Cartoon Network’s Toonami might have premiered years prior to Adult Swim, but this fact didn’t stop the latter from absorbing the former into its ranks. The action and anime-focused programming block would dodge cancellation by becoming a part of Adult Swim in 2012, remaining as a part of the late-night platform ever since. Both blocks have gone through some big changes in 2025, and it appears that another major change will take place before we ring in the new year. With Adult Swim set to lose one of its biggest series this month, a Toonami classic is aiming to take its place.
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As reported earlier this week, Adult Swim is losing Futurama on December 26th, and as a result the Z-Fighters are looking to take the place of the Planet Express. Starting on December 29th, Dragon Ball Z Kai will be taking Futurama’s previous 5 AM spot on Adult Swim, giving viewers an early morning anime injection. The Matt Groening-created series isn’t the only series that left the programming block this year, as King of the Hill also left Cartoon Network. While an official statement hasn’t been released regarding these two series’ departures, there’s certainly the possibility that Cartoon Network is looking to focus on less expensive alternatives for its programming blocks with the likes of Dragon Ball Z Kai and Home Movies.
The Kai of it All
For those who might not be familiar with Dragon Ball Z Kai, the remastered edition doesn’t just include improved animation for the original shonen series, it also features a re-dub of the English iteration of the beloved anime. The remaster also cuts down on the “filler” aspects of the series, cutting some anime-only content and sticking closer to the source material that was a part of Akira Toriyama’s manga. While Kai isn’t a full-on remake of the Saiyan, Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu sagas, the Dragon Ball Z series was a fan-favourite amongst the anime community for several reasons.
Thanks to being saved by Adult Swim, Toonami has been releasing quite a few well-known anime series on its platform recently. Currently, the programming block houses Dragon Ball Daima, the sequel series that takes place following the events of Dragon Ball Z but before the start of Dragon Ball Super. Goku and his allies aren’t the only shonen fighters that are a part of Toonami these days, with the likes of Bleach: Thousand Year-Blood War, Blue Exorcist, Mashle: Magic And Muscles, One Piece, Dandadan, and Naruto being some of the other examples.
While Adult Swim might be losing some heavy hitters when it comes to some of its classic programs, this doesn’t mean that the Cartoon Network juggernaut is planning to end anytime soon. Some of the programming block’s biggest series have already been confirmed for multiple seasons in the future, including the likes of Rick And Morty and Smiling Friends, so worry not late night swimmers.
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