Classic Adult Swim shows don't connect, so this nostalgia marathon runs in premiere order, from Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) and the block's 2001 launch lineup (Home Movies, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, Harvey Birdman and Aqua Teen Hunger Force) to Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007). For one nostalgic night: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture Bros. and Cowboy Bebop.
- Titles
- 16
- Series
- 16
- Watch time
- 341 hours
- Avg IMDb
- 7.9
Classic Adult Swim shows in release order
Here is every Classic Adult Swim title in the order it came out, 1994 to 2007: 0 films and 16 series.
| # | Title | Year | Type | Runtime | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | 1994 | Series | 27h 9m | 7.9 |
| 2 | Home Movies | 1999 | Series | 19h 5m | 8.2 |
| 3 | Sealab 2021 | 2000 | Series | 9h 44m | 7.8 |
| 4 | The Brak Show | 2000 | Series | 5h 8m | 7.1 |
| 5 | Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | 2000 | Series | 7h 20m | 8 |
| 6 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 2000 | Series | 26h 41m | 7.7 |
| 7 | Cowboy Bebop | 1998 | Series | 10h 50m | 8.9 |
| 8 | InuYasha | 2000 | Series | 77h 12m | 7.9 |
| 9 | The Venture Bros. | 2004 | Series | 33h 51m | 8.6 |
| 10 | Squidbillies | 2005 | Series | 25h 7m | 6.7 |
| 11 | Robot Chicken | 2005 | Series | 42h 50m | 7.7 |
| 12 | The Boondocks | 2005 | Series | 20h 24m | 8.5 |
| 13 | Moral Orel | 2005 | Series | 8h 32m | 8.1 |
| 14 | Metalocalypse | 2006 | Series | 13h 35m | 8.3 |
| 15 | Frisky Dingo | 2006 | Series | 4h 35m | 8.1 |
| 16 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | 2007 | Series | 9h 18m | 7.7 |
Release or chronological: which order is best?
For Adult Swim Classics, release order and story order are the same thing: every series picks up after the one before it. There is no prequel to slot in early and no flashback to reshuffle, so the list above is the only order you need.
Where to start
Start with Space Ghost Coast to Coast and go in release order.
The whole thing is 341 hours. At two hours a night that is about 171 evenings.
The three highest rated: Cowboy Bebop (8.9), The Venture Bros. (8.6), and The Boondocks (8.5).
Every Classic Adult Swim title, explained
One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.
No. 01 · 1994 · Series · 27h 9m
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
A cartoon superhero interacts with live guests via his television set in this parody talk show based on 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost.
Why it matters: A 1960s superhero repurposed as a talk show host interviewing real celebrities; where Adult Swim's humour started.
- Starring
- George Lowe, C. Martin Croker, and Andy Merrill
- Creator
- Mike Lazzo and Khaki Jones
- Scores
- IMDb 7.9
- Episodes
- 109 across 10 seasons
No. 02 · 1999 · Series · 19h 5m
Home Movies
TV series about the life of Brendon Small, an eight-year-old visionary who, using his friends Jason and Melissa as actors, have managed to direct over a thousand homemade films. His parents are divorced, but it doesn't feel strange since so many other kids' parents are divorced. His friend Jason actually feels upset because his parents are still together. At school, he is taught soccer by his coach John McGuirk, or as he calls him, "that weird Irish guy".
Why it matters: An eight-year-old makes home movies with his friends; loose, improvised and warm.
- Starring
- Brendon Small, H. Jon Benjamin, and Melissa Bardin Galsky
- Creator
- Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard
- Scores
- IMDb 8.2
- Episodes
- 52 across 4 seasons
No. 03 · 2000 · Series · 9h 44m
Sealab 2021
The year is 2021. Deep below the ocean's surface, looms a vast, magnificently high-tech compound: Sealab. A multi-national scientific station with an annual budget in the trillions, manned by a motley collection of malcontents and screw-ups who were unfit for work in the private sector. They really don't get any research done, but instead spend their time bickering among themselves or just plain goofing off. The crew have manipulated their luckless leader, Captain Murphy, into submission, and are content to ride the government clock, raking in fat, hazardous-duty paychecks.
Why it matters: An old Hanna-Barbera undersea cartoon redubbed into chaos.
