History Creator / AdultSwim

** In November 2009, Adult Swim suddenly replaced a rerun of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' in its later time slot for a false {{infomercial}} for '[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paid_Programming_%28TV_series%29 Paid Programming]]'' without any on-air acknowledgment. It featured a white man using the N Word, a woman dying, and [[ClusterFBomb gratituous cussing.]] They also advertised "Nazi Gold." Though some suspected it was the work of TimAndEric, it turned out it was a failed {{pilot}} by DavidCross, meant to seem like an infomercial with strange implications of darker intentions.

Adult Swim, sometimes written as [[AllLowercaseLetters [adult swim] ]] or [as], is a programming block on Creator/CartoonNetwork shown during the {{watershed}} hours (9:00 pm - 6:00 am Eastern Time). Founded in 2001 by Cartoon Network’s Williams Street division, the same studio that organized Creator/{{Toonami}} [[hottip:*: (In fact, shortly before Adult Swim premiered, Toonami ran a late night block from 1999-2003 called the Midnight Run showcasing uncut versions of Toonami titles, which evidently served as a test run of sorts for Adult Swim.)]], the block's remit is to air various kinds of adult-oriented animation including {{seinen}} {{anime}} and [[DeadBabyComedy animated comedy]] (both originally produced and {{FOX}} acquisitions). [[NetworkDecay Depending on who you ask however, one would say that adult cartoons used to be its remit]], as Adult Swim has played a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare significant part]] in Cartoon Network's controversial [[LiveActionTV live action]] shift.[[hottip:*:(See UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom in the trope list below for details...or Adult Swim's entry on NetworkDecay.UniqueSituations for that matter.)]]

Adult Swim, sometimes written as [[AllLowercaseLetters [adult swim] ]] or [as], is a programming block on Creator/CartoonNetwork shown during the {{watershed}} hours (9:00 pm - 6:00 am Eastern Time). Founded in 2001 by Cartoon Network’s Williams Street division, the same studio that organized Creator/{{Toonami}} [[hottip:*: (In fact, shortly before Adult Swim premiered, Toonami ran a late night block from 1999-2003 called the Midnight Run showcasing uncut versions of Toonami titles, which evidently served as a test run of sorts for Adult Swim.)]], the block's remit is to air various kinds of adult-oriented animation including {{seinen}} {{anime}} and [[DeadBabyComedy animated comedy]] (both originally produced and {{FOX}} acquisitions). [[NetworkDecay Depending on who you ask however, one would say that adult cartoons used to be its remit]], as Adult Swim has played a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare significant part]] in Cartoon Network's controversial [[LiveActionTV live action]] shift. (See UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom in the trope list below for details.)

** After spending the last part of the TurnOfTheMillennium being the poster victim of CartoonNetwork’s NetworkDecay, Anime finally gets [[ThrowTheDogABone thrown a bone]]. Creator/{{Toonami}} is back.

** The Anime block in general. Anime used to air an hour or two on weeknights and weekends, and it slowly decreased to Sunday at midnights only, in which ''Bleach'' is the only on-going show that premieres new episodes and not reruns. It has been said that [[ScrewedByTheNetwork one of those in charge of [adult swim]'s programming doesn't like the style]] and was the first to go when the NetworkDecay began. Adult Swim has often rather been vocal about their increasing dis-contempt towards Anime and the block. Bumps regularly criticize it, commercials show their {{Narm}} moments and episode descriptions on their website tend to read like "Vampires, robots, big hats!". ''WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever'' basically boils down to several hours of TakeThat against [[ShonenDemographic shonen]]. Observers have also noted [[InvisibleAdvertising the lack of promotion of the block and its programming]], especially in comparison to their other blocks. The Creator/{{Toonami}} revival may suggest a turning of the tide on this front.

In UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} and UsefulNotes/NewZealand, the local branch of Creator/CartoonNetwork once had its own version of Adult Swim, including both comedy and anime, but the entire block was canceled at the end of 2007. The comedy series moved to The Comedy Channel, the Antipodean equivalent to Comedy Central, which still continue to air on a daily basis with consistent ratings, even though the block airs only on Saturdays from 12am-2am AEST and 6:30pm-7:30pm ASET; a few of the anime shows were picked up by the local Sci Fi Channel's Animax block. Many Adult Swim series, both comedy and anime, are available on DVD in the two countries, due to a licensing deal with MadmanEntertainment.

