Adult Swim, basic cable's #1 network with young adults for seven consecutive years, has announced the largest programming commitment in Adult Swim's history, which includes new and returning series, pilots and specials.
Adult Swim ordered a second season of new hit show China, IL. An animated pilot based on the Harold & Kumar films is in development.
Additionally, in response to overwhelming fan enthusiasm and devotion, the beloved anime programming block Toonami will make its return Saturday, May 26.
New original series and specials:
Black Dynamite Premiering in July and based on 2009's critically-acclaimed feature film, Black Dynamite, the animated series, further chronicles the exploits of the central character, Black Dynamite, and his crew. Under the direction of head writer Carl Jones (The Boondocks), the series features the voice talent of Michael Jai White (For Better or Worse, The Dark Knight, Why Did I Get Married?), Tommy Davidson (In Living Color, Bamboozled), Kym Whitley (The Cleveland Show, Brian McKnight Show) and Byron Minns (Mongo Wrestling Alliance), all of whom starred in the feature film. Black Dynamite, the animated series, is being produced by Ars Nova. Jon Steingart, Carl Jones and Jillian Apfelbaum are executive producers. Brian Ash is co-executive producer. Scott Sanders, White and Minns are producers. Monica Jones is associate producer. Lesean Thomas is creative producer/supervising director. Original music is by Adrian Younge. Black Dynamite is being animated by Titmouse, Inc.
Toonami Beginning Saturday, May 26, Adult Swim brings back Toonami, the network's popular block of anime programming. Airing weekly from midnight to 6 a.m. (ET/PT), in addition to the return of previous series featured in Toonami, Adult Swim is also developing new original anime programming for fans.
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special Coming this fall, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special brings you the awesomeness of the DC Comics universe of characters as only Robot Chicken can, with amazing guest stars and the stop-motion sketch comedy you've come to love after five seasons of the popular Adult Swim series. The special features many Robot Chicken favorites, including the Robot Chicken Nerd, the Humping Robot, Composite Santa, and the Mad Scientist who will be joined by characters of the DC Comics universe to poke fun at those with the most impressive powers and the lesser ones who can't really be called superheroes. The all-star cast includes Seth Green as Batman, Robin and the put-upon Aquaman; Paul Reubens as The Riddler; Neil Patrick Harris as Two-Face; Alfred Molina as Lex Luthor; Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern; Megan Fox as Lois Lane; and Breckin Meyer as Superman; plus Abe Benrubi, Alex Borstein, Clare Grant, Tara Strong, Matt Senreich, Tom Root, Zeb Wells, and Kevin Shinick as the narrator. Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is executive produced by Stoopid Monkey's Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, Buddy Systems' John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, along with DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, and Warner Bros. Animation's executive vice-president and creative affairs, Sam Register.
Venture Brothers Halloween Special This October on Adult Swim, the Venture Family fills your Halloween goodie bag with fun-sized Truth. Created and directed by Jackson Publick and written by Publick and Doc Hammer, both of whom also provide voices for the special, Venture Brothers Halloween Special is being animated by Titmouse, Inc.
Beforel Orel A Moral Orel special that sheds light on the origin of Orel's religious nature and the birth of his brother Shapey. Beforel Orel is created by Dino Stamatopoulos (Mary Shelley's Frankenhole and Mr. Show).
Pilots:
Untitled Animated Harold & Kumar Project (In Development) An animated version of the eponymous blockbuster stoner comedy series. Produced by Lionsgate.
Rick & Morty A genius inventor grandfather and his less than genius grandson, and the journeys in life they share. From Dan Harmon (Community, Channel 101) and Justin Roiland. (30-minute animated)
Colonel Wallace (Working Title) An eccentric southern fried chicken magnate and his adventures with his family. Created by Greg Cohen (Conan O'Brien, King of the Hill, TV Funhouse). (15-minute animated)
Coffin Dodgers A group of misfit grumps get into fraternity-style trouble at a cozy suburban retirement home. From Dave Silverstein and Matt Jeser (Drawn Together). (30-minute animated)
King Star King King Star King is a modern day he-man who's half-warrior, half-idiot. From artist JJ Villard (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and Eric Kaplan (Big Bang Theory). (15-minute animated)
Rolling With Dad A brilliant but disabled man deals with his much less intelligent family. From Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter; Tim Burton's Dark Shadows; The Hard Times of RJ Berger) and David Katzenberg (The Hard Times of RJ Berger). (30-minute animated)
Returning series:
Aqua Something You Know Whatever What happens when three wisecracking roommates go from chasing tail to the diaper pail? You'll find out when Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake try their hands - and hearts - at raising a baby. But smelly diapers aren't the only thing changing this season - Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 has been put to bed for a long nap and replaced by Aqua Something You Know Whatever, the show where Meatwad and the gang can get down to some serious parenting. This season, the Aqua Somethings find an ancient treasure map and follow it all the way to Argentina, where they're shocked to discover an orphaned baby on the 'x' that marks the spot. Outraged, Master Shake begins to throw the child off a steep embankment but one look into the baby's eyes, and the only thing getting thrown off a steep embankment is Shake's heart. Introducing Pepe the Pepper, the newest member of the Aqua Something You Know Whatever family - and boy is he a handful! Find out what happens when three not-so-eligible bachelors catch a case of baby fever, and the only cure is snuggle time. The only nipples these guys will be touching are gonna have a bottle on the other end. Aqua Something You Know Whatever premieres in June on Adult Swim. Aqua Something You Know Whatever is created by Dave Willis (Squidbillies) and Matt Maiellaro (12 oz. Mouse).
