Like it or not Warner Discovery is extremely happy with the current way Adult Swim runs

[aegisrawks]

Adult Swim Grows Big with Smiling Friends & My Adventures With Superman

The Man of Steel and the Smiling Friends have become a big success for Adult Swim.

comicbook.com

To be honest I am also happy, and I am happy it is still a success.

 

[Goldstar!]

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the "Adult Swim Takeover". AS starting at 5 PM (EST) is dumb to me. If the channel must operate under a single unified branding, I think that said branding should be Cartoon Network, not Adult Swim. Cartoon Network is just a better all-inclusive channel name. AS should stay at late nights, where it belongs.

However, I will say that it's good to see the channel enjoying any kind of success at all. I just that Warner Discovery had many kind of invested interest in the CN side of the channel. If WBD has no interest in growing the CN side, then they should retire the label and just make the whole channel Adult Swim.

 

[Silverstar]

By no means do I wish ill of Adult Swim; I'm happy it's doing well for Warner Bros Discovery. I do watch My Adventures with Superman and Smiling Friends. I just wish they'd show this same level of care and enthusiasm for the Cartoon Network side of the channel as well.

For those who complain that MAWS should be airing on CN, I don't think it would have attracted the desired audience there. Hard truth: CN hasn't been inviting to action for several years now, and WBD seems to be restructuring CN to be mainly for kid friendly comedies and preschool fare (the jury's still out on Iyanu), and if that means new and established all-ages IPs have a home and get the proper exposure or care, then I'm fine with this arrangement. I just don't think ACME Night should be under the AS banner as it was meant for families to view together. Other than that, cool.

 

[aegisrawks]

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the "Adult Swim Takeover". AS starting at 5 PM (EST) is dumb to me. If the channel must operate under a single unified branding, I think that said branding should be Cartoon Network, not Adult Swim. AS should stay at late nights, where it belongs.

However, I will say that it's good to see the channel enjoying any kind of success at all. I just that Warner Discovery had many kind of invested interest in the CN side of the channel.

To be honest, the article does not mention the 5PM Adult Swim slots, only actual late night stuff.

 

[JMTV]

Pretty much. Now, to be fair, I was aggravated about Adult Swim's major presence in the past because it took time away for Cartoon Network to have anything new and exciting for them. This is not a knock on Adult Swim since I don't have a problem with them at all. I just don't like when WBD over-emphasize Adult Swim than anything else.

With that being said, I can definitely understand why WBD focus on AS over CN. For a long time, CN had been going through a Catch-22 situation. Kids are not watching CN anymore because there's nothing good on the channel. On the other hand, CN refused to put anything good on the channel because no one is watching them. Cartoon Network had such a bad reputation for being the place that air Gumball/TTG all day long for the past several years that it's hard to salvage the brand that has been tarnished by incompetent executives.

At least with Adult Swim, they let shows have a chance to thrive, being experimental, preserves their own library, and embracing their own image without falling back on the market research. Does it mean I agree with every decision that Adult Swim has made? Of course not, but at least they care about animation as a art form for all ages than Cartoon Network do.

 

[Daikun]

I saw the thread title and just thought, "Well...yeah." They expanded it by three hours and are more putting on a greater variety of programming than we've seen before. They're even debuting CN originals (or rather, what were meant to be) on there. It would only make sense for the higher-ups to put more focus into AS.

 

[aegisrawks]

I saw the thread title and just thought, "Well...yeah." They expanded it by three hours and are more putting on a greater variety of programming than we've seen before. They're even debuting CN originals (or rather, what were meant to be) on there. It would only make sense for the higher-ups to put more focus into AS.

Well yeah, the new information is that its actually working and Adult Swim is a success and not just a doomed venture.

 

[PicardMan]

In terms of if kid shows on Adult Swim is really a good idea, they are shooting exactly 50% from the floor. Nobody cared about Unicorn Warriors Eternal, yet My Adventures with Superman has been a popular show. Kids' action show fans, I think it's too early to celebrate the genre's victory as Invincible Fight Girl hasn't aired yet. If that show succeeds, then we can say that this experiment was a success.

 

[Checkerboard]

Superman is Superman. For that to tank it would have to be trash.
And I agree seeing the AS brand before midnight is dumb.

 

[TheGuy]

I mean of course I'm happy for the success of Adult Swim currently and could see why they are making it a priority but I wish that they could have that same love and care for CN. On the kids side maybe go for sligthly more mature series but not inapprpriate since that could maybe bring some kids in and older audiences or really just market CN on streaming since people don't really watch TV anymore

 

[PicardMan]

Superman is Superman. For that to tank it would have to be trash.

Beware the Batman is interesting in that it tanked on both Cartoon Network and presumably Adult Swim too as it became a tax write off. I haven't seen as Toonami fans give as much backlash and "kids shows suck" remarks towards My Adventures with Superman, but it could be because Toonami would be in deep poop without it. The fact that "what if Superman was a romcom anime" is a more interesting premise than "what if Batman fought C list villains" also helped.

 

[Light Lucario]

Beware the Batman is interesting in that it tanked on both Cartoon Network and presumably Adult Swim too as it became a tax write off. I haven't seen as Toonami fans give as much backlash and "kids shows suck" remarks towards My Adventures with Superman, but it could be because Toonami would be in deep poop without it. The fact that "what if Superman was a romcom anime" is a more interesting premise than "what if Batman fought C list villains" also helped.

I think it also helps that there haven't been as many Superman animated series compared to Batman. There have been animated movies, but I don't think we've had a proper Superman animated series since STAS. The CGI designs in Beware the Batman were a bit more off putting for fans as well. I can't remember if the ratings were really that low for it when it did move to Toonami. Cartoon Network has done tax write offs before.

 

[PicardMan]

I think it also helps that there haven't been as many Superman animated series compared to Batman. There have been animated movies, but I don't think we've had a proper Superman animated series since STAS. The CGI designs in Beware the Batman were a bit more off putting for fans as well. I can't remember if the ratings were really that low for it when it did move to Toonami. Cartoon Network has done tax write offs before.

I would think that if Beware the Batman did do well enough on Adult Swim, it could have avoided being a tax write off. The Adult Swim airings of Sym Bionic Titan and Thundercats apparently didn't do well enough to help the shows avoid being tax write offs. Getting a third season is clearly bucking a trend when it comes to Cartoon Network's unwanted babies that aired on Adult Swim.

 

[aegisrawks]

Now I really want to see Adventures of Superman with a souped up Adult Swim Original budget, say whatever you will about about most other Adult Swim Originals but when they are 2D The animation is AMAZING.

 

[Leviathan]

WBD is investing in Cartoon Network, but it's all reboots and continuations of legacy CN shows. Adventure Time, Gumball, Foster's, Regular Show.

That's probably CN's ultimate fate, maintaining both CN as a brand and its library of IP.