Television has a mountain of content that has entertained an endless number of people. Specifically, animation has always been a staple for the best forms of entertainment for young audiences for its zany and wily characters and set-ups. Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, and everything Disney were the mainframe for animation that made cartoons what they are today and set the standard for brilliance in animation.
However, animation has evolved and become geared more towards adults over the years, utilizing different mature themes for diversity in its viewership. Combining cartoons with adult humor and sometimes raunchy, provocative content, has proven to be a huge, continuing success. Here are the best animated shows for adults that have set a new standard for the genre of animation.
Updated on August 18th, 2023 by Federico Furzan: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
16 Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man
4 Seasons
Based on the work published in Dark Horse Comics, Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man is a raunchy example of adult animation of the '90s that was featured in nighttime slots when kids often sneaked in some room to watch forbidden TV.
Voiced by Jason Alexander, Eric Duckman is a private detective who's forced to take care of his family as a single father while trying to keep a lifestyle that involves having too much fun at the same time. The show was nominated for an Emmy three times.
15 Paradise PD
4 Seasons
This wacky animated comedy follows Officer Randall Crawford as he and his inept police department try to take down cases in the dumbest ways possible while cracking on celebrities in scatological fashion.
Paradise PD is vulgar and not the best comedy for every single audience, and it often reuses too many gross-out gags that are more gratuitous than comical in its nature, but it still works on a small scale for people who are into that sort of barbaric humor. It’ll still provoke chuckles from its audience.
14 Hit-Monkey
1 Season
This Marvel series follows an assassin named Bryce who discovers a Japanese macaque in the sauna. He is fatally shot by hunters who also shoot the monkeys that gave him refuge. One monkey, however, is able to kill the hunters and becomes the Hit Monkey with the help of his sidekick, the ghost of Bryce.
It was weird and new for Marvel’s taste, but this animated show has the makings of a cult classic in its near future. The violence and surprisingly dramatic elements of Hit-Monkey are enough to satisfy any Marvel fan. Its unique and odd sensitivities are what make this television series stand out from the rest of Marvel’s pantheon.
13 F is for Family
5 Seasons
Frank Murphy (Bill Burr) is a Korean War veteran working as a baggage handler in the airport. He tries his hardest to keep his family together in the 1970s. His anger may get the better of him at times, but he still works hard to get his life in order.
Like most other entries on this list, F is for Family is a raucous and uproariously hilarious animated comedy with quick wit and thought-provoking content that proves to be an endearing, animated romp on Netflix.
12 Aqua Teen Hunger Force
11 Seasons
There's nothing that can be defined as normal in Aqua Teen Hunger Force. This is the story of a milkshake, a box of fries, and a ball of grounded meat living in New Jersey as they often interact with villains, celebrities, and figures from the past.
Oh, they also have to deal with their human neighbor. If you think this premise can't spark a whole TV show, then you should give this one a chance. Aqua Teen Hunger Force, contrary to whay everyone thought at first, is still alive and kicking.
11 BoJack Horseman
6 Seasons
Here is another animated Netflix series that gets its laughs from its deadpan humor. This series sees the once-famous BoJack Horseman try to make a comeback to his former glory. However, his blatant alcoholism and depression cause him to spiral out of control and sabotage his career.
Filled with anthropomorphic characters and a sense of realistic humor that still entertains, and with enough pop-cultural influence to have a fan base giving life to it, BoJack Horseman was a beloved and startlingly devastating show, filled with not only obscene humor but emotionally honest pain and suffering from its characters.
10 Archer
13 Seasons
What Archer lacks in animation style, it's compensated by its comedy storytelling. It tells the story of secret agents dealing with a war-like scenario as they often have to deal with their own stupidity, inability to complete espionage tasks, and dysfunctional values.
It's hard to find a show in this list that has as many accolades as Archer. Give it a try. You won't regret going through its whole 13 seasons, especially when the later storylines start exploring multiple eras of the genre.
9 Rick and Morty
6 Seasons
It’s probably the closest thing to Back to the Future Part IV that fans will get. Rick and Morty follows Rick Sanchez, a drunk, egotistical genius, on several wacky adventures ranging from shooting at aliens to breaking timelines into other dimensions. All with the help of his pubescent grandson.
