Adult Swim has some great shows that nobody talks about. The network launched in 2001 as a block on the Cartoon Network, and it presented animated shows that were aimed toward an adult audience. This means that the cartoons on Adult Swim were often more violent, had adult subject matter, adult language, and in many cases, adult themes that went over the heads of most kids who happened to tune in to the episodes. Some massively popular shows aired on Adult Swim, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Seelab 2021, Robot Chicken, The Boondocks, and The Venture Bros.
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However, there are also some great Adult Swim shows that no one talks about anymore, but still deserve respect for bringing some of the best animation on television.
5) Home Movies
Home Movies was one of the first five shows to air on Adult Swim, debuting on September 2, 2001, and airing until April 4, 2004. The series follows an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker named Brendon Small who makes homemade movies with his friends. Created by the actual Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard, and developed by Tom Snyder (Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist), the series originally aired on UPN before it was canceled after only five episodes.
Adult Swim picked it up and ran it for four seasons and 52 episodes. While it is an animated series no one really talks about anymore, it is a cult favorite for people who remember watching it during its original run. It is also notable because co-creator Loren Bouchard went on to create Bob’s Burgers, and Brendon Small helped create the heavy metal series Metalocalypse. It should also be noted that H. Jon Benjamin (Archer) voiced Coach McGuirk.
4) The Brak Show
Everyone likely remembers Space Ghost Coast to Coast, but a show that deserves just as much respect is The Brak Show. This was a spin-off from Space Ghost Coast to Coast and debuted on Adult Swim at the same time as the show it spun off of. Both shows were Comedy Central originals that moved over to Adult Swim when the adult-centric time block was created.
The Brak Show follows Brak, the alien villain from the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Space Ghost. It serves as a prequel to that classic cartoon, but here, Brak is a teenager, and he lives with his family, an alien mother and a Latino father who is much smaller than anyone else in the series. He also has a sidekick, a human-sized alien mantis named Zorak. The series lasted for three seasons and 28 episodes, and it was a fun show that often spoofed regular sitcom genre tropes.
3) Tom Goes to the Mayor
Tom Goes to the Mayor was an Adult Swim series that was an acquired taste, but delivered biting satire and humor that makes it a show that deserves a lot more respect than it receives. It debuted on Adult Swim in 2004, created by Tim & Eric, although it never reached the same level of success as Tim and Eric Awesome Show, which debuted three years later.
Tom Goes to the Mayor was a strangely animated series, as it features a limited animation style with photos of the cast with different facial expressions, then filtered and added to drawn backgrounds, with often real-life footage playing on television in the background. Adult Swim has listed this as one of the network’s most polarizing shows, and said people either loved or hated it, with no in between. To its credit, some characters from the show popped up later on Tim and Eric Awesome Show.
2) Metalocalypse
Anyone who loves rock and roll or heavy metal music should love Metalocalypse, but it doesn’t get anywhere near the attention it deserves. Metalocalypse is a spoof of the heavy metal lifestyle and follows a death metal band that has achieved a level of success that rivals even that of the Beatles in their heyday. As a result, they are asked to help save the world with their immense reach.
The animated series debuted in 2006 and ran to 2013, but this only accounted for four seasons, and Adult Swim canceled it without an ending to its story. That said, creators Brenden Small and Tommy Blacha were able to get a standalone movie greenlit called Metalocalypse: Army of Doomstar, which brought back the cast and some massive guest stars to finish its story in a direct-to-video release. The show itself deserved a better run, and it is one that all Adult Swim fans should revisit.
1) Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Of all the original Adult Swim shows that were released at the start of the network block, the one that deserves to be known as the best, but is seemingly forgotten, is Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. In much the same way that Space Ghost Coast to Coast took a classic cartoon superhero and made him a late-night talk show host, this series took a former Hanna-Barbera superhero and made him an attorney. What made Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law a fantastic show was how it subverted the classic cartoon characters in the different court cases.
Boo Boo Bear was arrested as the Uni-Boo Boo Bomber. Shaggy and Scooby were arrested for drug possession in the Mystery Machine. The comedy was surreal and often hilarious, and it poked fun at the classic cartoon characters, the rash of legal dramas on television, and even Harvey Birdman himself, voiced brilliantly by Gary Cole. Add in voice roles for Stephen Colbert and Criminal Minds’ Paget Brewster, and there is a lot to love about this forgotten Adult Swim series.
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