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Creator / [adult swim]

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"All kids out of the pool for Adult Swim!"

Adult Swim👁 Image
(stylized as [adult swim] or [as]) is a American programming block on Cartoon Network shown during the watershed and midnight hours.note Currently, 5:00 pm - 6:00 am Eastern/Pacific time. If your provider offers both East and West Coast feeds of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim can start as early as 2 pm Pacific and end as late as 9 am Eastern, depending on where you live.

The block is notable for its idiosyncratic commercial bumpers (bumps👁 Image
), its strange and cynical yet hilarious original programming, its habit of openly teasing and/or bashing those fans who complain about its near-weekly- and never advertised- schedule changes (especially when April Fools' Day is concerned), and being nearly the only place on American basic cable TV to run anime not aimed at children. The name comes from the public pool period in which child occupants must leave the pool, as the lifeguards go on break and the lack of supervision means only the adults can swim, analogous to the network switching to adult-oriented programming. This reference was explicitly invoked in its early years, when its Ad Bumpers and intro segment showed video clips from an adult swim pool👁 Image
.

Founded in 2001 by Cartoon Network's Williams Street division (the same studio that organizes Toonami), the block was born from two things: the realization that a third of Cartoon Network's audience was teenagers and adults and the fact that the channel was constantly receiving cartoon pitches that would be perfect for that demographic. Just as Cartoon Network primarily featured cartoons for kids, Adult Swim focused on adult-oriented animation: namely black comedies and edgy, largely unedited anime.note Other channels that have aired anime from the same pool as Adult Swim include Tech TV, G4TV, and Encore Action. After the 2007 Boston Bomb Scare👁 Image
that involved an attempt at advertising the release of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, Adult Swim began producing live-action programming; opinions vary on this.note See Unwitting Instigator of Doom in the trope list below for details or Adult Swim's entry on Network Decay for that matter. Upon Toonami's return in May 2012, Adult Swim would be relegated purely to comedy programming, with the action block once again taking the responsibility of all anime-related programming.

Adult Swim doesn't show any advertising for Cartoon Network because of its adult orientation, despite the fact that the block controls all nighttime programing on the network. In addition, the block has had its own separately-branded ventures, events, and merchandise. For these reasons, and for Nielsen ratings purposes, Adult Swim is considered to be its own "separate network".note Nickelodeon’s Nick at Nite was also given this same designation, while a handful of more "traditional" blocks (such as Nick Jr.'s NickMom) have been given their own Nielsen ratings due to targeting a different audience. Toonami falls under the latter case, due to it not having enough programming hours to count as its own "network".

As with its daytime counterpart, many of its original programs have seen critical praise. This attention extends to Adult Swim bringing more exposure to mature anime series, as well as rescuing other shows from death or complete obscurity.

Typically, Sundays are anchored by premieres of original programs from Williams Street; while Saturdays mix comedies with English-dubbed anime, the latter of which taking up a majority of the network's airtime. Adult Swim is known for the unique timing their of commercial breaks; one break in the middle of the half-hour, and one at the end.note Most American networks have 8 minutes of commercial breaks per half-hour block — one 1 or 2-minute break at the top of the half-hour, two 2 or 3-minute breaks during the show, and a final 1 or 2-minute break at the end of the half-hour. Viewers appreciate this for obvious reasons, plus they can sometimes have up to 5 uninterrupted minutes of commercial time to leave the TV and do other things before the next show comes on. Considering AS's key demographic is the television gold-mine of people from age 18-36, advertisers still pony up the dollars. The only downside to the viewer would be a Commercial Break Cliffhanger in non-original programming is less effective because the show continues immediately after (unless, of course, that happens to be where the break actually hits). note Incidentally, this is how all ad breaks work on UK and Japanese channels.

Beyond television, Adult Swim hosts an eclectic collection of free-to-play games (Robot Unicorn Attack included) and Web Original programs on its website. They began publishing more substantial indie titles as "[adult swim] Games" in 2013. At one point, Adult Swim also had their own record company: Williams Street Records. Adult Swim continues to promote indie and underground music through music videos, special bumps, and their on-going "Singles Program" of free music that began in 2015.

On March 4, 2019, oversight of Cartoon Network, along with Turner Classic Movies, were transferred from Turner Broadcasting to Warner Bros. as part of a larger restructuring at corporate parent WarnerMedia. In 2022, that company merged with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, which resulted with network operations for CN (and TCM) being transferred to an umbrella Global Linear Networks division while Williams Street remained at Warner Bros. Television Group. While changes were minimal at first, 2023 saw Adult Swim expand beyond its original schedule to prime time slots formerly occupied by mainline Cartoon Network. Adult Swim has been slated to premiere shows originally meant to air on Cartoon Network, like Unicorn: Warriors Eternal and My Adventures with Superman, as well as Checkered Past, a two-hour block of classic Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Laboratory and Courage the Cowardly Dog in early evening hours.

