Adult Swim has grown a lot since its humble beginnings on Cartoon Network back in 2001. The block of adult animation and other programming has managed to carve a permanent spot on the children's network and even houses one of the hottest shows in animation, Rick and Morty. It's possible that in another 10 years, it may be the network entirely, as some alleged news on the block expanding its hours has me feeling like part of my childhood is dying.
Currently, Adult Swim kicks off on Cartoon Network at 7:00 p.m. ET. Readers might be aware that time is far earlier than it used to start back in the day, and it's apparently going to air even earlier in the future. Cord Cutters News reported that an update on Adult Swim's schedule came during the Warner Bros. Discovery upfronts, where it was said Adult Swim will switch to a start time of 6:00 p.m. ET at some point in the future.
The alleged reason for this is that children aren't watching Cartoon Network at the rate they once were. Networks are competing with kids who have access to a Disney+ subscription or any of the other top streaming services for children. While the kids aren't tuning in, the network has successfully attracted the 18 and up crowd that tunes in for Adult Swim, which seems to be the logic for expanding the programming.
Even though the kids of today likely won't care, I can't help but feel we're witnessing the end of Cartoon Network. There was once a time in my life when I lived for Cartoon Cartoon Fridays and would spend a whole evening watching Johnny Bravo, Courage The Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory until I could barely stay awake. On most weeknights, I'd spend my time after dinner watching Toonami and catching up on what was happening on Dragon Ball Z so I could argue with my friends about who the coolest Z fighter was.
Under this reported time change for Adult Swim, kids will barely get a chance to watch a show after dinner. Granted, times change, and I think all adults have to admit that if they could've skipped commercials and watched whatever show they wanted to back in the day, they would've done so. Still, it's disappointing to see what felt like such a big part of my childhood change and the cultural shift happening with how kids consume media.
Admittedly, the adult in me isn't mad about the prospect of seeing even more Adult Swim on a daily basis. An extra hour opens up the possibility of more original shows popping up on a nightly basis, though it might just be more syndicated shows like King of the Hill. It seems like the weirder Adult Swim offerings, such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken, are kept for the later hours in the night. It was reported that American Dad will reportedly be a part of the lead-in for the updated block, so it seems the trend of more syndication will continue.
Adult Swim currently airs on Cartoon Network on weeknights and weekends at 7:00 p.m. ET with occasional exceptions. Those looking for kid-friendly cartoons will still be able to find them, though the days of that may be drawing to a close.
