10 Best Adult Swim Shows Of The 2000s, According To IMDb

Adult Swim is Cartoon Network’s adult and raunchy cousin, hosting some classic yet 13 and up humor. Here are some of the best from the early 2000s.

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Adult Swim has long served as the edgier, raunchier counterpart to the kid-friendly Cartoon Network, with shows catering mainly to a teenage and adult demographic.

With its slew of bizarre, surrealist, and often graphic programming, the network has drawn 10s of millions of viewers and has pushed the boundaries of animation. Along with classics like South Park and Family Guy, it’s been the main driver in popularizing adult-themed animation.

While this late-night block on Cartoon Network is still going strong, the 2000s were something of a golden era for the program. It really hit the ground running when it launched in 2001, cranking out hit after hits like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Venture Bros., and further strengthened its lineup with existing properties like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.

Let’s take a look at the 10 best shows of this memorable era of Adult Swim, according to Imdb.com.

10 Superjail! (7.7)

There are few programs that better exemplify Adult Swim’s brand of insane, surreal, and often-crude shows than Superjail! As you’d imagine from a premise involving a jail full of nutty inmates and staff, there is no shortage of crazy shenanigans to be had here.

There’s much that goes on – from the off-kilter character designs to the warped style of animation and general chaos – that it’ll usually take more than one viewing to absorb everything. To get a grasp on just how bonkers this show can be, episode plots include the Warden trying to sell prisoners’ body parts for cash, as well as a weather-controlling robot.

9 Robot Chicken (7.7)

Who would have thought that one of the most enduring and hilarious programs on Adult Swim would come in the form of a stop motion show featuring action figures? Seth Green and Matthew Senreich’s charming sketch comedy romp features tons of funny capsule comedy bits flung at the viewer in rapid-fire fashion.

Debuting all the way back in 2005, Robot Chicken is still going strong, making audiences laugh with goofy gags, clever zingers, and hilarious spoofs crammed into 15-minute episodes. The show has largely thrived with his memorable parody sketches, which range from Star Wars to Batman to The Simpsons, and has featured a slew of celebrity guests voicing themselves or fictional figures.

8 Moral Orel (7.8)

Speaking of stop motion greats on Adult Swim, Moral Orel utilizes a similar style for its comedic animation. Rather than jump between a host of different properties, though, this is a singular, original program that’s essentially a parody of the kid’s claymation show from the 60s, Davey and Goliath. Yet, the themes, topics, and gags here are far closer to the lude, raunchy humor you might find in South Park.

The series acts as a clever satire of the often clean-cut, stuffy ways of Middle American suburbia and religious fundamentalism. Despite the cheap imagery and shock laughs, Moral Orel can be surprisingly nuanced and takes on some rather deep topics.

7 Space Ghost Coast To Coast (7.9)

Yes, this iconic show for Adult Swim actually began back in 1994 as one of the long adult-themed programs on Cartoon Network. Still, it did get revived for the launch of Adult Swim, lasting until 2004 as one of the highlights of the late-night block’s early days, so we feel it warrants inclusion here. The charmingly zany Space Ghost is significant for a number of reasons.

Space Ghost and his odd companions come from an obscure Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the ’60s and became a staple for Adult Swim. This unique parody talk show would birth and inspire a number of other programs like Harvey Birdman and Cartoon Planet. The show featured some funny back-and-forths with all sorts of guests, ranging from Rob Zombie to Buzz Aldrin.

6 Sealab 2021 (7.9)

Taking a page out of the Space Ghost playbook, Adam Reed and Matt Thompson used another old Hanna-Barbera IP from decades past as the launchpad for this quirky animated comedy. This time, the target was the short-lived Sealab 2020, whose stock footage was used, recycled, and tinkered with to provide the foundation for this wacky cartoon.

Given the limitations of the footage, this show focused on more static situational comedy than action, despite the unique submarine setting. Yet, that’s part of what made Sealab 2021 so funny – along with the random, hilarious dialogue that was dubbed over the original recordings. The random wackiness and satire in this show dating back to 2000 helped established a distinct style for Adult Swim still used today.

5 Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law (8.0)

While Space Ghost had gone off to be a talk show host, another Hanna-Barbera superhero, Birdman, had apparently made a career as a lawyer. Another offshoot of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast happens to be one of the funniest and more enduring programs on the 2000s-era Adult Swim. Much of the show’s humor is derived by the hilarious performances by Birdman (Gary Cole) and his sly eye patch-wearing boss, voiced by Stephen Colbert.

This series is chock-full of funny happenings and crazy antics within its 4-season run as Harvey seeks to represent his cartoon clients in goofy, bizarre cases. This includes run-ins with all sorts of established Hanna-Barbera characters like Quick Draw McGraw and even the Jetsons.

4 Frisky Dingo (8.1)

Similar to our previous entry, the well-animated Frisky Dingo features an atypical superhero who struggles to balance his business with the action and chaos of superhero life. Rather than being an attorney, though, Awesome X takes on the more glamorous lifestyle of a billionaire playboy. Drama, action, and comedic shenanigans abound, as Xander Crews and his counterpart Killface clash amidst cleverly gags that mainly spoof superhero and action film cliches.

While it only lasted a couple of seasons (with 70/30 Productions shutting down in 2009) this show had a thrilling run from 2006-2008.

3 Metalocalypse (8.2)

The best way to describe the over-the-top Metalocalypse is that it’s akin to a modern, cartoon rendition of This is Spinal Tap, with that trademark Adult Swim zaniness. Rather than act as a hair metal spoof, though, this cartoon pokes fun at the ultra-masculine, bombastic cliches of modern extreme metal, and “brings it to 11.”

Its colorful cast of tough and dimwitted, yet lovable, characters that comprise the death metal band “Dethklok” all carry their own cliches and distinct brand of zany humor. We follow the band as they take on a slew of wacky shenanigans, often laced with plenty of death and gore. You’ve got funny premises like the band arranging an epic show at the Arctic Circle to sing just one short coffee jingle, and recording underwater to make an album for fish.

2 The Boondocks (8.3)

This charming anime-inspired cartoon is based on a comic strip of the same name – and it shows in both the quality of the animation as well as the depth of the show itself. The Boondock centers around the Freemans, an African American family residing in the predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest. The distinct dynamic by this mix of various social and racial groups provides the crux of its comedy through over-the-top stereotypes and satire.

The show mainly thrives on its memorable characters, along with its clever blend of sociopolitical commentary and comedy. While it hones in on issues and humor regarding the black community (often in a controversial way), this is a smart and relevant show all Adult Swim fans should check out.

1 The Venture Bros. (8.5)

As this list has established, Adult Swim often thrives when it comes to its superhero spoofs and caricatures. But, at least according to Imdb.com, the strongest example of this is the entertaining re-imagining of the characters from Jonny Quest. Simply put, there’s a reason Venture Bros. stands as the longest-running original series on the late-night block. It’s rife with creative, zany concepts, amusing characters, and a surprising amount of emotional depth.

Each episode features some engaging stories full of action and drama, which largely connect to one another. At the same time, Christopher McCulloch and Doc Hammer’s show doesn’t sacrifice on the comedy end. This is strengthened by quirky, but flawed characters like the hyper-masculine Brock and Dr. Venture.

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