Adult Swim has produced - or acquired - the following series:

    open/close all folders 
    Original programming 
    Specials & notable pilots 
    Syndicated programming 

Animated imports/syndicated:

  • Adventure Time note Certain episodes of the first three seasons of the Cartoon Network original series briefly aired as 8 PM filler in early 2019.
  • American Dad! note Rights shared with sister-network TBS, the current home of the show after its Channel Hop from Fox.
  • Baby Blues note Burned-off the remaining episodes after being cancelled by The WB. Rights expired around 2011.
  • The Bob Clampett Show note Compilation of Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil and Looney Tunes shorts, the latter of which aired uncut. Briefly ran as 5 a.m. filler in 2005.
  • Bob's Burgers note Seasons 1-8 only, Season 9+ air on FXX; Rights are set to expire in September 2023.
  • Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos note April Fools' Day prank and 5 a.m. filler. Rights expired after one run in 2006.
  • Clerks: The Animated Series note Rights expired in 2010.
  • The Cleveland Show note Rights expired in September 2018 when it moved to Comedy Central and later FXX.
  • Courage the Cowardly Dog note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Cow and Chickennote Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Dexter's Laboratory note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Ed, Edd n Eddy note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Evil Con Carne note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Family Guy note Seasons 1-15 only, Seasons 16+ have aired exclusively on FXX and Freeform; rights expired and were picked up by those two networks in September 2021, though not without a sendoff from AS👁 Image
    . Despite this, reruns of the series returned on the network in 2025, although this time around the first three seasons are not included in the package.
  • Futurama note Rights originally expired at the end of 2007 when it eventually made its channel hop to Comedy Central. After almost a decade-and-a-half, the series made its return in December 2021, ironically taking the show from CC in the process; the series later returned to Comedy Central again in May 2022, but continues to air on not only Adult Swim, but also FXX.
  • The Gary Coleman Show note Aired as 5 a.m. filler in 2006. Rights expired in the same year.
  • God, the Devil and Bob note Aired the banned episodes that were first shown on the 2005 DVD release after being cancelled by NBC after four episodes in 2000 due to low ratings and complaints from religious viewers. Rights expired after a few runs throughout 2011.
  • The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • I Am Weasel note Starting in 2023 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • Johnny Bravo note Starting in 2024 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.
  • King of the Hill note Seasons 1 and 2 stopped airing by the end of 2014, then the rights expired at the end of June 2018, where it moved to Comedy Central (seeing a pattern here?) before they dropped the show on their network at the end of 2019. The entire series now airs on FXX, but the show returned to the AS lineup in November 2021 — while still airing on FXX.
  • Mission Hill note Burned-off the remaining (finished) episodes after being cancelled by The WB. Rights expired at the start of 2009.
  • Mister T note April Fools' Day prank and 5 a.m. filler. Rights expired after one run in 2006.
  • The Oblongs note Burned-off the remaining episodes after being cancelled by The WB. Rights expired in 2015.
  • The PJs note Rights expired in the middle of 2010.
  • Psi Cops note Originally made for the Canadian version of [adult swim].
  • The Popeye Show note Compilation of Popeye shorts, which also aired certain WWII propaganda shorts, that was aired between 2002 and 2005 as 5 a.m. filler.
  • The Ripping Friends note Rights expired in 2004, with any attempts to rerun the show being unlikely due to creator John Kricfalusi's sexual misconduct and abuse accusations in 2018.
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle note Briefly aired as filler in 2002.
  • The Super Globetrotters note Aired as 5 a.m. filler. Rights expired after one run in 2006.
  • Sit Down, Shut Up note Rights expired after one run in 2015.
  • SuperMansion note Rights seemingly expired in 2019, as the series has yet to resurface.
  • Toon Heads note Anthology series that broadcast Cartoon Network's classic cartoon collection, with each episode built around a certain theme, and provided facts about the shorts. Ran for a week as 5 a.m. filler in 2005.
  • Unsupervised note Rights expired after two runs in 2015.
  • What A Cartoon! Show note Starting in 2024 as part of "Checkered Past", a block dedicated to reruns of classic Cartoon Network shows.

