When did Adult Swim officially launch on Cartoon Network?
Adult Swim officially launched on the 2nd of September 2001 at 10 p.m. ET. The block followed years of development by Mike Lazzo who conceived the idea between 1994 and 2001.
Questions about Adult Swim
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who created Adult Swim and what was their role in its development?
Mike Lazzo served as the network's original head programmer and conceived the idea for Adult Swim between 1994 and 2001. He considered names like Parental Warning and Parental Block before settling on Adult Swim to reference pool time intervals when only adults are allowed.
What happened during the Boston Mooninite panic of 2007 involving Adult Swim?
The Boston Mooninite panic occurred on the 31st of January 2007 when police identified LED placards resembling characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force as improvised explosive devices. Two men Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens were arrested for placing hoax devices in ten cities including New York City Los Angeles Chicago Houston Atlanta Seattle Portland Austin San Francisco and Philadelphia.
How has Adult Swim expanded its broadcast hours since its inception?
Adult Swim initially ran from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am ET on Sunday nights with repeats on Thursday nights before expanding significantly over two decades. The block moved its start time to 5:00 p.m. on the 28th of August 2023 eclipsing Cartoon Network's daily runtime for the first time.
Which shows did Adult Swim revive or help launch after their initial cancellation?
Adult Swim played a crucial role in reviving cancelled shows like Family Guy which debuted on the 20th of April 2003 becoming the top-rated program dominating late night viewing. Futurama also found new life through Adult Swim with exclusive pay-TV syndication rights obtained in September 2002 for a reported $10 million.