 (9/2/2001 - 4/24/2005)
Space Ghost Coast to Coast (9/2/2001 - 4/12/2004; s1-s7e2 aired on Cartoon Network from 1994-2001; s10-11 were released on GameTap in 2006-2008)
Cowboy Bebop (9/2/2001 - 11/25/2001; originally aired in 1998-1999 in Japan)
2002
Baby Blues (1/20/2002 - 3/10/2002; first 8 episodes originally aired on The WB in 2000)
Welcome to Eltingville (3/3/2002; pilot, not picked up for series)
Saddle Rash (3/24/2002; pilot, not picked up for series)
Mission Hill (7/14/2002 - 8/11/2002; 7 episodes originally aired on The WB in 1999-2000)
The Oblongs (8/25/2002 - 10/20/2002; first 8 episodes originally aired on The WB in 2001)
Night of the Living Doo (10/31/2002; special; originally aired on Cartoon Network in 2001)
The Groovenians (11/10/2002; pilot, not picked up for series; one of the worst things I've ever seen)
Also in 2002 there was a show called The Ripping Friends (originally on FOX, but I only saw it on AS), but I probably didn't watch more than one episode, because I didn't care for it. There were also a few one-shot specials (pilots), some of which I listed above. Another special was Boo Boo Runs Wild, which I guess reran a lot, though I barely remember seeing it once, I'm not sure when. And maybe there were other things that I either never saw or just don't remember.
Another development this year was that Adult Swim added a second night of new episodes, on Saturdays. At this point, the Sunday lineup would be known as "Adult Swim Comedy" (hence the name of my old page) and the Saturday lineup would be "Adult Swim Action," which was all anime. A precursor to Adult Swim Action was Toonami, a block which normally aired on weekday afternoons, but also sometimes aired a late night block called "The Midnight Run." I honestly don't remember if I ever saw any of the Midnight Run or not, but I know some of the animes I list here (such as Gundam 0080 and Outlaw Star) were first shown on that block, so I can't say with absolute certainty that I didn't see them on that block rather than this one. I wish my memory didn't suck so much. (Midnight Run was cancelled in January 2003, so at least anything that debuted on Adult Swim after that point, I can be sure I saw on AS. Probably.) Anyway, I won't be listing the dates of any anime's run on Adult Swim (save Cowboy Bebop, in 2001), since obviously they all aired in Japan earlier than in America. But I will at least list them according to what years they first aired on AS. Some of the animes that premiered on AS in 2002 included Gundam 0080, Gundam 0083, Inuyasha, Outlaw Star, Pilot Candidate, and Yu Yu Hakusho (which later finished its run on Toonami).
2003
The Venture Bros. (2/16/2003, pilot; series started in 2004)
In January, Adult Swim dropped Saturday nights, and started showing a mix of comedy and anime on Monday-Thursday nights. Sundays remained basically the same as ever, but the days of specifically "Adult Swim Comedy" and "Adult Swim Action" lineups were pretty much over. (Around the time of that change, I moved most of the shows off my "Adult Swim Comedy" page and into the regular animation pages of my site, just keeping a few specials on the old page. It was probably a few years later that I deleted the page entirely, when I moved the specials into my new special presentations section.) At some point, AS returned to airing anime primarily on Saturday nights, though I'm afraid I have no recollection of what year that happened. (For at least a few years, the block aired six nights a week, Saturday thru Thursday, but I don't remember what the status was of new episodes vs. repeats. It may be that as soon as Saturdays were re-added, they became premiere nights, or it could have been years later that that happened.)
Some of the shows added to the lineup in 2003 included reruns of former FOX shows Futurama and Family Guy, and the animes Android Kikaider, The Big O, "Blue Gender" (of which I watched very little because I disliked it), Char's Counterattack (movie), FLCL (OVA), Lupin the 3rd, Reign the Conqueror, and Trigun.
2004
Stroker & Hoop (8/1/2004, pilot; series started in 2005)
The Venture Bros. (8/7/2004 - 10/7/2018)
Perfect Hair Forever (11/7/2004, pilot; series started in 2005)
Tom Goes to the Mayor (11/14/2004 - 9/25/2006)
Anime premiering in 2004 included The Animatrix (OVA), Case Closed, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Read Or Die (OVA), Super Milk-chan, Witch Hunter Robin, and Wolfs Rain.
