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[J-Tier]

I set aside some time recently to finish Samurai Jack season 5 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It would be great if they revisited some of their shows from early 2000s and the 90s, and give them the full Adult Swim treatment.

For Example:

I think that Courage the Cowardly Dog would benefit greatly from this. It was already an unsettling and creepy show, but they could go darker and scarier and really capture the loneliness and isolation of living in a small town in the middle of Nowhere.

I also think the Powerpuff Girls would benefit from this. I didn't watch the reboot. Core demographics was probably young girls, however I'm sure a lot of guys growing up also watched it. It was a good superhero cartoon after all. Possibly aging them up and having more mature themes would work well.

What shows do you guys think would benefit from this treatment?

Here's a list of original CN shows from the mid-2000s and earlier:
Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, I am Weasel, The Powerpuff Girls; Ed, Edd and Eddy; Mike, Lu and Og, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Sheep in the Big City, Time Squad, Samurai Jack, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones, Codename Kids Next Door, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Evil Con Carne, Megas XLR, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Ben 10

 

[SigmasonicX]

I don't think pure comedies would benefit much from a revival like this. The only older CN shows that should be brought back as TV-14 are Megas XLR and Sym-Bionic Titan, and both are legally impossible to bring back from my understanding.

 

[Brazil]

I don't think pure comedies would benefit much from a revival like this. The only older CN shows that should be brought back as TV-14 are Megas XLR and Sym-Bionic Titan, and both are legally impossible to bring back from my understanding.

That'd be pretty cool.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Would rather have more original animated shows and adaptations (Hellboy, Moon Knight etc.) aimed at adult audiences. I don't think most of those shows would work the way Samurai Jack did.

 

[Bronx-Man]

I always felt like Regular Show belonged on Adult Swim. Could've been a more laidback version of ATHF.

 

[J-Tier]

I don't think pure comedies would benefit much from a revival like this. The only older CN shows that should be brought back as TV-14 are Megas XLR and Sym-Bionic Titan, and both are legally impossible to bring back from my understanding.

I guess they could go with more adult jokes and stuff, but looking at what happened to Ren & Stimpy with Nick and Spike, maybe not the best idea. I enjoyed some of the innuendos in Jack S5.

 

[Raxus]

I believe Megas is pretty dead after it was written off. I believe there is still hope for more Symbionic if Genndy ever gets more free time after the success of Jack but we would have to wait and see.

With the Remake craze going on right now I imagine we can expect at least one more revival after FLCL wraps up sometime in 2018.

I always felt like Regular Show belonged on Adult Swim. Could've been a more laidback version of ATHF.

Quintel is already making a show on TBS.

Would rather have more original animated shows and adaptations (Hellboy, Moon Knight etc.) aimed at adult audiences. I don't think most of those shows would work the way Samurai Jack did.

Hell yes but the time and resources and the audience they expect may not justify the expense sadly.

 

[TheDinoman]

Adult Camp Lazlo HERE WE GO

 

[sphagnum]

I've always wanted a TV-MA Sheep in the Big City.

 

[J-Tier]

I've always wanted a TV-MA Sheep in the Big City.

Adult Camp Lazlo HERE WE GO

You guys joke, but ya'll know it'll be the shit.

 

[Ezalc]

Honestly of the old shows Megas is probably the only one that could be suited to this aside from Samurai Jack.

 

[serenewarfare]

Honestly of the old shows Megas is probably the only one that could be suited to this aside from Samurai Jack.

Yeah, as mentioned before, Megas would fit the bill, but CN would be in legal trouble if they brought it back.

They wrote the original show off as a tax loss so they wouldn't take that big of a hit on it. If they were to bring it back now, that would invalidate the tax loss status and they'd get into legal trouble over writing it off and then bringing it back.

 

[Zubz]

It worked for Samurai Jack because it followed a narrative & it was in a genre where less restrictions towards on-screen violence was a boon. If you bring back any other Cartoon Network show, the Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon is a more apt comparison. And I don't think anyone wants to be compared to that trainwreck.

There may be one or two shows that might've benefitted, but the only other ones I can think about are MEGAS XLR & Symbionic Titan which, although I'd kill for a revival of the former, were both written off for tax purposes. If they do anything with those series again, Cartoon Network has to pay that money back, which I doubt they'd do.

I always felt like Regular Show belonged on Adult Swim. Could've been a more laidback version of ATHF.

Wasn't that where it was originally pitched?

 

[TM94]

An Adult Swim Courage the Cowardly Dog would be fucking amazing.

 

[Reversed]

Time Squad revival with a grown up whathisname kid.

 

[Popnbake]

Megas, Billy and Mandy, and Ben 10 are pretty much the only listed shows I see where being more mature can work. Especially Billy and Mandy since it's already filled with it.

As for the other shows, no.

Do we really need to see the PPG grappling with the realization of killing their first bystander while trying to save the city?

