While cartoons are still mostly associated with kids on Saturday mornings, newer generations have grown up and decided to use the medium of animation to tell stories that deal with more nuanced and adult-orientated themes. Ranging from comedy to drama, the age of the “adult cartoon” is in full swing.
This week, Seth Rogen and company are giving us a sequel to the cult classic film Sausage Party in the form of an adult animated mini-series on Amazon Prime entitled Sausage Party: Foodtopia. If the show is anything like the movie, get ready for a raunchy good time featuring all types of food, especially wieners…lots of wieners. Now is a great time to get familiar with the whole spectrum of mature cartoon content, so Complex is here to count down the funniest adult animated TV series of all time.
15. Moral Orel
Not enough good things have been said about this claymation parody of the 1960s Christian cartoon Davey and Goliath. The series follows the adventure of Orel Puppington, a naïve, kindhearted Christian boy who lives in the Bible Belt town of Moralton. Living with an abusive father and an emotionally distant mother, Orel navigates the numerous religious hypocrisies and contradictions one would encounter living in an over-the-top God-fearing town. He loves God and follows his doctrine down to the letter, which often leads to disaster. A smart, extremely comical critique on some of the more archaic practices of religion, Moral Orel is a must watch for any adult animation fan.
14. American Dad
When Seth MacFarlane announced his second animated series on Fox, many people wondered if it would be a repetitive Family Guy spinoff. But McFarlane proved the nay-sayers wrong and gave us an all-new world with its own appeal. The premise—a very flawed CIA agent named Stan Smith dealing with his less-than-perfect family—is a recipe for hilarity that American Dad has kept up for almost 20 years. Stan’s children, Steve and Hayley, are the antithesis of his conservative views, while wife Francine is the family’s voice of reason with a dark side of her own. And who can forget Roger, the alien who probably would have been in jail already if he were human. Everyone is flawed on American Dad, and that’s what makes the show so great.
13. Robot Chicken
If you take the old Nickelodeon TV show Action League Now! and mashed it up with South Park, you’d have this show created by actor Seth Green. Using stop-motion animation and almost every IP ever put to plastic, the crew behind Robot Chicken puts characters from illustrious franchises (Star Wars, Nintendo, DC Comics) and popular movies into ridiculously violent, foul, and hysterical premises. Originally based on a monthly series in the beloved Toyfare magazine, the comic was expanded into a weekly series of shorts that wasn’t afraid to put Mario in the world of GTA, or have the cast of The Neverending Story throw a keg party. It’s smart, hilarious, and each episode has something for everyone from all fandoms.
12. Metalocalypse
From the brain of Home Movies creator Brendon Small comes the tail of a fictional heavy metal band. In the Metalocalypse universe, Dethklok is the most popular band in the entire world—they rule music and their actions often influence the entire planet. People die for Dethklok, literally. Despite having all this power, the band’s members aren’t very bright, and most of their shows end in cataclysmic disaster. Not only is the comedy great, but the music is legitimately fantastic. Brendon Small has actually released four different albums that are filled with fantastic metal, and he even plays these songs on tour. It’s fascinating to see the musical and comical lengths Dethklok are able to reach.
11. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Seinfeld may be the ultimate “show about nothing,” but Aqua Teen Hunger Force challenges that title. Witness the “adventures” of a meatball, a box of fries, and a milkshake who live together. When they speak, it’s extremely crass. When there’s violence, it’s gratuitous. If there’s a world to be saved, you better believe the Aqua Teens are not the ones for the job. The show’s intro gives the impression that the team will be fighting crime, but most of the time they never even leave the house. With a cast of characters that includes their surly neighbor Carl and the not-so-threatening alien invaders The Moonenites, each episode tells the hilarious story of sentient fast food items who could care less.
10. Big Mouth
Puberty, while tough to live through, can be quite comical when put on the screen. This is the basis of Big Mouth, a series about a group of middle schoolers as they navigate awkward issues like self-pleasure and arousal. Guiding our pubescent heroes are mystical, extremely horny, spirits who don’t always give the best advice on to how to operate in this very confusing time of their lives. The results are cringe, but hilarious because it isn’t happening to us. The relatable humor and exploits are what make this show a hit.
9. The Boondocks
Based on the hit newspaper comic strip, The Boondocks was one of the more important comedy series of this generation. The show follows children Riley and Huey Freeman (played by Academy Award-winning actor Regina King) and their Grandfather Robert “Grandad” Freeman (played by the legendary John Witherspoon). The Freemans move into the white suburbs of Woodcrest, and each week they tackle social issues like racism, political influences on the public, and even (at the time) current events like the R. Kelly trial. Using an anime-influenced visual style, this is one of the smartest shows that’s ever been on TV.