* ''Series/{{Eagleheart}}''

* ''TheEricAndreShow''

* TimeshiftChannel: With the exception of Saturdays, the "DVR Theater" and the occasional nights of programming decided by contest winners, Adult Swim's second half is usually a repeat of its first half. A thing to note is that considering that Creator/CartoonNetwork has separate East and West Coast feeds, it's sometimes possible to watch something four times in a night if one so wishes to, if one has [=DirecTV=] or Dish Network.

** ''MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'' was constantly schedule-switch later and later until it aired at 5:30 AM EST by Adult Swim, dropped after 10 episodes, restarted in a better timeslot, and then got dropped again after {{Geneon}} went bankrupt, and it was removed from the air until the licensing issues were resolved. However, the problems were eventually solved, and Adult Swim re aired and completed the series between June and December 2009.

* ''CrayonShinChan'' (The {{Funimation}} GagDub)

* ''{{Gigantor}}'' (Mostly filler played at 5:30 AM EST)

* ''MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory''
* ''{{Kikaider}}''
* ''Manga/LupinIII'' (About 26 episodes aired only)
* ''MobileSuitGundam'' (Aired the edited Creator/{{Toonami}} version)

* ''Anime/OutlawStar'' (Aired the edited Creator/{{Toonami}} version)

* ''Series/TheOffice'' (The UK version)

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Adult Swim once aired a "Where Are They Now" style bump, with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWsNaDl0ztg the last one]] featuring [[SpaceGhostCoastToCoast Brak, Zorak, and Moltar]] planning a revival of CartoonPlanet. CartoonPlanet would come back on March 31, 2012.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: AdultSwim once aired a "Where Are They Now" style bump. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWsNaDl0ztg The last one]] featured [[SpaceGhostCoastToCoast Brak, Zorak, and Moltar]] planning a revival of Cartoon Planet. CartoonPlanet would come back on March 31, 2012.

** After spending the last part of the TurnOfTheNewMillennium being the poster victim of the wrath of CartoonNetwork’s decay, Anime finally gets [[ThrowTheDogABone thrown a bone]]. Creator/{{Toonami}} is back.

** Creator/{{Toonami}}, that is all.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' (Aired on Adult Swim before airing on {{Toonami}} a year later)

* AprilFoolsDay: Adult Swim has a running tradition of messing with their programs on April 1st, both the night of and the following day. Examples being mustaches drawn on characters, putting fart noises in the shows, running a marathon of Perfect Hair Forever as dated VHS with badly done subbing, playing ''Film/TheRoom'' (which is what arguably granted the movie more infamy as it now had a wider audience) or even bringing back past Williams Street blocks such as {{Toonami}} for the night.

** {{Toonami}}, that is all.

** The Anime block in general. Anime used to air an hour or two on weeknights and weekends, and it slowly decreased to Sunday at midnights only, in which ''Bleach'' is the only on-going show that premieres new episodes and not reruns. It has been said that [[ScrewedByTheNetwork one of those in charge of [adult swim]'s programming doesn't like the style]] and was the first to go when the NetworkDecay began. Adult Swim has often rather been vocal about their increasing dis-contempt towards Anime and the block. Bumps regularly criticize it, commercials show their {{Narm}} moments and episode descriptions on their website tend to read like "Vampires, robots, big hats!". ''WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever'' basically boils down to several hours of TakeThat against [[ShonenDemographic shonen]]. Observers have also noted [[InvisibleAdvertising the lack of promotion of the block and its programming]], especially in comparison to their other blocks. The {{Toonami}} revival may suggest a turning of the tide on this front.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Adult Swim itself is a successor of {{Toonami}}'s "Midnight Run" block, and is in fact run by the same studio that ran Toonami (Williams Street). Some might argue that it is a successor to Toonami in general since Toonami was canceled, but considering that Adult Swim underwent NetworkDecay shortly thereafter, many have said otherwise.

