25 Best Adult Swim Shows, Ranked

The best Adult Swim cartoons provide a unique brand of dark humor, relying heavily on the strange, the surreal, the existential, and even the disturbing. They’ve brought fans colorful characters, hilarious comedy, and genuinely distressing and reality-questioning content. Many of the best Adult Swim TV shows brought both heavy controversy and a loyal cult fanbase that thrives to this day as the channel has grown.

25 'Superjail!' (2007–2014)

Utilizing a goofy, over-the-top art style to create one of the most brutal and extremely graphic adult animated series out there, Superjail has gained infamy thanks to the unrelenting carnage and cruelty present throughout the series. The series follows the wild misadventures of a quirky, mischievous, and sadistic jail warden who looks over his equally wild alternate dimension superjail. With the jail constantly changing based on the whims and ideas of the warden, many of the inmates find themselves at the mercy of his overwhelming bloodlust.

A lot of the inherent appeal and strength of Superjail comes from its distinct, one-of-a-kind animation style, featuring fluid, psychedelic animation that grips the audience with its wild colors and creativity mixed with destructive torture and madness. It's a distinct combination that is rarely ever pulled off with such eloquence and tactfulness, giving the film a distinct niche among Adult Swim's catalog while also fully embracing the network's darker tendencies.

24 'Mike Tyson Mysteries' (2014–2020)

A strange love letter to the celebrity-centric cartoons of the '70s and '80s with a twist of chaotic and absurdist edge, Mike Tyson Mysteries quickly made a name for itself as one of the funniest shows on Adult Swim. The series follows the fictional misadventures of legendary boxer Mike Tyson, as he travels across the world to solve mysteries with his crew, including the likes of his adopted daughter, an alcoholic pigeon voiced by Norm MacDonald, and the ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry.

Adult Swim has always found it effective to provide a raunchy, adult-oriented twist on classic family cartoon setups, with Mike Tyson Mysteries being the perfect example, showing an adult version of classic mystery cartoons like Scooby-Doo and Jonny Quest. The show has a distinct yet effective style of humor that hinges on complete misdirection, unpredictability, and often ending episodes on cliffhangers that will never end up being resolved.

23 '12 oz. Mouse' (2005–2020)

From an initial look, 12 oz. Mouse certainly doesn't seem like a successful animated series that aired on television and got 3 seasons, yet it stands as the perfect example of how looks can be deceiving. The series employs its absolute lowest-effort-possible visual style in being able to emphasize its characters and dialogue that much more, with a distinct sense of awkward anti-humor that feels incredibly ahead of its time. This deeply unapproachable style of comedy is a major reason it initially had only two seasons, before fan appreciation and cult classic status led to a 3rd season with slightly improved animation almost 15 years later.

The series follows an alcoholic mouse who performs odd jobs around town so that he can earn enough money to buy more beer, getting into all sorts of shenanigans with his pet chinchilla. This simple plot slowly evolves into something much more intricate, as the mouse begins to recall faded memories of his past and a lot of additional mythos lore, keeping audiences guessing and interested.

22 'Xavier: Renegade Angel' (2007–2009)

Adult Swim is one of the most prominent and well-known places for people to find some of the strangest and most experimental animated series on television, with few shows making this point apparent, like Xavier: Renegade Angel. The series follows a variety of strange and nonlinear plots as Xavier, a pseudo-shaman and spiritual seeker, finds himself in numerous strange occurrences as he traverses the world in search of answers.

Xavier: Renegade Angel's biggest strengths come from its brilliant mixture of surrealist, absurd humor, as well as having effective grounded and philosophical angles, with each episode having a profound statement on life. While it can be easily written off as the quintessential "strange show to watch at 4 AM", it has surprisingly amassed an effective cult following thanks to being unlike any other animated series out there. Despite its short run on the channel and only having 2 seasons, it is easily one of the most underrated Adult Swim shows.

21 'Black Dynamite' (201–2015)

Based on the cult classic comedy movie of the same name, the Black Dynamite animated series follows the misadventures of the blaxploitation parody character of the same name. Taking place in the 1970s, the show satirizes and acts as a tribute to the blaxploitation films of the era, with Black Dynamite and his crew embarking on a variety of dangerous and chaotic misadventures. While it continues the original live-action film, the animated series is built to be enjoyed as its own standalone experience.

