Ever since Adult Swim was launched in 2001, it has offered a plethora of weird and wonderful comedic material. In the beginning, it was known for fantastic anime, like Cowboy Bebop, but its reputation expanded over time to include absurd and experimental animated and live-action comedy shows geared toward adults.
The 2010s was a decade full of new and vibrant shows and cartoons for Adult Swim. Some shows stuck around for years to come, while others had a short and sweet run, successfully leaving their mark before fizzling out.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force (7.6)
Aqua Teen Hunger Force started out as a spinoff series of Space Ghost Coast To Coast. The series was created, directed and voice acted by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro, who both frequently use improvisation and ad-libbing in the show, adding to its experimental and offbeat style.
Before Robot Chicken surpassed it, Aqua Teen was the longest-running Adult Swim series and its popularity is due in part to its surrealist and random humor.
Robot Chicken (7.7)
Multi-talented actor and comedian Seth Green is the mastermind behind this zany claymation, which was originally based on a comic strip titled "Twisted ToyFare Theater."
As it gained traction and popularity as almost a Saturday Night Live kind of show for Adult Swim, the list of guest stars grew longer, including actors and comedians like Weird Al Yankovic, Zac Effron, Scarlett Johansson, Rashida Jones, Snoop Dogg, and many others.
Superjail! (7.7)
This visually unique and surrealist cartoon was created by Christy Karacas and Stephen Warbrick after they met while working at MTV and collaborated on a short animated film. Superjail! takes place at a massive jailhouse on a volcanic island, filled with tons of bizarre rooms and chambers not unlike Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but with more gore and violence.
To design the scenes within the jail, the creators had to draw up a giant map that covered two walls of a room. The psychedelic visuals were one of the aspects of this animated show that helped it stand out on Adult Swim during its six-year run.
The Shivering Truth (8.0)
South Park writer and producer Vernon Chatman created this creepy, unsettling but masterfully creative stop-motion animated series for Adult Swim, along with Cat Solen. The creators of The Shivering Truth take full advantage of the medium, twisting and contorting the characters, splitting them in half and subjecting them to other supernatural weirdness that couldn't be as well pulled off with live-action.
The craftsmanship and attention to detail of the hand made puppets and sets are no doubt one of the reasons it's rated 8/10 on IMDb.
Frisky Dingo (8.1)
Frisky Dingo follows Killface, a terrifying, tall, naked, pale being with hooves and a skull face, as he plots to destroy the earth with his superweapon invention he calls the Annihilatrix, and thwart his arch-nemesis, superhero Awesome X. Contrasting this extreme looking supervillain with an office environment and regular human marketing employees make for some great jokes.
Frisky Dingo's airtime was short-lived, but it paved the way for its creator, Adam Reed, to create Archer. Every once in a while during an episode of Archer, the viewer might recognize a callback, joke, or a line from Frisky Dingo, so in a way, a little bit of the show lives on.
Metalocalypse (8.2)
Metalocalypse answers the question of what the world would be like if a metal band got as popular as The Beatles - the answer is: chaotic. Dethklok are so popular and powerful that they have their own world economy, police force, and virtually get away with everything.
After Home Movies went off the air in 2004, Brendon Small teamed up with Tommy Blacha to create Metalocalypse just a couple of years later, brainstorming the idea after attending some metal concerts together.
The Boondocks (8.4)
Beginning as a humble comic strip from the mind of Aaron McGruder, The Boondocks delivers thought-provoking politically charged comedy and commentary with a unique anime style. The show follows two brothers, Huey and Riley, as they adjust to life in the suburbs with their grandfather after living most of their lives in Chicago.
The Boondocks came to an end after nine years in 2014, but in 2019, there were rumors of a possible reboot. Sure enough, later that year, HBO announced that it had ordered two seasons of a revival series, taking place in current times, with McGruder at the helm.
The Venture Bros (8.5)
The Venture Bros was the second longest-running show on Adult Swim, just behind Robot Chicken. One of the ways it maintained such success on the network was the solid writing, as well as great care and attention to detail when it comes to the characters of the show.
Background characters with smaller roles in previous seasons would get fleshed out later on, and each character had its own arc, growing and changing over time. Fans enjoyed watching characters such as Hank evolve from irresponsible and reckless to a more confident version of himself, putting in the effort to improve his personality.
The Eric Andre Show (8.6)
The Eric Andre Show is loved for its violence, intensity, and absurdity. Whether it's a man-on-the-street style interview or an interview behind the desk, Andre brings the pranks, cringe and gross-out humor to the next level, confusing those around him at best and being downright terrifying at worst.
In a stroke of good luck, season five of The Eric Andre Show just missed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with filming wrapping up early in 2020. It was not without its struggles, however, as Andre revealed that he got concussed and had to be hospitalized after performing a stunt involving John Cena throwing him into a bookcase. This particular season also saw a lot of changes, including a set re-design and the departure of co-host, Hannibal Buress.
Rick And Morty (9.2)
Perhaps one of the most successful shows ever to come out of Adult Swim, Rick and Morty has grown into a massive franchise that includes videogames, short films, comic books, a plethora of merchandise, and hordes of fans constantly clamoring for more content.
While there are many things to appreciate about this show, the colorful and unique animation paired with solid storytelling and dynamic characters are some of the main features of Rick and Morty that have helped earn its 9.2/10 IMDb score.