The Boondocks Since the debut of the first season in 2005, The Boondocks has been one of Adult Swim's most popular and critically acclaimed series. The Peabody Award-winning animated series is based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip by the same name. Produced by Rebel Base in association with Sony Pictures Television, The Boondocks returns with a new season on Adult Swim.
China, IL Renewed for a second season, China, IL is about the worst school in America, where the teachers are crazy and the students just want to learn. In this second season of new half-hour episodes, we'll continue to follow the Professor Brothers, Frank and Steve Smith, as well as their TA Pony Merks & their man-child friend Babycakes, along with a host of other teachers, students and townies. Some examples of stories we'll see this season are Baby Cakes's Joe McCarthy-esque witch hunt for actual wizards and witches, Frank and Ronald Reagan's quest for Thomas Jefferson's legendary Crystal Castle, and a god who descends down on China, IL, turning it into a surfer town. China, IL was created by Brad Neely, and is executive produced by Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld.
Robot Chicken Premiering its sixth season this fall on Adult Swim, Robot Chicken uses stop-motion animation to bring pop-culture parodies to life in a modern take on the variety/sketch show format. The Emmy Award-winning series began airing in February 2005 and remains among the top-rated original series on Adult Swim. Robot Chicken is created and executive produced by Stoopid Monkey Productions' Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, Buddy Systems' John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, also serve as executive producers. Green and Senreich also write, voice and with Zeb Wells, direct the multiple Annie Award-winning series. Robot Chicken head writers/co-executive producers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root are joined by season six writers Matthew Beans, Rachel Bloom, Mike Fasolo, Jessica Gao, Breckin Meyer, Jason Reich, Mehar Sethi, Tom Sheppard, Erik Weiner and Wells. For season six, Robot Chicken welcomes Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Chalke, Kat Dennings, Sam Elliott, Ben Foster, Whoopi Goldberg, Lucas Grabeel, Megan Hilty, Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Levi, J.B. Smoove, Liev Schreiber, Jon Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Stanly Tucci, Olivia Wilde, and Alex Winter.
Squidbillies Premiering its sixth season this July, Adult Swim welcomes you back to the North Georgia Mountains, birthplace of hell-raising and inhalant huffing. At the epicenter of this rural paradise is Dougal County, home to crippling gambling addictions, murderous corporations, sexual deviants, and the authentic southern mountain squid. Early Cuyler continues his reign as America's favorite cephalopod in season six of Squidbillies, filled with love, murder, sobriety, and the secrets of the Catfish Kingdom. This time around, Rusty tackles fatherhood, Early defends his reputation as the town's biggest badass, Granny helps the Sheriff solve a series of butt thefts, Lil embraces the boring life of sobriety, and the Sheriff finds love east of the Iron Curtain. Come watch the Cuylers chase the southern dream of a rewarding job in the food service industry, all while using violence and alcohol to tackle life's toughest problems. It's good clean family fun, if your family is in the 18-35 demographic! Squidbillies is written and produced by Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and Jim Fortier (Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Brak Show).
Superjail! This fall on Adult Swim, Superjail! slams back in general population for a third season of destruction. Triple the insanity. Triple the crazy. Triple the pain of being kicked in the guts really hard. Superjail! is produced at Titmouse Studios in N.Y. Series creators and executive producers Christy Karacas (Cartoon Sushi, Robotomy) and Stephen Warbrick (Beavis and Butthead, Celebrity Deathmatch) have teamed up again to take this over-the-top animated series to the next level.
Returning acquisitions:
American Dad Bleach Cleveland Show Family Guy Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood King of the Hill
Re: AS announces largest programming schedule ever
[In reply to]
In a word, "eh".
I'm glad to hear more episodes of China, IL are coming, as that show makes me laugh sometimes, and I'm glad that the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special hasn't been forgotten, but the rest of that schedule I just can't get excited about.
I wish I could get amped about the return of Toonami, but the truth is I've never had a strong connection to the block. I watched it for a time when it was good, but I've never been one of these people who treat it like the Second Coming. I can't buy notion that the same set of anime reruns will somehow be 20 times better sandwiched around bumpers featuring a talking robot. There are said to be new shows joining this lineup as well, which is good, as nostalgia can only be milked for so long, but I'm generally not all that big on action or anime; it really depends on the shows, which are the most important parts of any block.
The Boondocks, eh again. I don't hate the show like I did when it first debuted, but it's never really been my kind of thing. Can't get excited about that either.
Aqua Teen really needs to call it a series. It stopped being good a while ago, IMO. Robot Chicken can be funny when they get a good concept, but when RC misses the mark, it really misses the mark. This past season has strictly hit-or-miss, with emphasis on 'miss', so another season of that is a mixed bag at best.
I enjoyed Mr. Show immensely, and Mary Shelley's Frankenhole has its' moments, but I could never stomach Moral Orel, no offense to Dino Stamatopoulos.
None of those new series sound like anything I'd go out of my way to watch. Adult Swim has burned me too many times before, so they're really going to have to show me something to get back in my good graces. I've had my fill of the scatological, sexist, stoner, guys-only dude-bro stuff. Apart from AS and FOX's animated comedies, I'm beginning to think I've had my fill of adult comedies. It's no wonder why I prefer the so-called 'kiddie' fare to the so-called 'mature' cartoons. And the less said about AS' live-action "comedies", the better. When the funniest show on your block is Loiter Squad, that should really tell you something.