The series is vibrant, entertaining and bloodily bold. Rick and Morty has its moments of disgust and awkwardness but, for the most part, it has a sense of sci-fi magnificence and adventurous antics that provoke wonder and awe, along with its humor and philosophical musings. Its twists and turns are what keep the fans invested in this show with such down-to-earth and existential comedy.
8 The Boondocks
4 Seasons
If there was ever a show that was both hilarious and socially conscious, it would be The Boondocks. Robert Freeman and his grandkids Riley and Huey move into a more affluent neighborhood. From that moment on, they come across some of the most stereotypical characters like the self-hating Uncle Ruckus (no relation) and the whitest Black man, Tom the lawyer.
At the heart of each episode lies some sort of moral that elevates the comedy into a more potent and dramatic television series. It easily balances hilarious, racist jokes with social commentary on racial division. Whether the show mocks R. Kelly or BET, it will always be a treasure to watch this cartoon, especially with its fascinating, anime-inspired visuals.
7 Robot Chicken
11 Seasons
This stop-motion show is basically a sketch series like Saturday Night Live in claymation form and with more raunchy humor. Robot Chicken revolves around a series of different sketches that are usually related to someone or something in pop culture (especially popular superheroes or celebrities).
While the sketches are short and may sometimes miss their mark, they are still well-crafted and appeal to a lot of people that love guilty pleasures. It's fast pace and clever dialogue is what keeps this show still on the air.
6 The Simpsons
34 Seasons
There would be a lot of heat if this show wasn’t on the list. The series revolves around The Simpsons family going through a wide myriad of misadventures. Their supporting cast is as hilarious as the antics that they get into.
Admittedly, many of the jokes and setups are slightly offensive for today’s standards, but it has a sense of nostalgia and charm that has spanned over thirty years and has become a staple of adult animation, even if its quality hasn't kept up with its age. It's honestly hard to imagine what the world would be like without this show that's still active.
5 Futurama
11 Seasons
From the same people who made The Simpsons, this series sees slacker Phillip J. Frye get cryogenically frozen and wake up a thousand years later to become an employee of an interplanetary delivery company. Much like The Simpsons, Futurama uses its zany misadventure-style animated sitcom genre to garner laughs.
What’s more important to note is the fun vocal performances, especially John DiMaggio’s sleazy yet entertaining turn as Bender the robot. DiMaggio’s Bender proves to be such an entertaining vocal performance for this animated comedy, that a massive outrage ('Bendergate') was sparked when he was initially not scheduled to appear in the reboot.
4 American Dad!
20 Seasons
After watching Family Guy, it's time for American Dad!. Stan Smith is a proud, gun-carrying Republican who takes care of his family while harboring a wise-cracking, cross-dressing alien named Roger from another world.
Like the other shows in the list, its scatological jokes and cutaway gags are often what make this comedy hilarious, particularly from Seth Macfarlane’s turn as Roger the Alien, with his juvenile yet witty voice that provokes a laugh every time he utters a word. The show’s brash crudeness is its foundation for fostering laughs and multiple seasons.
3 South Park
26 Seasons
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park was created in 1997, and it's still going on. Some conservative groups hate it as much as they did when it was released because of its type of humor, the profanity-riddled scripts, and the plot directions.
They all make it a show that even some adults would feel ashamed of watching. It tells the story of four children living in a Colorado snowy town who get in all sorts of trouble. Trust us when we say sometimes these guys have gone too far.
2 Beavis and Butt-Head
10 Seasons
Created by Mike Judge for MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head have gone through modulations, brand changes, and cancelations, but still, the two idiots have an innate ability to get in trouble. The metalheads with too much free time on their hands were often seen mocking music videos.
However, the show progressed into more developed plots that always featured them being the annoying kids in the block. Their fierce determination to never grow is what keeps them alive as perfect examples of irreverence.
1 Family Guy
22 Seasons
Finally, the ultimate animated comedy for adults has arrived. This series has Peter Griffin and his obnoxious and dysfunctional family go through a series of adventures with a litany of racist, sexist, and homophobic jokes sprinkled all over the show for shock value, and yet simultaneously criticizes all of these things as well.
Family Guy has become such a provocative and controversial show that, along with battles with censors and different groups, the show has been pulled off of Fox twice. It has since gotten more durability, with each season being just as raunchy as the last, while maintaining a certain level of political awareness and heart.