17 Years Ago Today, Adult Swim’s Darkest Series Ended (And the Creator Is Trying to Revive It)

17 years ago today, Adult Swim ended what turned out to be its darkest series and the creator behind it all is trying to bring it back with a revival in the future. Adult Swim has been home to a lot of notable animated projects over the decades that have stood out with fans for one reason or another. Whether they be a wacky series with tons of wild visuals, or an existential exploration of humanity, Adult Swim programs are not scared of diving deep into intense subjects when given the opportunity.

But there was one series that really took this to heart, and gradually evolved into one of the darkest and most thematically complex releases in Adult Swim’s history. Morel Orel came to an end 17 years ago today on December 18, 2008 (which was pretty much three years from when it first premiered exactly), and went down as one of the most intense shows that Adult Swim fans had ever seen. And all these years later, the creator behind it all is hoping to bring it back.

What Is Moral Orel?

First premiering with Adult Swim back in 2005, Moral Orel was created by Dino Stamatopoulos and was a stop-motion series directly inspired by the 1960s stop-motion animated series, Davey and Goliath. This was a series that used its main character Davey as a way to teach Christian fundamentals to children, and often had a moral lesson with each episode. Moral Orel started out as a more direct comparison to that classic series as it not only had a main character who was pretty much a dead ringer for Davey, but also learned moral lessons each week.

But the Adult Swim appropriate twist here were the lessons that Orel had to learn. Like in the premiere, for example, that sees him launching a zombie uprising. He gets in trouble not because he used the Necronomicon to bring them back to life (because dying is rejecting God’s greatest gift, life), but that he stripped them of all of their clothes thinking that it’s why they were stinking so badly. There are plenty of other examples like this where Orel gets addicted to drugs, addicted to pleasuring himself and accidentally impregnating women around town and more.

At the end of each of these episodes, his father would take him into his study to hit him with a belt and teach him the moral lesson of the week. As Moral Orel progressed, however, the animated series shifted and changed in ways that fans never had expected. The third and final season ended up being highly experimental as it shifted away from its dark comedy bent to a more psychologically intense thriller that tackled highly sensitive subject matter that likely led to the series ultimately ending its run after just three seasons.

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Will Moral Orel Ever Come Back?

Moral Orel ended as a much different kind of series than when it first began. It was such a dramatic shift to see in real time that it’s still left a monumental impact all these years later. The animated series itself struggled with that final season, however, as with the intense nature of the subject matter revealing more about the citizens of Moralton, it was also telling its story out of order without really have a clear connection between each of the episodes week to week. Though it all came to a perfect conclusion that’s kind of hard to follow up on.

Series creator Stamatopoulos did return to the franchise in the coming years, however, with a prequel special released a few years later. This showcased a then four year old Orel waiting on the birth of his younger brother, and revealed why he was such a religious boy in the first place. In the years since, Stamatopoulos revealed that he’s trying to bring back Moral Orel once more with a potential revival movie. Sharing the update on social media, the creator revealed there’s still quite a few hurdles to get over before that can actually happen, however.

There are just lots of questions surrounding Moral Orel and whether or not a revival would be even necessary. The original series did have a dark final season that truly pushed Orel to his limits in terms of his beliefs, but it also ended with a bright look at his future after such a traumatic childhood. It was a statement that emphasized that although Orel was constantly being beaten down by the world around him, he ultimately still found happiness within himself and his connection to God.

Would you ever want to see a Moral Orel comeback? How did you like that final season of the series 17 years ago? What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!