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10 Best Live Adult Swim Shows

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For nearly two decades, the Adult Swim nighttime block on Cartoon Network has entertained late-night viewers with its unique brand of experimental, surreal humor. Whether it’s their own original programming or syndicated shows from other networks, if there’s one thing that can be said about the block, it’s that it’s definitely never boring.

Although they are best known for being the hub of their original animated shows, like Robot Chicken, rick and morty, and even the revival of Toonami, they also had quite a bit of live success. Some are still running and continue to evoke laughter from the masses, while others may have been canceled far too soon, but which managed to leave a more lasting impact?

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Off The Air (2011 – Present)


A cat on the poster for Off the Air on Adult Swim

Unlike most Adult Swim shows, off the air is not so much a TV show as an ongoing experiment. There’s no plot to be found and no recurring characters in sight, but rather a series of random psychedelic images and bizarre shorts, usually based around a chosen theme.

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Although it remains mostly unknown to casual viewers due to its much later timeslot, it continues to be one of the oldest shows on the block and has developed a cult following over the past decade. For all viewers looking for a TV-induced acid trip in the 4:00 cemetery slot, off the air and its 11-minute battery life will certainly do the trick.


Loiter Squad (2012 – 2014)


Yes Chappelle show and MTV Donkey were mixed in a blender, the resulting mixture would be Loafer Squad. Featuring hip-hop group Odd Future, the show features each of the members in a variety of comedy skits and pranks, featuring celebrity guests as well as original music performed by the group.

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They may not be as well-known for comedy, but Odd Future’s wild antics and sense of humor fit the aesthetic of Adult Swim perfectly. While the show was a hit with the ratings when it first aired, band member Tyler the Creator announced in 2015 that the team would unfortunately not be returning for a fourth season as the band wish to pursue independent projects.


NTSF:SD:SUV:: (2011 – 2013)


From the mind of Paul Scheer, NTSF:SD:SUV tackles cliches from some of the best (and worst) procedural crime shows, as well as action movies, in this series of hilarious and absurd parodies. As members of an anti-terrorist organization, agents Trent Hauser, Piper Ferguson and Alphonse Inuit, undertake ridiculous and violent missions in the name of peace.

Compared to most other scripted live-action shows on Adult Swim, the comedy NTSF:SD:SUV somehow manages to be even faster and crazier. According to Scheer, the show has not been officially canceled, but is instead on an indefinite hiatus with no current plans for a comeback. It’s such a shame too because this beautifully silly and funny satire has been one for ages and is sure to be missed by fans.


Black Jesus (2014 – 2019)


Although he did not return as showrunner for the fourth and final season of his hit anime series, The Boondocks, Aaron McGruder still managed to maintain a good working relationship with Adult Swim when he created his sitcom, black jesus. Located in Compton, California, Jesus Christ attempts to spread love, harmony, and the good word of God to its troubled and sometimes violent community.

black jesus does not follow the typical path of religious satire that one would expect from this kind of premise, but instead focuses on its characters and their ongoing situations. For this reason, his comedy comes across as relatively harmless and surprisingly tamer than the controversial satire of The Boondocks, but the hilarity of McGruder’s writing still shines through.


Check it out! With Dr. Steve Brule (2010 – 2016)


The comedy duo known as “Tim and Eric” have contributed to six different shows for Adult Swim over the past 18 years, but Check it out! with Dr. Steve Brûlé is arguably their biggest hit, given that it’s also their oldest. John C. Reilly portrays the show’s title character, the socially awkward and naive host of a public access show covering human interest stories.

Almost all of Reilly’s dialogue is improvised and his caller reactions are completely authentic, resulting in some of the most hilarious and awkward moments in all of Tim and Eric’s series. The character of Dr. Steve Brule is both hilarious and even tragic (as revealed throughout the progression of the series) and is one of Reilly’s best characters.

Your Pretty Face Goes to Hell (2013 – Present)


Swimming Quiz For Adults - Your Pretty Face Goes To Hell

As a workplace comedy set in the fiery depths of the underworld, Your pretty face is going to hell is just as far-fetched as its premise sounds. From Casper Kelly, longtime Adult Swim collaborator and co-creator of Aqua Teen Hunger ForceDave Willis, the show follows Gary, a cubicle-dwelling demon who longs to climb the corporate Hell ladder, despite his kind heart, laziness, and stupidity preventing him from doing so.

Under the creative control of Dave Willis, the show carries a comedic tone and spirit similar to Aqua Teen Hunger Force and it’s an exceptional placeholder for anyone who hasn’t yet passed the end of the show 7 years ago. It’s definitive proof that when it comes to comedy, hell has no fury like an Adult Swim original series.

The heart, she screams (2011 – 2014)


Patton Oswalt in The Heart She Holler

Blending dark comedy and horror with the aesthetics of low-budget soap operas, The heart, she screams leaves viewers simultaneously cringe and howl with laughter. Patton Oswalt stars in his Southern Gothic fever dream as Hurlan Heartshe, the mindless heir to the Heartshe family dynasty, who becomes entangled in a sibling rivalry with his sisters, Hershe and Hambrosia, after being named leader of the small town of Heartshe Holler by his late father.

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The heart, she screams is perhaps one of the most uncomfortable live-action comedies ever to air on Adult Swim; unafraid to get gross and weird (even scary, at times), and completely unapologetic in its execution. For anyone who can stand its darker tone and grotesque immaturity, it’s a real scream of pleasure for anyone who needs a laugh.


Joe Pera Speaks With You (2018–present)


Comedian Joe Pera’s disarmingly soft-spoken comedy may seem out of place among Adult Swim’s generally bizarre and subversive humor, but it seems part of the joke with Joe Pera speaks with you. The show features a fictionalized version of Pera, living in Michigan as a middle school choir teacher, who, similarly to Mr. Rogers Neighborhoodcaters to the public with mundane topics and activities like chair building and hiking.

Where most of the other shows on Adult Swim’s lineup are more like the quick downing of an energy drink, Joe Pera speaks with you, is a surprisingly comfortable change of pace that, just as Pera anticipated, is more like sipping hot apple cider. It’s unlike anything on TV, both funny and relaxing, and one of the most wholesome shows that’s sure to lift people’s spirits.

Children’s Hospital (2010 – 2016)


Part of the cast of Children's Hospital

What NTSF: SD: SUV was for criminal proceedings, children’s hospital was for medical dramas. Created by and starring Rob Corddry, the series follows the bizarre staff of the titular children’s hospital and the absurdity of their daily lives in the workplace; think “Scrubs acid.”

With Corddry’s genius and crew satire, plus an impressive cast featuring Henry Winkler and Lake Bell to carry it all through, Childrens Hospital is one of those shows that could have lasted a little longer. if the creators and the network had really wanted it. for. It’s one of Adult Swim’s most memorable series, and a brilliant parody of all the famous cliches plaguing medical dramas.

The Eric Andre Show (2012 – Present)


the poster for the eric andré show

If there’s one live show that truly captures the chaotic essence of Adult Swim, it would undoubtedly be The Eric André show. Along with his sidekick, Hannibal Buress, comedian Eric Andre plays an incredibly upgraded version of himself, as he interviews and tortures his celebrity guests, and in the meantime pulls off various public pranks much to the shock and surprise of passers-by. New York.

A little like Check it out!, all of Andre’s guest reactions are genuine, and more often than not, their reactions are even funnier than his questions and behaviors that make them all stand out. With its endless amount of nonsensical non-sequences and surreal high energy, The Eric André show is everything viewers look for and hope for in an adult swim show, and the perfect one to introduce uninitiated newcomers to the block comedy style.


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