All across the internet, there's been a ton of discourse surrounding the adult side of modern western animation. These debates are nothing new - it's arguably lasted since adult animation first hit the mainstream - and even in this specific context doesn't go any earlier than the early 2010s, but it's definitely hit a new peak lately. Specifically, the oversaturation of sitcoms focused on family life filled with swear-heavy and graphic comedy, and often sharing very similar, simplistic art styles (generally attributed to either Family Guy or Rick & Morty). And while on the surface their arguments seem to check out, given the biggest shows that immediately come to mind, an increasing number of people who have actually been paying attention to the landscape - particularly within the dedicated cartoon community - have gotten about as tired of these claims as these detractors are of these trends.
Now, to understand these perspectives, it's important to provide some history. Mainstream adult animation has existed on television since "The Flintstones" in 1960, but it really seemed to take a life of its own when "The Simpsons" premiered 30 years later and quickly became the pop culture phenomenon it remains today. It still was a sitcom at heart, but it pulled no punches in mocking the society we live in, the kinds of people we encounter, and especially the pop culture we consume. And with that came a new wave of adult cartoons with similar approaches but still distinct styles, like "Beavis and Butthead" starring two dim-witted, dirty-minded leads meant to exaggerate the MTV generation, "South Park" opting for total low-brow humor that manages to still have some poignancy, "King of the Hill" being much more politically-rooted by focusing on Texan conservatives, and of course, "Family Guy" taking the general format of the Simpsons into a much more absurdist and cartoony direction.
What these shows all had in common was how incredibly successful and influential they were to the medium in their own unique ways, and despite how starkly different the shows were, their audiences had a ton of overlap. So naturally, many more companies and studios wanted their own piece of the pie, with mixed results. USA gave us "Duckman" but left it at that, ABC tried out a pop culture-heavy show from Simpsons alumni in "The Critic" only to give it up to Fox, SpikeTV debuted an entire block in July 2003 that crashed and burned - the list goes on. And by the turn of the millennium, the existing players were only further determined to expand their catalog. This was especially true with MTV, as they alone boasted a successful B&B spinoff in "Daria", the stop-motion "Celebrity Deathmatch" which brought the celebrity satire to its most violent, the ill-fated cult classic "Clone High" that launched Lord and Miller's now-legendary career, and too many more to count.
But of course, we have to talk about adult swim. While adult content on Cartoon Network dates back to 1994's "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", it was the aforementioned block's launch in 2001 where Time Warner really stepped up to the plate. Right off the bat, it had a number of original shows that were able to gain a following, some of which were massively influential to the direction the block would take going forward: the absurdist, character-driven "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", the abstract but incredibly charming "Home Movies", the deconstructive Hanna-Barbera throwback "Harvey Birdman", and, premiering a little later, the ambitious action-adventure "The Venture Bros". It was safe to say adult swim set out to make content that's, above all else, experimental and unlike anything the audience had seen before.
However, there was a certain shift by the mid-2000s, specifically after "Family Guy" was rescued from cancellation, creator Seth MacFarlane gained a second show in "American Dad", and "South Park" truly peaked in popularity. The more raunchy, tasteless genre become recognized as a winning formula among producers, and thus they suddenly became more commonplace than before. The MAD-esque sketch comedy, "Robot Chicken", was at one point Adult Swim's highest rated program, and there were also programs like "Moral Orel", "The Nutshack", and "Happy Tree Friends" debuting not long after. Granted, claiming that was all adult animation was doing does it a huge injustice, as with every program like that you also had a "The Boondocks" and "Futurama" to keep things balanced, as well as a few shows that were beyond out there like "12 Oz Mouse". And even some of the more off-color offerings like "Drawn Together" were able to hit the mark well to many people, along with providing an interesting visual style.
It was the early 2010s where adult animation seemed to particularly hit its notorious rut. It started standard enough with a new Fox mainstay in "Bob's Burgers", still a family sitcom but a likable and tame one. But within a couple years, Family Guy copycats began to rear their ugly head with shows like "Brickleberry" and "Allen Gregory", opting for tasteless, grossout humor over any level of substance and with a minimalist, often unalluring style. Even the most acclaimed adult cartoons of that period - most notably "Rick & Morty" and "Bojack Horseman" - weren't the most artistically pleasing due to budgets, behind-the-scenes stress, and, in the latter's case, trying to resemble the shows being lampooned. This trend only seemed to get worse over time, with the unappealing-looking "Mr. Pickles", the horrifically passe "Paradise PD", and the notoriously polarizing "Big Mouth". Not to say they each didn't have an audience, but you couldn't get away from their detractors when they were hip to discuss.
But if you really look at the list of shows that released in the early-to-mid 2010s, you'll find they didn't quite dominate the landscape as much as you'd initially think from all the hatred and scorn garnered online. Even beyond a few long-runners like "Archer"; you also have the Harvey Birdman-esque "Mike Tyson Mysteries", the generic-looking but surprisingly well-executed "F is for Family", and the detailed, action-heavy "Black Dynamite" - all of which have sizable followings. But it was 2018 where things really got interesting. TBS's interest in starting adult animation led to Olan Rogers' "Final Space", a sci-fi dramedy with the kind of ambitious visuals that everyone was missing in adult animation by then. Adult Swim decided to tackle a dystopian OK KO of sorts with "Ballmastrz 9009". Matt Groening introduced a new, more serialized program with many a Futurama alumni in "Disenchantment". And a little later, DC opted to bring some of Batman's secondary villains to a more adult, but still visually pleasant environment in "Harley Quinn".