2005
Robot Chicken (2/20/2005 - present; I haven't see much of this)
12 oz. Mouse (6/19/2005 - 12/18/2006; there were webisodes I didn't see in 2007 and 2018, and a third season in 2020)
Stroker & Hoop (9/5/005 - 12/25/2005; I didn't watch much of this)
Squidbillies (10/16/2005 - 12/13/2021; I've hardly seen any of this because I don't care for it)
Lucy, Daughter of the Devil (10/30/2005, pilot; series started in 2007)
The Boondocks (11/6/2005 - 6/23/2014)
Minoriteam (11/6/2005, pilot; series started in 2006, but I didn't watch it)
Perfect Hair Forever (11/27/2005 - 12/25/2005; plus 1 more episode in 2007 that I probably didn't see, and 2 more in 2014 that I definitely didn't see)
Moral Orel (12/13/2005 - 12/18/2006; a special aired in 2012, but I didn't see it)
Other shows added to the lineup in 2005 included reruns of FOX's American Dad and the classic 1960s anime Gigantor. Also in 2005, the Adult Swim website began offering the "Friday Night Fix," so viewers could watch some of their shows online, the one night of the week that AS wasn't airing on TV. In 2006, the Fix would become Adult Swim Video, which was available for viewing any time. Modern anime premiering in 2005 included Inuyasha the movie: Affections Touching Across Time (movie), Inuyasha the movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (movie), Kakurenbo (short film), Neon Genesis Evangelion, Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo, and s-CRY-ed.
2006
Korgoth of Barbaria (6/3/2006; pilot, not picked up for series)
Metalocalypse (8/6/2006 - 7/15/2012; followed by a special in 2013, which I didn't get to see)
Frisky Dingo (10/16/2006 - 3/23/2008)
Assy McGee (11/26/2006 - 7/6/2008; I only watched one episode of this because I hated it)
Also this year there were reruns of the old CBS Saturday morning show Pee-Wee's Playhouse and the old NBC Saturday morning show Saved by the Bell. Anime premiering this year included Bleach, Eureka Seven, Shin-chan, and Trinity Blood.
2007
Saul of the Mole Men (2/11/2007 - 7/15/2007; I only saw 1 episode)
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2/11/2007 - 5/2/2010; I just saw 1 or 2 episodes)
The Drinky Crow Show (5/13/2007, pilot; series started in 2008)
Fat Guy Stuck in Internet (5/14/2007, pilot; series started 2008, but I didn't watch it)
Superjail! (5/13/2007, pilot; series started in 2008)
Lucy, Daughter of the Devil (9/9/2007 - 11/11/2007)
Xavier: Renegade Angel (11/4/2007 - 4/16/2009; I just watched 1 episode because I hated it)
This season there were also reruns of the Channel 4 series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Also this was the last year AS aired repeats of "Futurama," which moved to Comedy Central. And this year the schedule expanded to 7 days a week. And there was a thing called Night of 1000 Pilots, which led to a few new series in 2008 (only two of which I actually watched). One of the pilots that didn't become a series was "That Crook'd 'Sipp," the only failed pilot that I remember from the special. Anime premieres included the 1960s series Astro Boy, Blood+, and Death Note.
2008
Delocated (4/1/2008, pilot; series started in 2009; I probably saw the pilot, but I don't remember it, and I didn't watch the series)
Fat Guy Stuck in Internet (4/1/2008 - 8/17/2008)
China, IL (5/25/2008, pilot; series started in 2011; I don't remember whether I saw the pilot)
Superjail! (9/28/2008 - 7/20/2014)
The Xtacles (11/9/2008; 2 episodes)
The Drinky Crow Show (11/23/2008 - 1/25/2009)
Animes premiering this year included Code Geass and Moribito.
2009
Delocated (2/19/2009 - 3/7/2013; I didn't watch this)
G.I. Joe: Resolute (4/17/2009 as online microseries; 4/25/2009 as TV movie)
The Rising Son (4/19/2009 - 5/10/2009)
Snake 'n' Bacon (5/10/2009, pilot; not picked up for series)
Titan Maximum (9/27/2009 - 11/22/2009)
Also this year there were reruns of the BBC 2 series Look Around You and the BBC 3 series The Mighty Boosh, and of FOX's King of the Hill. And this year AS began the April Fool's Day tradition (2009-2012) of airing the movie The Room, though I only managed to watch a couple of minutes before I couldn't bear the suckitude, and stopped. Anime premieres included Bleach: Memories of Nobody (movie), and Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion (movie).
2010
Freaknik: The Musical (3/7/2010; special; I don't even remember if I saw this or not)
Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule (5/16/2010 - 7/29/2016; I haven't seen any of this)
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole (6/27/2010 - 3/25/2012)
Childrens Hospital (7/11/2010 - 4/15/2016; originally a webseries on TheWB.com; I hardly saw any of this)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation (8/12/2010; special)
There was a contest for potential pilots that viewers could vote on, and viewers voted wrong, so the winning pilot didn't get made into a series. (Cheyenne Cinnamon? Are you freaking kidding me? What were you people thinking?) Anime premieres included Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Kekkaishi.
2011
Off the Air (1/1/2011 - present; so I guess this premiered before I lost access to the channel, but I don't remember ever being aware of it)
God, the Devil and Bob (1/8/2011 - 3/26/2011; first 4 episodes originally aired on NBC in 2000)
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell (1/20/2011, pilot; series started in 2013; I also don't remember being aware of this when the pilot aired)
Mongo Wrestling Alliance (1/23/2011 - 7/31/2011; I might have seen 1 episode)
Eagleheart (2/3/2011 - 1/16/2014)
Soul Quest Overdrive (5/24/2011; 4 episodes; I don't remember being aware of this when it aired)
Anime premieres included Durarara!!.
