Adult Swim (often stylized as [adult swim]) is a late-night block of adult-oriented programming that airs on Cartoon Network. The block runs from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM ET/PT in the United States and is split into two halves, with the second half repeating the first half. The block is home to Mr. Pickles.
History[]
Adult Swim grew out of Cartoon Network's previous attempts at airing content suited toward adults and teenagers who may be watching the network after 11 PM. The network began experimenting with late-night anthology shows like Toonheads and The Tex Avery Show, which aired uncensored classic cartoon shorts. Space Ghost Coast to Coast was created in 1994 and targeted specifically at older audiences. Ghost Planet Industries, the studio that created SGC2C, became Williams Street, who now produces Adult Swim programming.
In 1999, the late night block became Toonami: Midnight Run, a spin-off of the afternoon version, Toonami. The block primarily aired anime series. Space Ghost was carried over from previous years and was the lone original series in the block. In 2000, several Williams Street programs debuted during this late night block and made a foundation for what would become Adult Swim. Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and The Brak Show aired between one and three episodes before disappearing into production.
The popularity of the midnight block and the original shows caused Cartoon Network to send Adult Swim into development under the supervision of Mike Lazzo and other producers working at Williams Street. Adult Swim officially went on the air on September 2, 2001 and only aired three hours of programming (11 PM to 2 AM) twice weekly--premiere episodes on Sundays and on encore on Thursdays.
Over the years, Adult Swim has gradually expanded. In 2002, Saturdays were added to the schedule. In 2003, the network acquired then-cancelled series' Futurama and Family Guy from FOX and grew to six nights per week, with Friday being the off-day. The two series' were massive hits for the network, causing FOX to even reboot Family Guy in 2005. In July 2007, Adult Swim acquired Friday nights.
In 2008, Futurama was dropped from Adult Swim as Comedy Central acquired the show and began creating new episodes. In 2009, King of the Hill was acquired from FOX and went into syndication on Adult Swim. In 2013, another FOX show, Bob's Burgers also began being syndicated on Adult Swim. In February 2014, Adult Swim expanded its start time to 8PM.