Note: Except for American Dad!, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy, all of these series were cancelled and discarded by their original host networks before syndication rights were picked up by Adult Swim (this was also the case for Family Guy, but it has since been Un-Canceled due partially to ratings for the reruns on Adult Swim). Adult Swim's expired rights to Futurama were picked up by Comedy Central, which led to the show's revival on that network. Home Movies was renewed as an Adult Swim original series for an additional three seasons following its original cancellation.

Live-action imports/syndicated:

    Pre-Toonami Anime a.k.a. [adult swim] AcTN note  AcTN is pronounced as "action"  
Anime Shown as Part of the [adult swim] AcTN Block:
  • Astro Boy note Only the first 52 episodes aired as early morning filler. Rights expired in 2008 before returning for one episode on April Fool's Day in 2012.
  • The Big O note Its second season is the network's first "original anime". Cartoon Network directly financed Season 2's production, meaning they indefinitely hold the airing rights. Rights to season 1 have been expired since 2008, with the exception of the first episode airing on April Fool's in 2012.
  • Bleach note Headliner of the anime block for years, finished its run on Toonami.
  • Blood+ note Rights expired at the beginning of 2010.
  • Blue Gender note Horribly bowdlerised, due to being originally meant for Toonami. This means instances of extreme violence, sexual content, and language (mostly words like "shit" and any time someone says "Jesus!" or "Jesus Christ!" as an expletive, as it aired before Adult Swim allowed harsher doses of profanity on the block) have been toned down or removed entirely.
  • Case Closed note 50 episodes only, as it was later dropped in 2005 due to low ratings. Episode 48 wasn't shown for unknown reasons.
  • Code Geass note Rights expired after one-and-a-half runs, possibly because Adult Swim kept changing the time slot later and later.
  • Cowboy Bebop note Paved the way for the rest as Adult Swim's first anime series, and remained a perennial fixture on its schedule a decade after the network's debut. After the rights to the show expired, the Toonami staff got them back. Still occasionally reran.
  • Crayon Shin-chan note The Funimation Gag Dub, directly created by a team of former Adult Swim writers who wanted to bring a comedy anime specifically for Adult Swim. Only the first two seasons aired. Rights expired in 2009 and the third season was only released on DVD.
  • Death Note note Rights expired at the beginning of 2010. One of the few anime to be Adored by the Network during this time, as they had aired as much as four episodes a night before the rights expired.
  • Durarara!! note The last new anime aired on Adult Swim before the Toonami relaunch. Rights expired in 2012.
  • Eureka SeveN note Originally ran on Adult Swim from 2006 to 2008. Joined the then newly-revived Toonami on August 18, 2012, making it the first anime to be brought back by Adult Swim after its license had expired.
  • FLCL note Reruns were still shown as late as 2018, as it has actually been labeled as the Adult Swim crew's favorite anime.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) note Hasn't aired since the premiere of Brotherhood, and confirmed as expired by the Toonami staff on their Tumblr.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood note Aired on Adult Swim for its first couple of runs and continued to air on Toonami until the rights expired in December 2014.
  • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex note Both seasons of the series; later aired on Toonami.
  • Gigantor note Mostly filler played at 5:30 AM EST. Rights expired in 2007, with the exception of one episode aired on April's Fools 2012.
  • Inuyasha note The second-longest running regularly-aired anime series on Adult Swim, behind only Cowboy Bebop - over 5 years after the dub ended, they continued to play reruns well into 2012, albeit as 5:30 AM filler for their Saturday anime block. It was finally pulled from the schedule when the new Toonami premiered on May 26, 2012 but returned to the lineup until the rights finally expired in March 2014.
  • Kekkaishi note Rights expired in 2012.
  • Kikaider note Rights expired in 2003.
  • Lupin III: Part II note Adult Swim aired only the first 27 episodes, minus the episode "To Be or Nazi Be" due to Nazi themes under request from then-licensor Geneon. Rights expired in March 2007.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam note Aired the edited Toonami version in 2002. Rights expired after one run.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket note Aired the edited Toonami version in November-December 2002.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory note Edited down to pre-revival Toonami standards when it was aired, despite never airing on that block and the promos showing footage from the uncut version👁 Image
    . Rights expired after one run in 2002.
  • Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit note It was placed on hiatus for a good portion of 2009 due to Geneon's bankruptcy, but eventually returned to the lineup in late summer, and finally finished in the winter of 2009.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion note Was shown edited to Toonami standards back when Toonami was a daytime line-up. When NGE aired on Adult Swim, the series was edited more in tune with what Adult Swim would do. Rights expired in 2006.
  • Outlaw Star note Aired the edited Toonami version, which means no "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei" episode. Later ran on Toonami uncut in 2017-2018.
  • Paranoia Agent note Rights expired in 2007. Given an HD rerun on Toonami when Funimation rescued the show from licensing hell in 2020.
  • Pilot Candidate note Originally meant to air on Toonami, as the edited version aired on that line-up, much to the disgust of the viewers, and the series is considered an Old Shame by the network. Rights expired after one run in 2002.
  • Reign: The Conqueror note Considered another Old Shame to the line-up alongside the aforementioned Pilot Candidate. Rights expired in 2004.
  • Samurai Champloo note Rights expired in 2008 during Geneon's bankruptcy. Toonami brought it back for one more run in 2016.
  • s-CRY-ed note Debuted on the network VOD channel before premiering in 2005. Rights expired in 2006.
  • Super Milk Chan note ADV's "straight" dub. Rights expired in 2006.
  • Tenchi Muyo! note Aired the edited Toonami versions of the original Tenchi Muyo OVAs. Only aired the first episode of Tenchi Universe before Cartoon Network lost the television rights to the Tenchi franchise.
  • Trigun note Rights expired in 2006. One episode aired as part of April Fool's Day 2012.
  • Trinity Blood note Rights expired in 2007.
  • Voltron note Same as Gigantor. Rights expired in 2007.
  • Witch Hunter Robin note Rights expired in 2005.
  • Wolf's Rain note Aired all the episodes and OVA's except for Episodes 15-18 as they were all recaps to prior episodes. Rights expired in 2005.
  • YuYu Hakusho note Aired on Adult Swim uncut before moving to the Cartoon Network version of Toonami a year later in a edited format.