I think that Courage the Cowardly Dog would benefit greatly from this. It was already an unsettling and creepy show, but they could go darker and scarier and really capture the loneliness and isolation of living in a small town in the middle of Nowhere.

How can they capture living in the middle of Nowhere even better than the original show when they already lived in the middle of Nowhere?

 

[J-Tier]

Time Squad revival with a grown up whathisname kid.

I think Time Squad could also capture the same essence in terms of the humor that Samurai Jack did. Scaramouche and Aku were good examples of how the characters, despite being goofy, can be cool as well.

How can they capture living in the middle of Nowhere even better than the original show when they already lived in the middle of Nowhere?

Keep the same atmosphere, just make it creepier.

 

[Showaddy]

Megas could be pretty great if brought back if it wasn't for the tax right off. It'd be like a reverse Samurai Jack with a 10 episode series focusing on them having to find a way to travel in time and to save the future.

 

[Veedot]

I don't think pure comedies would benefit much from a revival like this. The only older CN shows that should be brought back as TV-14 are Megas XLR and Sym-Bionic Titan, and both are legally impossible to bring back from my understanding.

Seriously? I was hoping since Jack was brought back that someday Sym-Bionic could be too. Granted I know it had nowhere near the following Samurai Jack did, but what legal reasoning would prevent it?

 

[Crocodile]

With regards to the OP's idea, maybe Johnny Bravo, Courage and Evil Con Carne could work? Most of the other shows star kids - unless you want to age up the cast I don't think its appropriate to go more "mature" (in the real or manufactured sense) in a way that would work for Adult Swim.

I always felt like Regular Show belonged on Adult Swim. Could've been a more laidback version of ATHF.

Ugh I feel that would have ruined it. RS was just as "mature" as it needed to be.

I believe Megas is pretty dead after it was written off. I believe there is still hope for more Symbionic if Genndy ever gets more free time after the success of Jack but we would have to wait and see.

With the Remake craze going on right now I imagine we can expect at least one more revival after FLCL wraps up sometime in 2018.

Quintel is already making a show on TBS.

Hell yes but the time and resources and the audience they expect may not justify the expense sadly.

@the bolded: He is? That's news to me, I wonder why he didn't stick with CN. Or is that show supposed to be live action?

Seriously? I was hoping since Jack was brought back that someday Sym-Bionic could be too. Granted I know it had nowhere near the following Samurai Jack did, but what legal reasoning would prevent it?

They sold off the rights to Titan

Most of what made Courage interesting was the constraints it was working in. I don't think it's quite the same if it's actually free to do basically anything.

Hmmm....good point

We already have Mr. Pickles.

This might be a good argument to leave Courage where it is LOL

Seriously though Mr. Pickles is GARBAGE

 

[Anung]

Gargoyles was already pretty mature in the themes it dealt with but I wouldn't mind if coming back with some cool gore.

 

[Doctor Decimate]

Most of what made Courage interesting was the constraints it was working in. I don't think it's quite the same if it's actually free to do basically anything.

 

[B.K.]

An Adult Swim Courage the Cowardly Dog would be fucking amazing.

We already have Mr. Pickles.

 

[Hidden One]

Does Cartoon network broadcast more than 3 shows? I swear all I see on their is Teen Titans Go, Ben 10 and that show with the Orange and Blue fish.

 

[Unbounded]

Really I wouldn't care as much about the other shows since Samurai Jack needed the closure. It ended abruptly without giving us the conclusion the show needed.

Only ones that come to mind that could benefit from this sort of revival are Megas XLR and Teen Titans.

 

[J-Tier]

Only ones that come to mind that could benefit from this sort of revival are Megas XLR and Teen Titans.

Teen Titans Go means the latter is probably impossible huh?

 

[Oddduck]

Cow and Chicken with a TV-14 rating would be interesting.

Remember when Chicken was addicted to cigarettes? lol

 

[Tregard]

Johnny Bravo most definitely

 

[mechashiva]

Anything to get Symbionic Titan back.

 

[serenewarfare]

Teen Titans Go means the latter is probably impossible huh?

Not only that, but they're also working on that Titans TV show.

 

[Nepenthe]

Cartoon Network has mainly been a comedy-focused channel since its inception. There's very few shows that need the less restrictive environment of an adult cartoon block so much as they need the treatment of good comedy and children's entertainment writers.

Or hell, just re-runs. We've got an entire generation of kids who likely don't know that Hanna-Barbara has a library beyond Scooby Doo and Tom and Jerry, or that the Cartoon Cartoon show existed, or that Looney Tunes was significantly more violent and racy back in the day, or that we had fucking O Canada and the awesome Super Bowl inspired marathons!

Really, I'd take re-runs of the original Powerpuff Girls again over adult swim's take on Powerpuff Girls.

 

[MagnaderAlpha]

Cow and Chicken with a TV-14 rating would be interesting.