There were other things that premiered this year, but I lost access to Cartoon Network halfway into 2011, so I haven't been able to see anything on Adult Swim since then. Which means I can't comment on (much of) anything that's premiered in the last few years. But in 2020, I finally got around to adding a list of series that premiered after I had to stop watching the block, though I won't be including any specials or movies, of which there have been many, nor any online programming. For more information, see Wikipedia's List of programs broadcast by Adult Swim. And I'm sure there are any number of details about the block's evolution over the years that I don't know anything about (like expanding its hours to start earlier in the evening and end later at night).
2011 (continued)
NTSF:SD:SUV:: (7/22/2011 - 12/13/2013)
China, IL (10/2/2011 - 6/14/2015)
The Heart, She Holler (11/6/2011 - 12/11/2014)
2012
Loiter Squad (3/25/2012 - 7/17/2014)
The Eric Andre Show (5/20/2012 - present)
Black Dynamite (7/15/2012 - 1/10/2015)
You're Whole (11/5/2012 - 12/2/2013)
Also this year Toonami was relaunched as a block within the Adult Swim block. Check that link for any of its programming, because from this point on, I'm only planning to list Adult Swim original series on this page (with the occasional exception of reruns of non-anime shows).
2013
Newsreaders (1/17/2013 - 2/13/2015)
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell (4/18/2013 - 6/14/2019)
Mr. Pickles (8/25/2013, pilot; series started in 2014)
Hot Package (10/4/2013 - ?/?/2015)
Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories (10/31/2013, pilot; series started in 2014)
King Star King (11/3/2013, pilot; series started in 2014)
Rick and Morty (12/2/2013 - present)
Also this year AS began airing reruns of the FOX series Bob's Burgers.
2014
King Star King (7/12/2014 - 12/6/2014)
Beware the Batman (7/27/2014 - 9/28/2014; first 11 episodes aired on Cartoon Network in 2013)
Black Jesus (8/7/2014 - 11/30/2019)
Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories (9/14/2014 - 10/1/2017)
Mr. Pickles (9/21/2014 - 11/17/2019)
Mike Tyson Mysteries (10/27/2014 - 2/16/2020)
2015
The Jack and Triumph Show (2/20/2015 - 4/3/2015)
Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter (12/7/2015 - 5/26/2017)
2016
Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio (7/10/2016 - 9/18/2016)
Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace (8/5/2016 - 9/16/2016)
Dream Corp LLC (10/23/2016 - 11/23/2020)
Apollo Gauntlet (12/4/2016, pilot; series started in 2017.
Hot Streets (12/4/2016, pilot; series started in 2018)
2017
Samurai Jack (3/11/2017 - 5/20/2017; s5 on Toonami; s1-4 aired on Cartoon Network in 2001-2004)
Apollo Gauntlet (7/9/2017 - 8/13/2017)
The Jellies! (10/22/2017 - 6/23/2019)
Tender Touches (12/18/2017 - 6/19/2020)
Also this year AS began airing reruns of the Crackle series SuperMansion.
2018
Hot Streets (1/14/2018 - 3/24/2019)
Ballmastrz: 9009 (4/9/2018 - 3/23/2020)
Tigtone (5/13/2018, pilot; series began in 2019)
Joe Pera Talks with You (5/20/2018 - 12/13/2021)
The Shivering Truth (5/22/2018 - 6/14/2020)
Mostly 4 Millennials (7/2/2018 - 7/23/2018)
Tropical Cop Tales (7/29/2018, pilot; series started in 2019)
2019
Tigtone (1/13/2019 - 10/12/2020)
Tropical Cop Tales (2/1/2019 - 3/1/2019)
Lazor Wulf (4/7/2019 - 1/11/2021)
Final Space (6/24/2019 - 6/14/2021; s1 aired on TBS)
Primal (10/7/2019 - present)
Momma Named Me Sheriff (11/17/2019 - 3/15/2021)
2020
Beef House (3/29/2020 - 5/4/2020)
Three Busy Debras (3/29/2020 - 5/23/2022)
YOLO (3/31/2020 - present)
12 oz. Mouse (4/1/2020 - 7/31/2020, s3 aired 14 years after s2)
Smiling Friends (4/1/2020, pilot; series started in 2022)
JJ Villard's Fairy Tales (5/10/2020 - 6/15/2020)
2021
Birdgirl (4/5/2021 - present)
Tuca & Bertie (6/13/2021 - 8/29/2022; s1 aired on Netflix)
Teenage Euthanasia (9/6/2021 - present)
2022
Smiling Friends (1/10/2022 - present)
2023
Royal Crackers (4/2/2023 - present)
Unicorn: Warriors Eternal (5/5/2023 - 6/30/2023; limited series)
My Adventures with Superman (7/7/2023 - present)