Anime Films Shown on the [adult swim] AcTN Block:

Anime Shown Only on [adult swim] Australia and New Zealand:

Anime Shown Only on [adult swim] UK and Ireland:

Anime Shown Only on [adult swim] Latin America (through Cartoon Network and i-Sat):

Anime Shown Only on [adult swim] Germany (through TNT Comedy):

    Toonami 
† denotes shows produced by or co-funded by Adult Swim.

Current Shows:

Upcoming Shows

Expired License/Former Shows:

Movies:

Toonami Immersion Events:

    Other 
Series Shown Only on [adult swim] UK and Ireland:

Series Shown Only on [adult swim] Canada:

Series Shown Only on [adult swim] Latin America:

adult swim Website Games:

Console and PC games published by [adult swim]:

[adult swim] Web Originals

  • On Cinema note The first two seasons aired on Thing X but moved to Adult Swim starting with Season 3.
    • Decker note Spin-off to On Cinema. Moved to TV for Unclassified (Season 4) and Unsealed (Season 5) with episodes sent to the Adult Swim website shortly after airing.
    • The Trial of Tim Heidecker note An inter-season special for On Cinema set between Seasons 9 and 10
  • FishCenter Live note Daily livestream show from Adult Swim's offices, involving employees of Adult Swim taking calls from viewers, playing games and goofing around, with two fish tanks at the center of the action; edited versions consisting of highlights from that day's livestream have been aired as early-morning filler and weekly recaps go up on Adult Swim's YouTube channel.
  • Williams Street Swap Shop note Another livestreaming call-in talk show, supposedly set in a remote Georgia cabin, where viewers can call in to potentially swap unwanted/unneeded items with each other.
  • Bloodfeast note Yet another livestreaming call-in talk show where Adult Swim employees work on that day's crossword puzzle from the New York Times, with viewers calling in to help solve it.
  • The Cry of Mann note Special live call-in Twin Peaks-esque soap opera from Wham City Comedy about a family looking into the disappearance of Tank Mann, the head of their patriarch.
  • The Weather note Live call-in show by Wham City, featuring several comedic or surreal sketches.
  • Electronic Game Information note Video-game centric live-show hosted by Wham City member Robby Rackleff, streamed online.
  • Truthpoint Darkweb Rising

International

Furthering the divide between Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, international versions of the later have become seldom carried as a block on the former.

For example, due to the local version of Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom being classified as a kids' channel under British broadcasting regulations, the network is forbidden from showing any adult content, even after the UK's 9PM watershed. As a result, Adult Swim blocks would end up on networks such as the U.K Bravo, TCM2note Occupying a much shorter 2 and a half hour slot only on Friday nights/Saturday mornings to go along with small selection of episodes that went on the website each week (although DVDs of the shows finally started being released in the UK in late 2008), Fox UKnote aired a 90 minute Adult Swim block on Thursday, with the shows repeated Saturday, and truTV UKnote on Monday and Friday nights in late 2016, marking the first time the block has been seen on a free-to-air channel in the UK. Some of the original shows are currently available on Netflix, while the block itself would end up on Channel 4 sibling E4 (as well as E4's own sibling, E4 Extra, once the channel launched in 2022), with select programming available on-demand via Channel 4's online streaming service, until the service closed on October 13, 2025. Adult Swim programming is set to resume on the UK version of Max when it launches in 2026.