Sure, overall it's not quite as varied as it could be, but unless you were really paying attention, you probably didn't realize how many acclaimed adult cartoons there were in this era. I myself was surprised just from looking up these lists. That's in part because it's really easy to generalize a market based off a few examples you encounter, but I think there's also something to be said about the attention they got on social media. The then-current seasons of "Family Guy" was consistently popular fodder, and people were also fond of ranting on incredibly short-lived shows like "Allen Gregory" years after the fact. But when "Big Mouth" came around... hoo boy, was it ugly. Despite becoming one of Netflix's most successful animated originals, it was outright despised by the vast majority of animation fans, mostly for the oversexualized content and gross-looking imagery. Every so often, you'd encounter at least one viral Twitter thread vehemently ripping into the show and anyone who even so much as tolerates it. The discourse would get just as ugly as you'd expect, and it was also probably when these detractors finally decided enough was enough.
From then on, there was definitely a slippery slope mentality within toontwt. Every time a new adult series was announced that brought to mind the low-budget style and raunchy, family-focused formula, you can bet they'll be ready to jump on it and write it off as yet another sign that adult animation is creatively bankrupt. Sometimes they go further and make viral tweets comparing the beauty of modern animation for kids/pre-teens to the ugliness of modern animation for adults, showing blatant bias by using the best of the former and the worst of the latter. This mentality badly hit "Bless the Harts" and "Duncanville", and it's obvious most of them either didn't watch these shows or went in expecting to hate them, as most who watched with an open mind came out with unironic enjoyment. Then you have the upcoming "Inside Job", which most people (outside of animation enthusiasts) accused of being a Rick & Morty clone, despite having to be really reductive of the art style and setup to get to that point. And, in a similar vein, "Chicago Party Aunt", where people only focused and meme'd on its origins rather than the actual substance within.
What's ironic is that, for all people complain about how adult animation isn't being used to its full potential, rarely do you see these same crowds propel the shows that would set a good example from their perspective. Half the time, their existence isn't even acknowledged, which proves to me that they don't even bother to look and just want to be all rant, no action. Granted, there's certainly acclaimed, attractive adult cartoons in this day and age that do generate a ton of love, like "Invincible", "Helluva Boss", and "Close Enough", but to hear many of the fans talk, you'd think these were the exception rather than the rule. But it seems odd that shows like "Final Space", which was practically everything these people demanded to see more of in adult cartoons by 2018, largely fell on deaf ears, including within much of the cartoon community. Even by season 3, it didn't have as much coverage across the internet as it probably should have.
Not to say Final Space and other positive examples must appeal to everyone, and I understand that negativity is what sells the most online, but the lean toward such mentalities feels especially egregious and extreme here. With HBO Max's "The Prince", which the service clearly regretted having upon Prince Philip's death (hence its delay and last-minute trailer), this 'adult animation is dead' discourse hit probably its most rotten, unfair peak to date. Most cartoon aficionados knew to avoid it like the plague, but unfortunately the tabloids and newspapers dunking on the series (particularly from England itself) made too many people's morbid curiosity get the better of them, and on top of it becoming the service's top trending show that week, you see many online personalities decide that's worth all the attention while genuine art like "Primal" and "Ballmastrz 9009" are outright struggling to catch on despite critical and viewer acclaim.
I recommend you watch this video from the Wacky Delhi who, on top of providing a reasonable perspective on "The Prince" itself, calls out just how bullshit these all too common 'Family Guy ruined adult animation' claims are, and the tendency to misblame these trends on those creatively involved. Because in reality, they're generally in full agreement that we deserve better than what we're getting and have to constantly deal with strict, sometimes unreasonable restraints behind the scenes. That is itself a giant rabbit hole, but to cut the story short, having to cope with relatively unintuitive tools, producers' resistance to deviate from the tried-and-true, and overly tight schedules makes for a work environment that - while generally with good company - isn't particularly rewarding a lot of the time, especially when they have to often shuffle between projects.
Don't get me wrong - there's still plenty of room for improvement in the adult cartoon landscape. While there is a space for Family Guy-style raunch, there's simply too many of them out there at a time, and there could certainly be a greater variance in art styles. However, I firmly believe that in order to get to the point we desire, we must devote more of focus to propping up the shows and creators we want to see more of, no matter how obscure or mainstream, as well as supporting more creator-friendly practices across the board. Because if we don't lead by example, it all simply won't improve. The now-successful "Tuca & Bertie" did initially get cancelled, after all, and it was the newfound attention that saved it. There's definitely a place to criticize and rip into stuff we hate, but for something that's struggling to gain its own identity behind a regressive, tired formula; I believe it's especially important to know the right balance to hit and to look into the full picture.
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