- Starring
- Erik Estrada, Kate Miller, and Brett Butler
- Creator
- Adam Reed and Matt Thompson
- Scores
- IMDb 7.8
- Episodes
- 52 across 5 seasons
No. 04 · 2000 · Series · 5h 8m
The Brak Show
In this spin-off of "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," sidekick Brak goes through a series of bizarre circumstances in his daily suburban life with his alien mom and Cuban dad.
Why it matters: Space Ghost's villain Brak in a fake family sitcom.
- Starring
- Andy Merrill, C. Martin Croker, and George Lowe
- Scores
- IMDb 7.1
- Episodes
- 28 across 3 seasons
No. 05 · 2000 · Series · 7h 20m
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law features ex-superhero Harvey T. Birdman of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as an attorney working for a law firm alongside other cartoon stars from 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Similarly, Harvey's clients are also primarily composed of characters taken from Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the same era. Many of Birdman's nemeses featured in his former cartoon series also became attorneys, often representing the opposing side of a given case.
Why it matters: A Hanna-Barbera hero turned lawyer, defending other Hanna-Barbera characters.
- Starring
- Thomas Allen, John Michael Higgins, and Chris Edgerly
- Creator
- Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter
- Scores
- IMDb 8
- Episodes
- 39 across 4 seasons
No. 06 · 2000 · Series · 26h 41m
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
The surreal adventures of three anthropomorphic fast food items: Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad, and their human nextdoor neighbor, Carl Brutananadilewski.
Why it matters: A milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball share a house with their neighbour Carl.
- Starring
- Dana Snyder, Carey Means, and Dave Willis
- Creator
- Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis
- Scores
- IMDb 7.7
- Episodes
- 144 across 12 seasons
No. 07 · 1998 · Series · 10h 50m
Cowboy Bebop
In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters, also referred to as "Cowboys", chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.
Why it matters: Bounty hunters drift through space to a jazz score; the anime of the block.
- Starring
- Koichi Yamadera, Unsho Ishizuka, and Megumi Hayashibara
- Scores
- IMDb 8.9
- Episodes
- 26
No. 08 · 2000 · Series · 77h 12m
InuYasha
Kagome Higurashi is a modern day young girl who lives with her family by the old Higure shrine. Unbeknownst to Kagome, she is the reincarnation of priestess Kikyo and posseses the "Jewel of Four Souls" (the Shikon jewel). One ill-fated day, Kagome locates an ancient well near her home and is abruptly transported through the well and into a feudal Japan, inhabited by demons. There, she encounters Inuyasha, son of a powerful demon father and a human mother, who is pinned to a tree by an enchanted arrow.
Why it matters: A schoolgirl falls through a well into feudal Japan and teams up with a half-demon.
- Starring
- Kappei Yamaguchi, Satsuki Yukino, and Koji Tsujitani
- Scores
- IMDb 7.9
- Episodes
- 193 across 2 seasons
No. 09 · 2004 · Series · 33h 51m
The Venture Bros.
Hank and Dean Venture, with their father Doctor Venture and faithful bodyguard Brock Samson, go on wild adventures facing megalomaniacs, zombies, and suspicious ninjas, all for the glory of adventure. Or something like that.
Why it matters: A washed-up boy adventurer, his sons and his bodyguard; a Jonny Quest parody that grew its own lore.
- Starring
- Doc Hammer, Christopher McCulloch, and Patrick Warburton
- Creator
- Doc Hammer and Christopher McCulloch
- Scores
- IMDb 8.6
- Episodes
- 81 across 7 seasons
No. 10 · 2005 · Series · 25h 7m
Squidbillies
Squidbillies is an animated television series about the Cuylers, an impoverished family of anthropomorphic hillbilly mud squids living in the Appalachian region of Georgia's mountains. The show is produced by Williams Street Studios for the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network and premiered on October 16, 2005. It is written by Dave Willis, co-creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Jim Fortier, previously of The Brak Show, both of whom worked on the Adult Swim series Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The animation is done by Awesome Incorporated, with background design by Ben Prisk.
Why it matters: A family of hillbilly squids in North Georgia.