In Australia and New Zealand, the local branch of Adult Swim aired on Cartoon Network until the end of 2007. Comedy programming moved to The Comedy Channel, while many Adult Swim titles are available on DVD in the two countries through a licensing deal with Madman Entertainment.

In Latin America, Adult Swim was eventually moved from Cartoon Network to I.Sat due to negative reviews from the parents. Adult Swim has used Spanish SAP audio since 2007. The block was also launched in Brazil on TBS on November 3, 2014. On October 31, 2023, Adult Swim finally returned as a 24 hour channel similar to the Canadian version.

In Canada, Adult Swim programming has historically aired on Teletoon's own late-night block, Teletoon at Night (originally called The Detour). A domestic version was launched in 2012 as the late-night block of the Canadian version of Cartoon Network; a sibling to Teletoon. The block was composed of older originals, as well as other acquired shows (even Samurai Jack!), but seldom aired newer original programming. Some of Adult Swim's current shows have been acquired by other networksnote Namely G4 Canada, The Comedy Network, MuchMusic, and Netflix. To compensate, Adult Swim Games launched an SVOD app, allowing Canadians to watch new episodes and past seasons of original shows. After the discontinuation of the app in November of 2018, and restructuring at parent company Corus Entertainment, both Teletoon at Night and the Canadian Adult Swim block were discontinued in March 2019. This was followed by the launch of the first-ever, 24/7 Adult Swim channel in April 2019.

Tropes exhibited by [adult swim] include:

