Adult Swim Exec Teases New Shows Coming to Cartoon Network Classics Block

Adult Swim surprised fans earlier this year with its new Checkered Past programming block that brought back a few Cartoon Network classic shows to broadcast television for the first time in a while, and one of the minds behind the block teases that we could see new shows added to the block in the future. Checkered Past kicked off its run earlier this year as part of the expansion of Adult Swim within Cartoon Network’s programming. Expanding the block with two new hours, Checkered Past offers reruns of four classic Cartoon Network shows that fans haven’t seen on TV in a while. 

Checkered Past currently includes Dexter’s Laboratory, Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Courage the Cowardly Dog, but when asked about whether or not the success of the block (as it has shown to have good ratings among its intended demographic as announced by Warner Bros. Discovery) could lead to more shows during New York Comic Con, Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen gave a positive answer that teases more shows potentially being added at a later date. 

New Cartoon Network Shows Coming to Checkered Past

When asked about whether or not new shows could come to Checkered Past during the Adult Swim panel at New York Comic Con 2023 last month, Adult Swim president Michael Ouweelen noted that while the plan is to stick with the four current shows for now, it could change. It’s just that they are approaching potential changes to the block slowly, “Thank you for watching. We’re sticking with these four for right now, but as you know, there’s many we could do, but we’re going to go slowly, there’s lots of reasons, but don’t worry. Keep watching and if people keep watching we’ll have to add more shows, so thank you.” 

It seems like Checkered Past is an experiment that Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are testing out as a result of the recent 30th Anniversary celebration, and it could feature a different line up if fans continue to work and prove the block a success. The “lots of reasons” mentioned here could range from legal, availability, to even broadcast troubles as well, but the answer to more shows wasn’t a full no. 

What classic Cartoon Network shows would you want to see come to Checkered Past next? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!