* WhamEpisode: April 1, 2012. You probably tuned in expecting three back-to-back airings of ''Film/TheRoom'', as they had done for the past three years. You got {{Toonami}}.

-->[adult swim]

Adult Swim, sometimes written as [[AllLowercaseLetters [adult swim] ]] or [as], is a programming block on Creator/CartoonNetwork shown during the {{watershed}} hours (9:00 pm - 6:00 am Eastern Time). Founded in 2001 by Cartoon Network’s Williams Street division, the same studio that organized {{Toonami}} [[hottip:*: (In fact, shortly before Adult Swim premiered, Toonami ran a late night block from 1999-2003 called the Midnight Run showcasing uncut versions of Toonami titles, which evidently served as a test run of sorts for Adult Swim.)]], the block's remit is to air various kinds of adult-oriented animation including {{seinen}} {{anime}} and [[DeadBabyComedy animated comedy]] (both originally produced and {{FOX}} acquisitions). [[NetworkDecay Depending on who you ask however, one would say that adult cartoons used to be its remit]], as Adult Swim has played a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare significant part]] in Cartoon Network's controversial [[LiveActionTV live action]] shift. (See UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom in the trope list below for details.)

Sundays are typically rebroadcasts of {{Fox}} cartoons (such as ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and original programs from Williams Street, Adult Swim's production studio (programs such as ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''). Saturdays usually mix comedic shows with North American dubs of anime, with the anime taking up the majority of the network's airtime on this night (and since May 2012 is now run by {{Toonami}}). Weekday evenings are reruns of comedies, both original or otherwise.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket'' (Aired the edited {{Toonami}} version in November-December 2002)

* ''LupinIII'' (About 26 episodes aired only)
* ''MobileSuitGundam'' (Aired the edited {{Toonami}} version)

* ''Anime/OutlawStar'' (Aired the edited {{Toonami}} version)

* ''Anime/PilotCandidate'' (Aired the edited {{Toonami}} version)

* ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' (Aired the edited {{Toonami}} versions of the original ''Tenchi Muyo'' [=OVAs=], ''Tenchi Universe'', and ''Tenchi in Tokyo'')

** In ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 01]]'' the episode "Jumpy George" has a woman hiring Meatwad to babysit her children. Her instructions:

** Nobody expected ''Off The Air'', a portfolio of MindScrew-filled videos from YouTube, to become one of AdultSwim's most popular recent shows.

Bizarrely, the UK's Creator/CartoonNetwork doesn't show Adult Swim. Lads' gibberish channel Bravo used to show it, currently Brits are stuck with the small selection of episodes that go on the website each week, although [=DVDs=] of the shows finally started being released in the UK in late 2008. This may be related to broadcasting regulations in the UK- if your channel shows more than three hours of infomercials a day, it has to be filed under 'Shopping' and be dumped near the arse end of the programme guide. Similarly, too many dodgy Viewer Participation quizzes get you lumped into 'Gaming And Dating', just after the shopping and too much BabeStation and you're in 'Adult', ''right'' at the bottom'. It might be that Cartoon Network, being in the 'Children's' section, wouldn't be allowed to show anything Adult Swim-y. Then again, they do let MTV stay in Music...

Because of its adult orientations, in comparison to the rest of Cartoon Network which is kid oriented, Adult Swim is considered to be a "separate" network from Cartoon Network proper for {{ratings}} purposes, and often shows ContentWarnings throughout the block that the programs presented are not suitable for young children. The name "Adult Swim" comes from the public pool period where the children have to get out because the lifeguards go on break and only the adults can swim, analogous to the network switching to adult-oriented programming. This reference was explicitly invoked in its early years when its AdBumpers and intro segment showed video clips from an adult swim pool.

Sundays are typically rebroadcasts of {{Fox}} cartoons (such as ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and original programs from Williams Street, Adult Swim's production studio (programs such as ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''). Saturdays usually mix comedic shows with North American dubs of anime, with the anime taking up the majority of the network's airtime on this night (and have recently been rebranded as {{Toonami}}). Weekday evenings are reruns of comedies, both original or otherwise.