8. King Of The Hill
Mike Judge has given so many classic gifts to the entertainment world and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his genius. Beavis and Butthead, Daria, Office Space, Idiocracy, and Silicon Valley are just a few of his claims to fame, but this writer’s all-time favorite has to be King of The Hill. Taking place in the casual suburb of Arlen Texas, the exploits of Hank, Peggy, and Bobby Hill have become legendary in the world of animation. What makes King of the Hill so genius is that it takes mundane life in a neighborhood that’s concerned about things like lawn care or the school board, and makes it incredibly entertaining and hilarious. The dry humor used throughout the show kept people coming back each week throughout its legendary 13-season run.
7. Bojack Horseman
This is one of those rare adult animated comedies that will make you laugh and make you cry just as hard. Will Arnett plays Bojack Horseman, a washed-up ’90s star who is striving to regain his relevance in Hollywood. Despite his best efforts, Bojack is hindered by his declining mental health, substance addiction, and poor choices. This series needs to be acknowledged for allowing the audiences to relate to a talking horse that wears suits. Bojack overcoming the world he lives in as well as the mental hell he has created for himself will keep you tuned in.
6. Futurama
Breaking from the Simpsons formula, this series from the mind of Matt Groening follows Phillip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy accidentally frozen and thawed in the year 2999. Futurama has an incredibly funny cast of characters like Leela, Bender, Professor Farnsworth—and who can forget Dr Zoidberg? What Groening’s team has proven they can do is make you care about multiple characters in the show, no matter how small a role they play (we see you Scruffy). Sure, the show has had its ups and downs—it’s been canceled a few times—but the lasting power is evident, as we are getting a new season 25 years after the show’s debut.
5. Archer
Sterling Archer is everything James Bond is not. Rude, crass, a bit of a buffoon, and just an overall asshole, yet somehow he delivers. Archer and his crew of spies are always at each other’s throats while trying to save the world—lord help us. The Super Spy is played by the incredibly talented H. John Benjamin—also Bob from Bob’s Burgers—whose cold line delivery absolutely makes the character. Archer takes place around what is referenced to be an era during the Cold War, so distrust and conspiracy are rife within the ISIS Agency (no, not that one). What makes the show so fun is not only following along with the team’s bumbling efforts to stop nuclear war, but also diving into what makes Archer tick.
4. Family Guy
It really is wild to think there was a time before Family Guy was on the air, and even crazier that someone had the mind to cancel the show for a brief period of time. It’s the show that made Seth McFarlane a household name, and now Peter, Lois, Chris, Meg, Brian, and Stewie are part of American culture through and through. Family Guy takes similar strokes as The Simpsons but ups the ante in a lot of ways, bringing smart-but-crass humor, plenty of controversy, and expletive-filled situations that aren’t appropriate for all ages. Family Guy is still going strong after all these years, and Seth McFarlane still holds a special place in his heart for his first smash hit.
3. Rick And Morty
Rick And Morty has taken the world by storm and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. What other show you know caused riots at Mcdonald's for a dipping sauce? Taking inspiration from Back To The Future, the series entails the insane adventures across time and space with the young, anxious, Morty and his mad scientist grandfather Rick. In each episode, the duo has to deal with domestic issues and problems in multiple universes, often encountering variant versions of themselves and their loved ones. If it were up to Morty, he would live a quiet peaceful life, but Rick being the alcoholic, cynical, terrible influence he is, Morty is dragged into many life—and universe—threatening scenarios. The banter between the characters leaves the audience in stitches, while the multiverse plot device allows the show to constantly reinvent itself—if something terrible happens to their current reality, they just leave.
2. The Simpsons
In a lot of ways, The Simpsons was the genesis of adult animated series. A lot of shows that we know and love may not exist without Matt Groening paving the way. We were first introduced to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and baby Maggie back in 1989 (or 1987 if you count the Tracy Ullman shorts) and America was immediately smitten with this nuclear family. The show has won countless Emmys, produced mountains of merchandise, a theme park ride, some banger video games, and a feature film. It may have grown stagnant after being on the air for over 35 years, but the newer episodes still retain a lot of the show’s charm, even if Seasons 1-9 will always be considered its the golden era. We will probably get more adventures from Springfield as long as the people are around behind the scenes to make it happen.
1. South Park
This show was not the first adult-oriented animated series, but it revolutionized the genre. In 1997 Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny changed the game thanks to the efforts of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Originally animated with paper cut outs, the crude animation and obscenely dirty dialogue warmed the hearts of America. After seeing Cartman get anally probed by aliens, we couldn’t get enough of the adventures in a quiet little mountain town. The early episodes had plots that were random, but the show hit its stride when they started commenting on current events and social issues. Due to the low-quality of the animation, South Park was able to make episodes about events that happened that month because the showrunners were able to turn episodes around in a fraction of the time of other shows. This show is clearly the product of genius thinking and has become an essential aspect of entertainment today.