Animation has never belonged exclusively to kids. Some of television’s funniest comedies, darkest dramas, strangest experiments, and most ambitious fantasy stories have been animated, with creators using the format to go places live action simply couldn’t. From decades-old institutions like The Simpsons and South Park to newer favorites like Arcane and Blue Eye Samurai, these 30 shows prove how much variety adult animation has to offer. They’re presented in no particular order.
BoJack Horseman
What begins as a comedy about a washed-up anthropomorphic horse gradually becomes a surprisingly painful look at mental illness, addiction, fame, and the damage people can do to those around them. BoJack Horseman somehow remained very funny even at its darkest.
The Simpsons
Few animated shows have had anything close to the cultural impact of The Simpsons. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and the rest of Springfield turned a satire of the American family into one of television’s defining comedies.
Arcane
You don’t need to know anything about League of Legends to get pulled into Arcane. Its gorgeous animation, complicated relationship between sisters Vi and Jinx, and richly built cities of Piltover and Zaun make it stand on its own.
South Park
South Park has spent decades finding new ways to offend, surprise, and comment on whatever happens to be dominating the news. Its incredibly fast production schedule has always been part of what makes its satire feel so immediate.
Futurama
A pizza delivery guy waking up 1,000 years in the future gave Futurama an endless supply of sci-fi jokes and ridiculous adventures. What really keeps people coming back, though, is how unexpectedly emotional the show can be.
Blue Eye Samurai
A revenge story set in historical Japan, Blue Eye Samurai combines beautifully stylized animation with brutal sword fights and characters who are much more complicated than they initially seem.
King of the Hill
Compared with most adult cartoons, King of the Hill is wonderfully ordinary. Hank Hill and his neighbors can turn propane, lawn care, parenting, or a trip to the store into comedy simply by taking everyday life extremely seriously.
Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty can jump between universes, destroy entire planets, and turn a ridiculous sci-fi concept into an existential crisis within the same episode. Beneath the chaos are surprisingly involved character arcs and some genuinely dark ideas.
Daria
Daria Morgendorffer survived high school mostly through sarcasm, intelligence, and a permanent expression of disappointment. The show’s dry take on teenage life remains one of the most distinctive things MTV ever produced.
Invincible
Invincible looks like a colorful superhero cartoon right up until it very much doesn’t. Its extreme violence gets plenty of attention, but the twists, relationships, and increasingly complicated superhero world are what make the series so addictive.
Bob’s Burgers
The Belchers may barely keep their restaurant running, but they’re one of animation’s most lovable families. Bob’s Burgers finds most of its humor in their weird personalities, everyday problems, and obvious affection for one another.
Cowboy Bebop
Space bounty hunters, film-noir atmosphere, Western influences, stylish action, and one of anime’s most famous jazz-heavy soundtracks all meet in Cowboy Bebop. Its small crew of damaged characters gives the stylish surface plenty of emotional weight.
Archer
Sterling Archer is technically an elite secret agent, although his behavior frequently suggests otherwise. Archer takes the sleek world of spy fiction and fills it with egos, workplace grudges, terrible decisions, and extremely quotable dialogue.
Primal
A caveman and a dinosaur trying to survive together sounds simple, and Primal barely needs dialogue to make the premise work. Its violent action and stunning visual storytelling give the show an emotional intensity that can catch viewers off guard.
The Boondocks
Huey and Riley Freeman’s move from Chicago to the suburbs became the foundation for some of adult animation’s sharpest social and political satire. The show could be outrageous, confrontational, and extremely funny all at once.
Love, Death & Robots
Every episode can look and feel completely different from the one before it. This anthology jumps through sci-fi, horror, comedy, dystopia, and fantasy while giving animators the freedom to experiment with wildly different visual styles.
Family Guy
Peter Griffin and his deeply dysfunctional family helped make cutaway gags and rapid-fire pop-culture references a defining part of modern animated comedy. Few shows are as willing to chase a joke somewhere completely unrelated to the actual plot.
Castlevania
Netflix’s adaptation turned the famous video game series into a bloody gothic fantasy about Trevor Belmont, Sypha, Alucard, and Dracula. The action is vicious, but the larger story and character relationships give it much more to offer than monster fighting alone.
Scavengers Reign
Few animated worlds feel as genuinely alien as the planet in Scavengers Reign. Its stranded survivors encounter creatures and ecosystems that are beautiful, horrifying, and unlike almost anything else in television science fiction.
American Dad!
What began with obvious comparisons to Family Guy eventually developed into its own wonderfully bizarre comedy. The Smith family is already strange enough before adding a talking fish and Roger, an alien with seemingly unlimited disguises.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners takes viewers into the neon-soaked brutality of Night City through David Martinez and the gang he falls in with. It’s fast, violent, stylish, and far more emotionally cruel than its colorful appearance initially suggests.
The Venture Bros.
What started as a parody of old adventure cartoons grew into an enormous universe of superheroes, villains, scientists, and deeply dysfunctional families. Even minor characters eventually developed histories and storylines of their own.
Harley Quinn
Harley finally gets away from the Joker and tries to make a name for herself in Gotham, producing a much funnier superhero story than that description might suggest. The show happily mixes graphic violence with relationship comedy and DC deep cuts.
Aggretsuko
Retsuko looks like an adorable office-working red panda, right up until she starts screaming death metal at karaoke to release her frustration. That absurd combination became a clever way to tackle work, sexism, relationships, and burnout.
Moral Orel
The stop-motion style initially makes Moral Orel resemble an innocent religious children’s program. That appearance becomes increasingly misleading as the series explores alcoholism, hypocrisy, and some remarkably dark family drama.
Smiling Friends
The employees of Smiling Friends have a simple mission: make people happy. Their clients just happen to inhabit one of the strangest animated worlds imaginable, filled with grotesque designs and wonderfully unpredictable comedy.
Undone
Using rotoscope animation, Undone follows Alma as she investigates her father’s death while her perception of time and reality begins to shift. The unusual visuals fit perfectly with a story interested in grief, mental health, family, and identity.
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
Fionna and Cake takes the world of Adventure Time and grows up alongside the audience that originally loved it. The multiverse adventure is more violent and mature while keeping the imagination and emotional sincerity of its predecessor.
Hazbin Hotel
A hotel in the Underworld dedicated to rehabilitating demons is already a wonderfully strange setup. Hazbin Hotel piles musical numbers, horror, comedy, bright character designs, and surprisingly elaborate lore on top of it.
Beavis and Butt-Head
Two metal-loving teenage idiots sitting around, mocking things, and avoiding responsibility somehow became one of the defining cartoons of the 1990s. Its celebration of slacker stupidity has proven remarkably durable over the years.