  • Ad Bumpers: Adult Swim is quite famous for these. You can see an entire archive of these bumps here👁 Image
    .
  • Animated Shock Comedy: Adult Swim airs several of these, such as King Star King and Mr. Pickles.
  • all lowercase letters: Adult Swim's branding of course, stylized as [adult swim].
  • Alternate Reality Game: In August 2017, short and cryptic bumps aired on Adult Swim. Progressively, it told a story about artificial intelligences, shady corporations and time displacements, among other things... The ARG is inactive since April 2020. An exhaustive look at the ARG can be seen here.👁 Image
  • Animation Bump: Series such as Rick and Morty, The Venture Bros., The Boondocks, and especially Black Dynamite and the shows created by Genndy Tartakovsky have higher-quality animation that many of the network's shows tend to avoid.
  • Animation Age Ghetto: invokedThe Nielsen ratings are often considered to be an example of this. While this is subverted for their comedy titles, it's played straight for most of their anime titles. This is also played straight with many of their home videos, especially the earlier releases, as they are still edited just like their TV versions.
  • April Fools' Day: Adult Swim has a running tradition of messing with their programs on April 1st, both the night of and the following day. Examples being mustaches drawn on characters, putting fart noises in the shows, running a marathon of Perfect Hair Forever as dated VHS with badly done subbing, playing The Room (2003) (which is what arguably granted the movie more infamy as it now had a wider audience) or even bringing back past Williams Street blocks such as Toonami for the night. One year, they dug up reruns of Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos.
  • Artifact Title:
    • Adult Swim is named as such as it came from the analogy of the network switching to adult-oriented programming by showing Ad Bumpers consisting of a public pool period where the children have to get out and let the adults swim. This analogy hasn't been used since January 2003, when these bumpers were replaced with new ones in the style of safety manuals featuring characters from the block's lineup, only for those to be replaced with the famous "white text on black" style bumpers just four months later. Also, the "swim" part isn't really recognized much anymore.
    • Contributing to Cartoon Network's controversial decision of adding live action shows to the channel, Adult Swim has also controversially added a number of live action shows to their lineup. While the live-action Adult Swim shows have better critical reception than their regular Cartoon Network counterparts, these works have unsurprisingly not been well-received by a good portion of the fanbase, especially if you ask fans of the anime or the classic animated comedies.
    • The block's name is also, obviously, for the fact that it's a block for adult-oriented shows on an otherwise child-oriented channel. Such a title can come off as redundant in territories where it airs on a channel other than Cartoon Network.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Adult Swim wished for the third season of Moral Orel to be darker than either of the previous two - and instantly regretted it. The series was then cancelled.
  • Biting-the-Hand Humor:
    • Adult Swim has often made fun of their own strange programming decisions at times. They also have had plenty of things to say about Cartoon Network's executive decisions, to say the least.
    • From a segment on👁 Image
      Robot Chicken:
      "Stupid Adult Swim only plays it [Inuyasha] on Saturdays now."
    • In Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 01 the episode "Jumpy George" has a woman hiring Meatwad to babysit her children. Her instructions:
      "And they can watch TV but only a half an hour, and only cartoons, so that means no Cartoon Network."
  • Black Comedy: Large swathes of their programming contain a very dark sense of humor, though the extent of it varies from show to show. Moral Orel is arguably the absolute peak of how utterly pitch-black the jokes can be, though shows like Metalocalypse, Smiling Friends and Rick and Morty aren't far behind.
  • Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: In 2019, a Canadian bumper👁 Image
    said that the programming block would disappear "like magic, or a business decision, or a magic business decision" in preparation for the 24/7 channel.
  • Cassette Futurism: This👁 Image
    Gold Commercial.
  • Channel Hop: An unusual temporary example: fellow Turner network TNT aired a special block of programming from AS after the 2003 NBA All-Star Game hosted by Carl and Brak, dubbed as Cartoon Network's Adult Swim All-Star Extravaganza👁 Image
    .
  • Colon Cancer: A parody Police Procedural series titled "NTSF:SD:SUV::" which stands for "National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle::", uses multiple colons in its title.
  • Commercial Pop-Up:
    • During the "world premiere" of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force film, the movie was aired normally for the first 7 minutes, and then displayed without sound in a barely visible tiny box in the corner of the screen, and episodes of Family Guy, Futurama, and even Aqua Teen Hunger Force itself aired while the movie ran (in its entirety) in the corner. During this, humongous pop-up ads for the movie with loud sound effects also appeared from time to time.
    • One episode of Frisky Dingo had a message on the screen for 15 seconds at the start that said "This is where the network puts that mammoth bug." Then, "Enjoy the show." Biting-the-Hand Humor doesn't even begin to cover it.
  • Content Warnings:
    • "Just in case that last disclaimer wasn't enough, this episode contains extreme violence. We would rather run this than cut the violence from the episode because we are American Cowboys." —Adult Swim before really bloody anime episodes; as stated, it follows a more traditional content warning advising that Adult Swim is not for viewers under 18...err 14.
    • Because "viewer discretion" warnings are a staple of Canadian TV, they are aired by Adult Swim Canada. The program block on Cartoon Network Canada only featured white text on a black background, like AS's famous bumpers, but the 24-hour Adult Swim Canada channel features content warnings with various nature backgrounds.
  • Darker and Edgier: Compared to Cartoon Network's other brands, given that it's aimed at adults.