Sundays are typically rebroadcasts of {{Fox}} cartoons (such as ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and original programs from Williams Street, Adult Swim's production studio (programs such as ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce''). Saturdays usually mix comedic shows with North American dubs of anime, with the anime taking up the majority of the network's airtime on this night. Weekday evenings are reruns of comedies, both original or otherwise.

Adult Swim is also known for unique timing of commercial breaks. Most American networks have 8 minutes of commerical breaks per half-hour block -- one 1 or 2 minute break at the top of the half-hour, two 2 or 3 minute breaks during the show, and a final 1 or 2 minute break at the end of the half-hour. Adult Swim has only 2 breaks per half-hour. Still totaling 8 minutes, but there's one break in the middle of the half-hour, and one at the end. Viewers appreciate this for obvious reasons, and they can sometimes have up to 5 uninterrupted minutes of commercial time to leave the TV and do other things before the next show comes on. Goodness knows what the advertisers think of that, but considering AS's key demographic is the advertising gold-mine of males from age 18-35, they still pony up the dollars. The only downside to the viewer would be a CommercialBreakCliffhanger in non-original programming is less effective because the show continues immediately after. Incidentally, this is how all ad breaks work on UK and Japanese channels - quite fortunate given all the UK and Japanese programming.

** The Anime block in general. Anime used to air an hour or two on weeknights and weekends, and it slowly decreased to Sunday at midnights only, in which ''Bleach'' is the only on-going show that premieres new episodes and not reruns. It has been said that [[ScrewedByTheNetwork one of those in charge of [adult swim]'s programming doesn't like the style]] and was the first to go when the NetworkDecay began. Adult Swim has often rather been vocal about their increasing dis-contempt towards Anime and the block. Bumps regularly criticize it, commercials show their {{Narm}} moments and episode descriptions on their website tend to read like "Vampires, robots, big hats!". ''WesternAnimation/PerfectHairForever'' basically boils down to several hours of TakeThat against [[ShonenDemographic shonen]]. Observers have also noted [[InvisibleAdvertising the lack of promotion of the block and its programming]], especially in comparison to their other blocks.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In 2007, Adult Swim launched a guerrilla marketing campaign for the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' [[TheMovie movie]] featuring battery-powered LED placards resembling the Mooninite characters being placed in numerous places around the US. However in Boston, police officials mistakenly thought that the [=LEDs=] were bombs, and treated the whole event as such. This event would turn out to known as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare Boston Bomb Scare]], which lead to legal implications being placed on Turner Broadcasting and their contractors, the internet to make mock [[MemeticMutation "Never Forget" memes]], and forced then-currentCreator/ CartoonNetwork head Jim Samples to step down. It wouldn’t be long after until fans began to realize that Adult Swim, scratch that, Creator/CartoonNetwork in general would not be the same since the incident. Not because of any legal incidents, but because Samples' replacement, Stuart Snyder, has since become the instigator of the channel’s infamous NetworkDecay with the increase of live-action sitcoms and reality shows on the channel.

Adult Swim, sometimes written as [[AllLowercaseLetters [adult swim] ]] or [as], is a programming block on Creator/CartoonNetwork shown during the {{watershed}} hours (9:00 pm - 6:00 am Eastern Time). Founded in 2001 by Cartoon Network’s Williams Street division, the same studio that organized {{Toonami}} [[hottip:*: (In fact, shortly before Adult Swim premiered, Toonami ran a late night block from 1999-2003 called the Midnight Run showcasing uncut versions of Toonami titles, which evidently served as a test run of sorts for Adult Swim.)]], the block's remit is to air various kinds of adult-oriented animation including {{seinen}} {{anime}} and [[DeadBabyComedy animated comedy]] (both originally produced and {{FOX}} acquisitions). [[NetworkDecay Of course, depending on who you ask, one would say that adult cartoons used to be its remit]], as Adult Swim has played a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare significant part]] in Cartoon Network's controversial shift towards [[LiveActionTV live action]]. (See UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom in the trope list below for details.)