There's been a vast omnibus of excellent adult cartoons in the last few decades; so many great ones worthy of discussion that aren't included here, and incredible new entries coming out nearly every month! But I wanted to limit this list to the very best of the best, for now. I'm interested in someday compiling a much larger list. But for now, here is the ultimate creme de la creme of the adult cartoon genre!
1. The Simpsons
Score: 20++
Influence: 5+ Quality: 5 Longevity: 5+ Uniqueness: 5
Its influence cannot be understated, The Simpsons invented the adult cartoon in the American conscioussness. Its outstanding quality has long since been ingrained in our collective culture. I don't really need to say much, because if you're not already familiar with this show then you're probably not familiar with any of these shows and you're probably not interested enough to bother reading this blog.
2. South Park
Score: 20+
Influence: 5 Quality: 5+ Longevity: 5 Uniqueness: 5
Effortlessly defining the Adult Cartoon in both its extremes, South Park flits back and forth between gruesome gross-out humor and some of the most intelligent social commentary on TV. 16 seasons in, South Park is amazingly still among the most extreme shows in a genre which obsesses over one-upping itself and pushing boundaries. After all these years, no one has stepped up to the plate against their unprecedented and unsqueamish satire of public figures.
3. Family Guy
Score: 18+
Influence: 5 Quality: 5+ Longevity: 5 Uniqueness: 3
FOX again heralded in a new wave of adult cartoon glory with this ceaselessly hilarious farce, borrowing The Simpsons' aesthetic without trepidation and empowering it with all the gall and irreverence of South Park. More recently, Family Guy has impressively been able to match both the unbarable grossness and the editorial commentary of South Park.
4. Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Score: 17
Influence: 5 Quality: 3 Longevity: 4 Uniqueness: 5
This outstandingly influential first production from Williams Street, about a snarky contradictory super hero hosting a talk show, debuted in the early 90s and invented the Adult Swim gameplan for the next 18 years and counting, even before Adult Swim existed. Its antisocial and ocassionally nonsequitor comedy was handled with craft and Cartoon Network is still trying to equal it today.
5. Beavis and Butt-Head
Score: 16
Influence: 4 Quality: 3 Longevity: 4 Uniqueness: 5
This trailblazing Gen-X classic, featuring the misadventures of two brain dead teens with a nack for music video critique, pre-empted the antisocial humor & live action spoofing in Space Ghost and the crudeness fixation of South Park. Sure Futurama and Family Guy both came back from the dead, but B&B's reputation is so strong it managed to ressurect itself 14 years later, and began airing new episodes last year!
6. Futurama
Score: 16
Influence: 2 Quality: 5 Longevity: 5 Uniqueness: 4
Matt Groening's second foray into the genre likewise ranks as one of the funniest and best-crafted cartoons in the ilk. All the classic, plot-based sitcommery of The Simpsons is retained, plus a stronger dose of flippant, modern mayhem and a setup that remains unique in the sea of shows based around Simpsons-esque family units.
7. The Boondocks
Score: 15
Influence: 2 Quality: 5 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 5
The Boondocks is a marvel of craftsmanship. It expertly mirrors the cynical, world-weary humor of Daria while coming closer than any to matching the harsh Juvenalian satire of South Park. Equipped with gorgeous, anime-inspired art (possibly the best-animated of all adult cartoons), it tackles hip hop culture in ways other programs never could.
8. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Score: 14
Influence: 3 Quality: 3 Longevity: 5 Uniqueness: 3
Aqua Teen was devised to take Space Ghost the next step further, with stronger misanthropy, more preposterous nonsequitors, and more mania per minute. And it succeeded, it's still by far one of the funniest, most nonsensical programs Adult Swim has ever aired.
9. Daria
Score: 14
Influence: 3 Quality: 4 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 4
The antithesis of Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria concerns the fairly realistic daily life of a precocious bookworm who circumvents the evils of high school and misguided adults, never failing to inject her seething disillusionment into every facet of life. Daria is of uncommon style and displays an admirable bit of wit.
10. King of the Hill
Score: 14
Influence: 2 Quality: 4 Longevity: 5 Uniqueness: 3
To follow-up Beavis and Butt-head, Mike Judge gave us a tempered and smart look at a more 'down home' living mentality with traditional-or-die farther Hank, his goofy and unmasculine son, and a townful of zany Texan cohorts. It's remarkably subtle for its genre, and consistently manages to be both fun and funny.
11. The Venture Brothers
Score: 13
Influence: 2 Quality: 4 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 4
This exceedingly creative spoof on Super Hero and action/adventure mythos, about a former boy-adventurer and his Butterfly-themed arch nemisis, proved that Williams Street isn't the only collective capable of skewering classic cartoons. Impressively, the show has weaved various references and plotlines into a rich mythology of its own. Hopefully there will be more programs like it.
12. Home Movies
Score: 13
Influence: 4 Quality: 3 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 3
Awkward, quirky humor at its finest, neurotic egos bounce off of each other as three kids try to shoot their own moves in their back yards (among other places). A similar disposition to the venerable Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, but with stronger characters and funnier jokes.
13. Metalocalypse
Score: 12
Influence: 3 Quality: 3 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 3
Shades of the bumbling antics of Beavis and Butt-head combine with the tropes of metalhead culture, accented with dazzling high-quality animation (a first for Williams Street), in this show about the exploits of an ultra-successful death metal band that has more or less taken over the world despite being incopetent to so much as keep themselves from killing themselves.
14. Archer
Score: 12
Influence: 3 Quality: 4 Longevity: 2 Uniqueness: 3
The creator of Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo brings a more coherent adherence to plot, and all the original vitriolic impiety of its predecessors, to the FX network's excellent Arrested Development-esque 007 spoof. Could this be the start of a much wider reach for the Adult Swim aesthetic?
15. Sealab 2021
Score: 11
Influence: 2 Quality: 3 Longevity: 3 Uniqueness: 3
Featuring the zany antics of an often ill-fated underwater science lab (despite no science being accomplished therein), Sealab 2021 uses the Space Ghost setup of refashioning an obscure cartoon into a brutally absurd cacophony of destruction and pulls it off nearly as well as Space Ghost itself. It ranks as one of Adult Swim's most classic pieces.
Notes:
- This is not my personal favorites list, that would be a fairly different list. The shows here were, quite transparently, ranked based on a few categories: influence within the genre (particularly when it concerns trend-setting and style-defining works, and how many new shows they inspired), overall quality (the cleverness of the writing and the funniness of the jokes), longevity (how long the show was able to last and how much broadcast replay it sustains), and uniqueness (how stark and original the show was when it premiered, and how many similar counterparts it has today). It goes without saying that any artistic hierarchy is wrought with subjectivity.
- Entries on the list were limited to the *genre* known as 'Adult Cartoons,' so other adult-oriented animated programs (including but not limited to anime) are inelligible, as were shows not explicitly aimed at a teen/adult audience (e.g. The Ren & Stimpy Show).
- Rankings might seem pretty low for a lot of shows, but I stuck to a simple out-of-five system for convenience's sake. Tabulating more complex rankings for each show would have been difficult, just keep in mind I'm ranking them against the highest possible standards. All 15 programs here are truly top-notch, incredible, and deserving of the most earnest accolades.
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