  • Foreshadowing: Adult Swim once aired a "Where Are They Now" style bump, with the last one👁 Image
    featuring Brak, Zorak, and Moltar planning a revival of Cartoon Planet. Cartoon Planet would return on March 31, 2012.
  • Ignorant About Fire: A notable bumper (adapted from Gunshow) features a dog in a burning house being completely chill over the fire surrounding him. He pays no mind to it even when it melts his skin off.
    Dog: This is fine. I'm okay with the events unfolding before me.
  • Leitmotif: Since 2014, almost all of Adult Swim's sign-off bumpers have a remix of the Star-Spangled Banner playing in the background.
  • Lighter and Softer: The Checkered Past block, compared to the rest of the network. It airs classic kid-friendly Cartoon Network shows aimed at nostalgic adults.
    • As AS gained more hours from CN, the first and last hour of each broadcast day (when Checkered Past isn't airing) has become dedicated to TV-PG or less shows in order to provide a buffer zone so kids who either stuck around after Cartoon Network signed-off for the day or tuned in before it signed-on won't be blasted with TV-MA content.
  • Minimalism: In contrast to the more kinetic, bombastic Cartoon Network bumpers, the [adult swim] bumps are much more subdued, ranging from white text on a black background to a still image with soft electronic music playing in the background. This serves a dual purpose of keeping costs down while better suiting the late-night ambience (for stoners, viewers on the verge of falling asleep; etc.).
  • Network Decay: Listed in Slipped. Adult Swim has, however, called Cartoon Network's decay out and even lampshaded their own strange programming choices at times. Not to mention due to the same constant schedule switching that has screwed over many of its titles, what's decaying one week can be on the upswing the next.
    • Contributing their part to Cartoon Network's decay (other than the Boston Bomb Scare), Adult Swim continues to produce original live-action shows long after the network abandoned such efforts. At the very least, these shows also have their fans and they are generally considered to be much superior in quality to what Cartoon Network was producing during the CNReal-era.
    • Some have questioned Adult Swim's reliance on 20th Television Animation acquisitions (which originally aired on the Fox network) for both viewership and filler in-spite of the numerous shows they've produced and the other shows they've acquired. These issues had died out when the Disney-Fox merger resulted in Disney and their cable channels note  alongside the Paramount Global-owned Comedy Central, one of Adult Swim's biggest rivals snatching the reruns rights to all of 20th Television Animation's cartoons. The exception of this is American Dad!, which has been produced for TBS since season 10. Said merger also resulted in AS being able to broadcast Futurama again in 2022. This decay reached critical mass in 2025 when AS reclaimed the rights to re-air Family Guy episodes. As a result only 3 hours and 15 minutes (2 of those hours being Rick and Morty reruns, alone) out of the 12 hour Adult Swim weekday lineup consists of AS original shows while the remaining 8 hours and 45 minutes consists of 20th Television Animation productions.
    • Anime became exclusive to Saturday Nights since 2007, but it has been a longtime Butt-Monkey of sorts for both the network (as evidenced by some of its bumps) and some of its fans. The return of Toonami, which in-turn has helped to grow the industry and caused a resurgence of popularity for the medium in the North America, has gone a long way to at least reverse this aspect of Adult Swim's decay.
    • AT&T's layoffs at WarnerMedia in November 2020 resulted in all of the producers of the livestream material, including AS veteran Matt Harrigan, being laid off and the shows ceasing production.
  • Network Sign Off: Adult Swim (and by extension Cartoon Network) is one of the few American TV channels that still signs off every day, in order to provide a clean break between Cartoon Network's child-friendly programming and Adult Swim's not-child-friendly programming. The design of these has changed over the years, ranging from the traditional "national anthem over random footage" to downright startling ones that ensure that any viewers who fell asleep while watching TV won't be for much longer.
  • New Year Has Come: Adult Swim hosted two New Year's Eve specials in 2002 and 2003. The 2002 one was a parody of the Times Square Ball drop (With Meatwad of Aqua Teen Hunger Force as the ball) hosted by Brak and Carl of ATHF. The 2003 special, "The Bashington's", starts with Brak's family inviting the other Williams Street produced show characters for a party (In-Universe, the only anime character Brak's family invited was Inuyasha, and he couldn't stand any of the guests besides Space Ghost and Birdman so he didn't show) and ends with Brak and his family being told The Brak Show was canceled, which understandably upsets Brak.
  • No Budget: Almost every one of Adult Swim's originals are produced as such. Rick and Morty, any of the shows with traditional and/or stop-motion animation, as well as shows produced for Toonami, avert this.
    • Eric Andre claimed in one interview that the original budget for his show was Domino's Pizza coupons given to him by Adult Swim.
  • Obviously Not Fine: They commissioned station idents based on ten Gunshow comics. One of them, "This Is Fine"👁 Image
    , features a cartoon dog calmly insisting everything is okay, while his house burns down around him, and he melts from the heat.
  • Obvious Stunt Double: NTSF:SD:SUV makes it very obvious, although it's really the editing that gives it away, not bad continuity. Such as cutting to a sudden, awkward, far angle shot just for Trent to perform an entire spin kick (with his hair covering his face, no less).
  • Our Product Sucks: Quite a few of the Adult Swim bumpers are self-deprecating, often featuring flames and trolls from their now-defunct message boards and on Twitter. When the network played Saved by the Bell, the network changed its logo to "[crappy 1980's live action tv show network]", after a message board user suggested it.
  • Overly Long Gag: A staple of Adult Swim's earlier shows. In the commentary of a The Venture Bros. episode, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer point out the fact that their show, unlike the rest of Adult Swim, rarely used the device.