Remember when Chicken was addicted to cigarettes? lol

That was the episode for World Premier Toons too (the pilot, I guess). I remember that one and the Buffalo Gals one. It could do for a return with a little mature things injected back into it. Though, I always loved the Ugliest Weenie episode.

Nothing overboard like Adult Party Cartoon, but how they handled Samurai Jack is preferred. I can see Courage and Johnny Bravo faring from this sorta thing too. And though I know it wasn't popular, I wouldn't mind seeing a return of "What Ever Happened to Robot Jones?". I liked that show and injected with a bit more mature themes while keeping the "School House Rock"ish retro feel and 80s setting, I think it could work fine.

 

[Adam Sadler]

Y'all crazy an one off season courage the Cowardly dog on adult swim would be AMAZING.

 

[J-Tier]

Y'all crazy an one off season courage the Cowardly dog on adult swim would be AMAZING.

Agreed. At the same quality level of Samurai Jack, Courage could be incredible.

 

[Seesaw15]

Nah, they just need to do more mini series like Over the Garden Wall. Besides the first 3 episodes of Jack the show really didn't benefit from the rating.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Bring back Home Movies where they're aimless, unemployed thirtysomethings trying to make a youtube show version of their crappy improvised scripts work as a full time job for Jason and Brendan, while Melissa has become a psychiatrist for an old, ailing McGuirk.

 

[zeemumu]

I'm kinda fine with where they ended Ed Edd n Eddy. It got a legitimate conclusion and I feel like more would ruin that.

Codename KND was gonna have a reboot a while back but that never took off.

Powerpuff Girls had a reboot but I don't know if it was still ongoing. It also had an anime.


Samurai Jack really only got it because it was never concluded and it was clearly a show that had to put in effort to fit into its rating.

And a mature Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy might be too much. A lot of that show's charm came from seeing how close they could skirt the line of being too much.

Courage could work.

 

[Ecotic]

It doesn't have to be revivals, I'd just prefer more original adult action shows with the same freedom and creativity as Samurai Jack. American adult animation has forever been typecast as having to be a comedy because of The Simpsons.

 

[HStallion]

They should do a hardcore Code Name Kids Next Door with graphic torture scenes of adults by the kids, brutal depictions of child on parent terrorism and vice versa and so on.

 

[A.J.]

More Symbionic Titan would be cool

 

[MisterGrey3000]

I also think the Powerpuff Girls would benefit from this. I didn't watch the reboot. Core demographics was probably young girls, however I'm sure a lot of guys growing up also watched it. It was a good superhero cartoon after all. Possibly aging them up and having more mature themes would work well.

Wickfield's got you covered with her "FuturePuffs" fan art:

Ideally this is what an Adult Swim continuation of the series would be like.
Something that adds a fresh new spin on the PPG concept by aging up the the characters and the world they live in all while managing to be respectful of the original program and the legacy it left behind.

But honestly though...as it's already been stated, many of CN's flagship shows aren't really in need of an adult swim "upgrade".
Most of them have had good long runs that wrung their concepts dry (Courage the Cowardly Dog, Billy and Mandy, Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, etc.), a few of them have had legitimate endings to their stories (Ed Edd n' Eddy, Foster's Home, etc.), and some just don't need the benefits of an adult-centric programming block to continue their stories (KND).

 

[Zeus Molecules]

Anything to get Symbionic Titan back.

It's the most obvious choice but all I ever hear is it's legally impossible

 

[Fury451]

Y'all crazy an one off season courage the Cowardly dog on adult swim would be AMAZING.

The regular show is surreal and freaky af already.

 

[Opto]

The regular show is surreal and freaky af already.

Yeah I don't think there was anything holding those creators back. Le Quack definitely killed his captors off screen.

 

[Sunster]

Teen. Titans.

 

[Xe4]

They should just make more mature non-comedic shows, I think. That's what made S5 special, I think, not that it was an existing property (though I'm glad Jack got a conclusion). Not that I wouldn't want them to do more reboots, but I just don't want them to take the wrong message from Samurai Jack's success.

 

[Fury451]

Yeah I don't think there was anything holding those creators back. Le Quack definitely killed his captors off screen.

Yes, and Katz was a serial killer and they really didn't try to downplay that.

 

[HStallion]

Teen. Titans.

Lol about that

 

[Pizza]

I'd be happy to see a Future Powerpuff Girls season and a conclusion for Courage that goes full Twin Peaks for sure!

I loved Billy and Mandy and KND but idk how they'd translate to adult swim. Actually a conclusion arc to KND where the entire thing is compromised at once would be insane. Take "kid spies" as far as it could go

Like what if the parents figured it out too. Numba 1 water boarding CIA agents in his treehouse

 

[Bronx-Man]

Nah, they just need to do more mini series like Over the Garden Wall. Besides the first 3 episodes of Jack the show really didn't benefit from the rating.

Yes, I'd love more original mini-series. It almost makes CN feel like a prestige channel.