7 Great Cartoon Network Shows We Didn’t Appreciate Enough

Cartoon Network has been presenting original series and movies for decades, first hitting the cable scene in 1992. With the likes of Toonami and Adult Swim, the Warner Bros platform has only been expanding as the years pass. Unfortunately, despite the channel’s popularity, this doesn’t mean that every series was able to avoid cancellation and/or get the right amount of appreciation they deserved. While we are happy to share seven Cartoon Network shows that were underappreciated, narrowing it down to only seven was no easy task, as there were quite a few series that could have truly flourished with longer lifelines.

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7.) Megas XLR

Megas XLR first premiered on Cartoon Network in 2004 and, disappointingly, only garnered one season. The show itself focused on two best friends in New Jersey, stumbling upon a giant mech that they pilot to fight against an alien threat from the future. Babysat by future warrior Kiva, the true appeal of this animated series wasn’t just the robot fighting giant kaiju, but the inherent comedy of stars Coop and Jamie. The protagonists themselves were hilarious and lovable dorks, adding infectious commentary to the slug-fests that they routinely stumbled into. There wasn’t quite any other show released on Cartoon Network like Megas XLR, and the fact that it only had one season of story remains a tragedy to this day.

6.) Korgoth of Barbaria

This one of two entries on the list that only had one episode to their name, but we are still sad to have seen that Adult Swim’s Korgoth of Barbaria never had a long history on Cartoon Network. Arriving as a pilot on the programming block on 2006, the series wasn’t ultimately picked up for a series due to ratings, but rather, due to high production costs. Decades later, the story of Korgoth feels fresh for Adult Swim, paying tribute to barbarians like Conan and Thundarr. The pilot feels like a mix between two other Adult Swim entries, Metalocalypse and Primal, injecting plenty of blood and violence into Korgoth’s brief journey. It would ultimately be amazing to see this pilot episode spawn a sequel, though now that it has been close to twenty years, the idea of seeing a Korgoth comeback seems less likely.

5.) Saul of the Molemen

While Cartoon Network might have originally sold itself as a channel that only played cartoons, the Warner Bros platform would eventually start housing live-action series to throw some wild shows into the mix. Saul of the Mole Men is one such example, originally airing on Adult Swim in 2007 and following Captain Jim James as he found himself exploring the subterranean terrain of the Earth. Poking fun at shows like Land of the Lost and early 70s fare, Saul was fit to bursting with hilarious jokes and creative constructions for many of its creatures wandering the landscape. When it comes to talking about the history of Adult Swim, this one-season-long series can routinely get lost in the shuffle, but it deserves at least some recognition for its downright absurdity.

4.) Welcome To Eltingville

Much like Korgoth of Barbaria, Welcome to Eltingville only received a pilot episode on Adult Swim, but the unlovable quartet would have worked well with a full series to call their own. Based on the comic of the same name from legendary artist Evan Dorkin, the nerdy misadventures of Bill, Pete, Jerry, and Josh took place years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed the face of pop culture forever. While the series followed the mundane nerds as they argued over nerd history and the rights to beloved action figures, it was also jam-packed with hilarious and often uncomfortable aspects of being an outcast, too in love with all things nerd. Dorkin created several comics that inspired the Cartoon Network pilot and it’s truly a shame we’ll never see those stories hit the screen.

3.) Clarence

Three seasons is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to any Cartoon Network show, but we can’t help but think that Clarence would have worked quite well with a lengthy run on the cable network. Focusing on the titular character and his friends as they spend their days in Arizona, the hilarious series deserves to be put on the same pedestal that holds the likes of Regular Show, Adventure Time, Teen Titans Go, and more long-running animated properties. Ending after its third season, Clarence doesn’t get nearly enough praise as it should years after its cancellation, especially when it was stricken from HBO Max.

2.) Stroker And Hoop

While Adult Swim’s Stroker And Hoop did get its own season of thirteen episodes, the hilarious buddy cop animated series could have used more seasons under its belt. Premiering in 2004, the show never gained the traction it needed to become a heavy hitter on the Cartoon Network programming block, though not for lack of trying. What makes it all the more sad is that the creators did have plans for the future, even going so far as to detail what was planned to happen to Hoop and Stroker. Parodying classic cop shows like Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, and more, this is an Adult Swim series that could definitely work well with a resurgence.

1.) Sym-Bionic Titan

Sym-Bionic Titan never hit the same heights as other Genndy Tartakovsky outings like Samurai Jack, Primal, and Dexter’s Laboratory, but it deserved to. To this day, countless fans are still crossing their fingers that the series will eventually return, as there have been quite a few animated shows brought back from the dead. Only garnering one season, the mech-based science fiction series incorporated so many interesting elements into one storyline that it makes sense it would gain a cult following years after it premiered in 2010.

What do you think of these underappreciated Cartoon Network series? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!