- Starring
- Dana Snyder, Daniel McDevitt, and Dave Willis
- Creator
- Jim Fortier, Matt Maiellaro, and Dave Willis
- Scores
- IMDb 6.7
- Episodes
- 132 across 13 seasons
No. 11 · 2005 · Series · 42h 50m
Robot Chicken
A series of pop-culture parodies using stop-motion animation of toys, action figures and dolls. The title character was an ordinary chicken until he was run down by a car and subsequently brought back to life in cyborg form by mad scientist Fritz Huhnmorder, who tortures Robot Chicken by forcing him to watch a random selection of TV shows, the sketches that make up the body of each episode.
Why it matters: Rapid stop-motion sketches with action figures.
- Starring
- Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Breckin Meyer
- Creator
- Seth Green and Matthew Senreich
- Scores
- IMDb 7.7
- Episodes
- 218 across 11 seasons
No. 12 · 2005 · Series · 20h 24m
The Boondocks
When Robert “Granddad” Freeman becomes legal guardian to his two grandsons, he moves from the tough south side of Chicago to the upscale neighborhood of Woodcrest (a.k.a. "The Boondocks") so he can enjoy his golden years in safety and comfort. But with Huey, a 10-year-old leftist revolutionary, and his eight-year-old misfit brother, Riley, suburbia is about to be shaken up.
Why it matters: Two brothers from Chicago move to the suburbs with their grandfather; sharp satire from Aaron McGruder.
- Starring
- Regina King, John Witherspoon, and Cedric Yarbrough
- Creator
- Aaron McGruder
- Scores
- IMDb 8.5
- Episodes
- 55 across 4 seasons
No. 13 · 2005 · Series · 8h 32m
Moral Orel
Orel is an 11-year-old boy who loves church. His unbridled enthusiasm for piousness and his misinterpretation of religious morals often lead to disastrous results, including self-mutilation and crack addiction. No matter how much trouble he gets into, his reverence always keeps him cheery.
Why it matters: A stop-motion boy tries to live by the Sunday sermons; it turns darker every season.
- Starring
- Carolyn Lawrence, Scott Adsit, and Britta Phillips
- Creator
- Dino Stamatopoulos
- Scores
- IMDb 8.1
- Episodes
- 43 across 3 seasons
No. 14 · 2006 · Series · 13h 35m
Metalocalypse
Part-American, part-Scandinavian death-metal band Dethklok has a lingering effect on its fans, who take the words seriously and do anything Dethklok lyrics say. The government fears the band's influence and sets out to destroy it by covert means; for example, by sending military pharmaceutical psychotropic drug manufacturers. Deemed sociopaths for tossing hot coffee at their concert attendees, two of the band members are alcoholics, and they all have self-esteem issues.
Why it matters: Dethklok, the biggest band in the world, and the destruction they leave behind.
- Starring
- Mark Hamill, Victor Brandt, and Brendon Small
- Creator
- Brendon Small
- Scores
- IMDb 8.3
- Episodes
- 62 across 4 seasons
No. 15 · 2006 · Series · 4h 35m
Frisky Dingo
Alien supervillain Killface wants to destroy Earth. Billionaire playboy Xander Crews realizes he can make more money if he stops him. Who will win?
Why it matters: A supervillain and a billionaire superhero, both terrible at it; from the makers of Archer.
- Starring
- Adam Reed, Christian Danley, and Kate Miller
- Creator
- Matt Thompson and Adam Reed
- Scores
- IMDb 8.1
- Episodes
- 25 across 2 seasons
No. 16 · 2007 · Series · 9h 18m
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim comedy block and ran until May 2010. The program features surrealistic and often satirical humor, public-access television–style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials, and editing and special effects chosen to make the show appear camp. The program featured a wide range of actors, spanning from stars such as Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Will Forte and Zach Galifianakis, to alternative comedians like Neil Hamburger, to television actors like Alan Thicke, celebrity look-alikes and impressionists. The creators of the show have described it as "the nightmare version of television."
Why it matters: Sketch comedy built from fake ads and public-access television.
