[adult swim]

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Adult Swim
"All kids out of the pool for Adult Swim, all kids out!"
Genre: Adult programming
Running Time: 5:00 PM to 6:00 AM
Country: United States
Release Date: September 2, 2001
Created by: Mike Lazzo
Distributed by: WarnerMedia

Adult Swim (stylized as [adult swim] or shortened to [as]) is an American adult-oriented nighttime programming block of the basic cable network Cartoon Network that is programmed by its in-house production studio, Williams Street. Marketed as a separate network for ratings purposes, Adult Swim broadcasts nightly from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET/PT.

Why It's Truly An "Adult Swim"

  1. The idea of launching a nighttime programming block dedicated to adult cartoons and live-action original programming to give adults a chance to relax with their cartoons is very interesting.
  2. It has aired syndicated shows from Fox such as Family Guy, until 2021 when they lost the rights thanks to Disney, Futurama, The Pjs, Sit Down Shut Up, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, until 2018 when Comedy Central bought it, King of the Hill and Bob's Burgers.
  3. Most of its original programming is great, such as
  4. It successfully revived Samurai Jack for its fifth and final season in 2017.
  5. Some of its programming that is panned by critics is immediately canceled because the block responds to criticism.
  6. They have also improved some of their bad programming, with the final season of 12 oz. Mouse being the best example, showing that they know when to improve a certain bad show, similar to what its sister network did for the final season of the Ben 10 reboot.
  7. It is now the home for Toonami, which was carried over from Cartoon Network.
  8. It played a part in reviving shows like Family Guy in 2005, Futurama in 2007, Samurai Jack in 2017, 12 oz. Mouse in 2018 and 2020, and Tuca and Bertie in 2021.
  9. Much like MTV, their bumpers are nice to look at.
  10. Much like Disney's iconic 20th Television Animation, they make great adult animated shows.
  11. It does air old Cartoon Network shows in the Checkered Past block.

Bad Qualities

  1. As with its parent network, Adult Swim has made a handful of bad or mediocre shows like Mr. Pickles, the first two seasons of 12 oz. Mouse, Birdgirl, Minoriteam, The Jellies!, Assy McGee, Rick and Morty: The Anime, and King Star King.
  2. The block has lost rights to The Cleveland Show. The Pjs. Sit Down Shut Up, American Dad, and previously, both King of the Hill and Futurama, which all went to Comedy Central during a gambling match, though the two aforementioned shows returned to the schedule afterward. Sadly, on September 18, 2021, it was told that Family Guy will no longer air on Adult Swim, though Family Guy going off [adult swim] is somewhat understandable since the contract to air new episodes and rerun newer episodes has expired on that day, it still is not the same anyway.
  3. Some of their bumpers can range from eerie to disturbing.
    • The worst offender of them all is "The Dawn Is Your Enemy", which is an ad where the children stay up late at night, although it may be good so that the children are not awake late at night. The real problem is that this ad is known for its music, which sounded macabre and creepy to listen to, that could make someone's hair stand on end, metal cracking, and it had an uncanny art style, especially the sun. Listen at your own risk.
    • To make matters worse, the bumper came at 6 in the morning, right where the block ends. Yes, you heard correctly, 6 in the morning, which some children are kept asleep for the day, or in the worst-case scenario, provoke terror.
  4. Due to its adult content, it isn't available in some countries like Malaysia, Japan, Romania, or Indonesia. Luckily, there is a website to watch all of its content which can be accessed by using a VPN.

Trivia

  • VTR, a Chilean cable TV operator, decided to censor Adult Swim's LA feed, due to its position that Cartoon Network must be a children's TV channel and no adult content should be shown whatsoever. Eventually, the company and Turner Broadcasting System agreed to broadcast Adult Swim on a different TV channel, but only in digital and in some parts of Chile, until it could return to Cartoon Network in early 2007.
  • Adult Swim used to never air Friday nights for a long time. It gradually expanded from two nights (Sunday broadcasts and repeats on Thursdays) to six (Saturdays through Thursdays) over three years, but then it took another three to get the whole week. During this time, they instead hosted a special section on their site called "Friday Night Fix", which offered full episodes of their shows during what would be blocked airtime on any other day: 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. It was in 2007 when Cartoon Network finally gave up their last night, realizing that Adult Swim's primary audience was doing the same things on Friday nights (staying home and watching TV) as they were every other night of the week. The network saw decent success with it; on two separate occasions from 2014 to 2016 (and again from 2019 to 2020), they even shifted the premiere day for their live-action shows from Thursdays to Fridays as a test to see whether their ratings improved when their normal programming aired four continuous days in a row, as opposed to being broken up partway through by Thursdays.
  • New anime wasn't seen very often on Adult Swim between 2004 and 2012, even on the Toonami block, which was mostly reduced to reruns and was eventually shuttered in 2008.
    • For a time, it was somewhat admitted in an [adult swim] bumper that, at times, a kind of "programming spring cleaning" would be done every few months by Cartoon Network to see which shows got to keep airing, air later or be taken off, never to be seen again. The cleaning process was created by an evaluating combination of ratings and audience online-based reactions. Even to Adult Swim's chagrin many of the shows they would have liked to keep on the air were cast by the wayside. A possible reason for anime not getting much attention is that it wasn't liked by someone in charge of Adult Swim's programming.
    • Many anime titles from 2008 to 2011 aired within an action block, which received almost no promotion from Adult Swim. Bumpers regularly criticized it and episode descriptions on the AS website would tend to read things like "Vampires, robots, big hats!".
    • In late 2008, anime got a total of two hours of Adult Swim's (then) 7-hour airtime for Saturdays (and half of that was in the 5:00 AM slot).
  • Whenever anyone of note passes away, Adult Swim will honor them with a simple silent bumper of their name, birth year, and year of passing.

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