Few animated series have been able to blend mesmerizing and beautiful animated action while also being one of the best in the realm of satirical comedy. The series has an almost anime-esque styling to its action and character designs, while also distinctly adding its own signature flair inspired by both contemporary action films and the blaxploitation films of old. Especially for those who are big fans of the original film, this animated series acts as a perfect continuation, on top of being one of Adult Swim's best shows.

20 'Smiling Friends' (2022–2026)

Smiling Friends is one of the most recent amongst the channel’s line-up, but that hasn’t stopped it from proving itself a massive hit. Charlie and Pim work together at the Smiling Friends charity, helping people with their problems, which is easier said than done in this world full of deep-seated, strange, and uncanny personalities, appearances, or general issues.

The show is primarily 2-D animation, mixed in with a bit of stop-motion, live-action, and other animation forms. Of course, apart from its characteristically surreal nature, the show brings some delightfully charming characters together who genuinely care about each other and want to make people happy. No matter how absurd it all gets, that is what Smiling Friends is all about.

19 'Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell' (2013–2019)

Gary is a demon. All he wants to do is fulfill his quota: set certain humans on a path to eternal damnation. The problem is that he’s not the smartest or meanest demon in the bunch, leading to questionable results and putting him in literal hot water.

The show takes a fun re-examination of hell as an everyday workplace filled with demons just trying to do their jobs (usually failing at them) and Satan as a primary manager who delights in putting his employees in harsh situations. Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell acts in many respects like a typical workplace comedy, making it even funnier when the violent and horrifying subject delightfully undercuts it.

18 'Sealab 2021' (2000–2005)

An irreverent animated series that utilized stock footage from a 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Sealab 2021 served as a hilarious, biting satire of 1970s animated children's series. It added an absurdist twist to the original material and follows a motley crew of scientists and misfits — including Captain Hazel "Hank" Murphy (Harry Goz) and Dr. Quentin Q. Quinn (Brett Butler) — who stay in an underwater research facility.

The show depicts the bizarre and comically disastrous adventures the crew goes on, which are just opportunities for the series to show off its unique brand of humor that relies on rapid-fire absurdity and clever pop culture references. The deadpan delivery only adds to its comedic charm, and fans love it for its unpredictable storylines that often veer into nonsensical yet gut-busting scenarios.

17 'Childrens Hospital' (2008–2016)

Originally a beloved web series before being picked up and upgraded to a complete Adult Swim series, Childrens Hospital acts as a wildly hilarious and raunchy parody of classic hospital dramas that have persisted throughout cable television in the 21st century. The series follows the lives of the staff at the titular hospital named after Dr. Arthur Childrens. It utilizes surreal humor and a satirical mockery of the medical drama genre with its vast, highly entertaining supporting cast.

Childrens Hospital is the closest thing that Adult Swim had to a fully realized sitcom experience, with a dynamic cast of memorable characters bouncing off of one another for wild comedic shenanigans that weren't afraid to go beyond the limits of other, more traditionally acceptable sitcoms. The show even managed to earn multiple Primetime Emmys for its strengths, with the show seeing an unexpected resurgence in recent times as people have grown to appreciate its strange yet endearing sense of humor.

16 'Final Space' (2018–2021)

In Final Space, the astronaut Gary Goodspeed (Olan Rogers) traverses the cosmos alongside his adorable alien friend Mooncake (Rogers). The comedy-drama depicts their wacky misadventures as they come across one dangerous situation after another in the vastness of outer space – some have the potential to destroy the universe.

Initially premiering to mixed reviews, Final Space eventually impressed fans and critics alike thanks to how much heart there is in its storytelling, its unique animation style, and David Tennant's standout portrayal of the menacing Lord Commander. This is why it’s disappointing that Final Space was canceled after three seasons. The good news is that fans can expect some form of closure through a graphic novel set to be released in 2024 titled Final Space: The Final Chapter.