- Starring
- Eric Wareheim, Tim Heidecker, and John C. Reilly
- Creator
- Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker
- Scores
- IMDb 7.7
- Episodes
- 50 across 5 seasons
The best and worst rated Classic Adult Swim shows
Across 16 rated titles, Adult Swim Classics averages 7.9 on IMDb. The top of the list is Cowboy Bebop at 8.9, then The Venture Bros. (8.6) and The Boondocks (8.5). At the bottom: Squidbillies (6.7) and The Brak Show (7.1).
- Cowboy Bebop8.9
- The Venture Bros.8.6
- The Boondocks8.5
- Metalocalypse8.3
- Home Movies8.2
- Moral Orel8.1
- Frisky Dingo8.1
- Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law8
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast7.9
- InuYasha7.9
Who appears in the most Classic Adult Swim shows
Dave Willis leads with 4 appearances as Meatwad and Carl, ahead of George Lowe (3) and C. Martin Croker (3). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.
| Actor | Role | Titles | First and latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Willis | Meatwad / Carl | 4 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) to Squidbillies (2005) |
| George Lowe | Space Ghost / Dad | 3 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) to Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) |
| C. Martin Croker | Zorak / Moltar | 3 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) to Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) |
| Andy Merrill | Lokar / Brak | 3 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) to Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) |
| Brendon Small | Brendon Small / Action Johnny | 3 | Home Movies (1999) to Metalocalypse (2006) |
| MC Chris | Hesh / Clarance | 3 | Sealab 2021 (2000) to Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) |
| Dana Snyder | Master Shake / Dog-Man | 3 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) to Squidbillies (2005) |
| Don Kennedy | Tansut | 2 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) to The Brak Show (2000) |
| Kate Miller | Debbie / Grace Ryan | 2 | Sealab 2021 (2000) to Frisky Dingo (2006) |
| Adam Reed | Killface / Xander Crews | 2 | Sealab 2021 (2000) to Frisky Dingo (2006) |
| Carey Means | Thundercleese / Frylock | 2 | The Brak Show (2000) to Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) |
Classic Adult Swim directors and creators
19 filmmakers have directed or created Adult Swim Classics; Brendon Small has the most, with 2.
- Brendon SmallHome Movies (1999) and Metalocalypse (2006)
- Adam ReedSealab 2021 (2000) and Frisky Dingo (2006)
- Matt ThompsonSealab 2021 (2000) and Frisky Dingo (2006)
- Matt MaiellaroAqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) and Squidbillies (2005)
- Dave WillisAqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) and Squidbillies (2005)
- Mike LazzoSpace Ghost Coast to Coast (1994)
- Khaki JonesSpace Ghost Coast to Coast (1994)
- Loren BouchardHome Movies (1999)
- Michael OuweleenHarvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000)
- Erik RichterHarvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000)
- Doc HammerThe Venture Bros. (2004)
- Christopher McCullochThe Venture Bros. (2004)
- Jim FortierSquidbillies (2005)
- Seth GreenRobot Chicken (2005)
- Matthew SenreichRobot Chicken (2005)
- Aaron McGruderThe Boondocks (2005)
How long it takes to watch every Classic Adult Swim show
All 16 titles add up to 341 hours. That is about 171 two-hour evenings, or 35 days of ten-hour binges.
Start the first series and see if it hooks you.
Everything takes about 11 months.
Track what you've watched on the timeline and it counts the hours left.
Common questions
What order should I watch the Classic Adult Swim shows in?
Classic Adult Swim shows don't connect, so this nostalgia marathon runs in premiere order, from Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) and the block's 2001 launch lineup (Home Movies, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, Harvey Birdman and Aqua Teen Hunger Force) to Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007). For one nostalgic night: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture Bros. and Cowboy Bebop.
How many Classic Adult Swim movies and shows are there?
There are 16 titles in the Adult Swim Classics franchise: 0 films and 16 series, released from 1994 to 2007.
How long does it take to watch all the Classic Adult Swim shows?
About 341 hours for all 16 titles, counting every episode.
What is the first Classic Adult Swim title in chronological order?
Space Ghost Coast to Coast, set in A talk show on Ghost Planet. In release order the first is Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994).
What is the best Classic Adult Swim title?
By IMDb score, Cowboy Bebop (1998) at 8.9, followed by The Venture Bros. at 8.6.
Who has appeared in the most Classic Adult Swim shows?
Dave Willis, in 4 of them as Meatwad.
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