  • Packaged as Other Medium: The Western Animation folder on this trope's page could just be renamed the [adult swim] folder as all the examples are [as] programs. It's even lampshaded in the examples themselves.
  • Pun: [all times and music eastern]
  • Quarter Hour Short: With some exceptions, [as] original programming typically runs 11 minutes per episode; the format would even be applied to Cartoon Network's own programming beginning in The New '10s.
  • Running Gag:
    • There are a series of bumps calling attention to some shortcoming or ridiculous doing of the United States, followed by USA showing up with a synthesized voice reciting the letters.
    • Flordia: Where Bad Things Go To Happen.
    • They point out an Epic Fail with a synthesized "Fail".
  • Sadist Show: Most of their shows revolve around characters suffering some sort of indignities, for the sake of an audiences laugh
  • Schedule Slip: The network and its programming are infamous for this.
    • Almost every season of The Venture Bros. has been aired several years apart from each other, in-part due to it being traditionally animated.
    • Ditto The Boondocks, which is outsourced to Korean-based studios specializing in Animesque productions.
    • Rick And Morty became this after its second season; the third season premiered after more than a year the second season ended, and the fourth season premired after a two year hiatus. This is the result of its creators being perfectionists and simultaneously working on other projects in-between the production of the show. When the show became Adult Swim's first breakout hit in years, they order 70-additional episodes just to prevent this trope from happening.
    • The third season of Black Jesus aired in 2019, four years after the second season aired.
    • Off The Air only avoids this because it never had a schedule in the first place.
  • Speech-Centric Work: The vast majority of their series tend to emphasize dialogue given their low-budgets.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Most of their shows are on the cynical side.
  • 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
    Spiritual Successor: The Turner networks have a history of doing weird things late at night. TBS' 17 Update Early in the Morningnote basically The Daily Show, but with less emphasis on the news and more on the anchors' antics — Bill Tush {a frequent personality in the early days of WTCG/WTBS}, Tina Seldin, the "Unknown Newsman", the off-camera staff — as Ted Turner didn't wan't to do news, but the FCC forced him to... but they didn't say when it had to air or if it had to be serious; it ended in 1979 so it wouldn't present credibility issues when he launched CNN and Tushnote a sketch show hosted by the aforementioned Bill Tush, featuring a young Jan Hooks and Bonnie and Terry Turner; and TNT's MonsterVision and 100% Weird. Adult Swim proudly carries on the weird, homegrown feel of those shows and the chaotic, low-budget, free-for-all production that WTBS had during its' formative years.
  • Stylistic Suck: Some animated shows are known for having intentionally crude designs for the sake of comedy. The better-looking shows will still be this in the form of an Affectionate Parody towards cheesy '80s and '90s programs.
  • Subverted Kids' Show: Adult Swim itself is this for Cartoon Network as a whole. From their inaugural lineup of Hanna-Barbera parodies (featuring shows like Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Sealab 2021) to shows like Moral Orel, Robot Chicken, and G.I. Joe: Resolute.
  • Surreal Horror: Most of the live-action shows post-Tim & Eric, ranging from uncomfortable, confusing and, more recently, legitimate horrifying.
  • Take That!: Adult Swim just loves to do this at times with their Ad Bumpers. On occasions, Adult Swim tends to👁 Image
    lampshade this.
  • This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: "Attention Toonami Faithful: We heard you. On 05.26.12 #ToonamisBackBitches"
  • Timeshift Channel: With the exception of Saturdays, the "DVR Theater" and the occasional nights of programming decided by contest winners, Adult Swim's second half is usually a repeat of its first half. A thing to note is that considering that Cartoon Network has separate East and West Coast feeds, it's sometimes possible to watch something four times in a night if one so wishes to, if one has DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse or Dish Network, or a cable company with access to the live feeds of the channel on the website.
  • Translation Train Wreck: The 2007 Adult Swim April Fool's Day gag involved 'bootleg' versions of several Adult Swim shows.
  • Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: One fan suggested that they pit Brock Samson vs. Black Dynamite and see who wins. Adult Swim ran with it, telling fans to vote on Twitter, and the results would be posted the following week. There was no decisive winner. The final tally was 50/50, and a massive flame-war erupted from both fandoms. Adult Swim followed up with the next match-up: Stewie Griffin vs. Early Cuyler. They also said that what they really want to see is the Brock Samson and Black Dynamite fandoms to fight each other.
    "Because some y'all crazy bitches!"
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: invoked In 2007, Adult Swim launched a guerrilla marketing campaign for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie featuring battery-powered LED placards resembling the Mooninite characters being placed in numerous places around the U.S. However, in Boston, police officials mistakenly thought that the LEDs were bombs, and treated the whole event as such👁 Image
    . This event would lead to legal implications being placed on Turner Broadcasting and their contractors, the internet to make mock "Never Forget" memes, and forcing then-current Cartoon Network head Jim Samples to step down. Cartoon Network as fans knew it would never be the same again, not because of any legal incidents, but because of Samples' replacement, Stuart Snyder, who would become the instigator of the channel's infamous Audience-Alienating Era. To this very day, Cartoon Network remains a tug of war between Snyder's successors and the network's older fans. Adult Swim was spared further Network Decay due to Williams Street being a separate operation from the rest of the network.
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