Toonami to Kick Off 2026 With Major Change to Schedule

Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block is going to go through a major change to its schedule soon, and with it is kicking off 2026 with a bang. Adult Swim is preparing to go through even more changes as it heads into 2026 as some of its biggest series from the Fall reach their ends, and they gear up for the debut of new projects. But on the broadcast side of things, its schedule will be changing even more in the coming weeks as revealed through some new announcements from Toonami’s official Facebook page.

Toonami has revealed their schedule for the first Saturday night broadcast in 2026, and the January 3rd schedule confirms that the block will be extended an extra half hour. Instead of coming to an end at 3:30AM ET, Toonami will now be running on Saturday evenings from 12:00AM to 4:00AM ET. This extension to the schedule also comes with a reshuffle of the shows on offer which sees the removal of hits like Naruto and the return of other shows instead.

Toonami Reveals New January 2026 Schedule

The schedule for Toonami on January 3, 2026 extends the block to 4AM ET, but it’s yet to be revealed just how long this new extended version of the schedule will last. For now, the schedule of shows breaks down as such:

• 12:00AM – Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 – The Conflict
• 12:30AM – Blue Exorcist -Beyond the Snow Saga-
• 1:00AM – Mashle: Magic and Muscles – The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc
• 1:30AM – One Piece
• 2:00AM – DAN DA DAN
• 2:30AM – Dragon Ball Daima
• 3:00AM – Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
• 3:30AM – Rick and Morty: The Anime

Toonami has been going through quite a few changes to its schedule like this in the last few years as Adult Swim continues to change its own. There have been quite a lot of shuffling around in terms of just how many shows are being offered each weekend, and for how long, but this is a good sign to start the year that the block is being extended. This extra half hour might not seem like a big deal now, but it’s all the better for Toonami’s stamp within Adult Swim on a whole.

Toonami’s Still a Cartoon Network Classic

Toonami remains one of the biggest elements within the current frame of Adult Swim too. It’s now run for much longer than its original run with Cartoon Network, and this revival run has essentially become a much more notable success. The block has been the home to some brand new original anime releases in the last few years, and continues to be a platform that anime fans enjoy despite the shift to streaming for much of the general audience.

Toonami was a home for curated anime selections, and that voice and personality is just something that’s not the norm anymore. As fans are more divided across streaming platforms and many different shows to watch, the desire for a central place to drive conversation and even select anime to showcase is more common than ever before. So while you might not think it at first, Toonami is heading into 2026 at a great stance.

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