With countless new series making their debuts across many streaming services, it's hard to deny that adult animated TV is more popular than ever. Several of these shows are out here doing groundbreaking stuff like taking deeper looks at how to process grief, challenging the superhero narrative, examining complicated family dynamics, and, don't forget, sometimes just plain making us smile.
Focusing just on shows that have been either released in the past year or are in their first couple of seasons with new ones planned to release soon, this list of great recent adult animated TV series should get you started. There's no better way to celebrate this golden age for the medium than going to their respective streaming services and hitting play, so happy binging!
16. Human Resources
The Big Mouth spin-off series is what happens when Big Mouth meets The Office. It’s a sex-heavy version of Monsters Inc. with characters working out their urges instead of delivering scares. As you can expect, this all very much relies on its gross-out and in-your-face raunchy style, so it’s not a show for everyone. Those who love the irreverent series on which it's based may find some enjoyment in the new show.
15: The Great North
The newest from the Bob's Burgers team has the same family situational comedy and dry humor we've come to know from them. The Alaskan setting and quirky characters add a different flavor to The Great North. That being said there are some funny episodes like when Beef thinks his ex-wife was killed by a bear when in fact she just moved to Pennsylvania. This is one of the milder entries on this list when it comes to being family-friendly, so it could make an enjoyable watch for the family.
14. M.O.D.O.K
M.O.D.O.K is what happens when Robot Chicken steps into the Marvel Universe. Patton Oswald voices the titular character and does a great job playing the supervillain and father who can’t manage to do both of those right. This is definitely not PG-13 with its bloody violence and adult situations so don’t let the Marvel name fool you. Some episodes are better than others, but it’s still an enjoyable series regardless.
13. Solar Opposites
If you love Rick and Morty you will love Solar Opposites. It has the same irreverent sense of humor and weird sci-fi shenanigans. Instead of a Back to the Future fan-fiction you have an alien family living in Middle America. It might be too similar to Rick and Morty for some people’s liking. However, the series has gained a following and is set for a third season to come out later this year.
12. Star Trek: Lower Decks
Have you ever wondered what shenanigans the other crew of the Enterprise got up to while Kirk and Spock were off meeting new civilizations? Well, this other series from the Rick and Morty team delivers that in this hilarious Star Trek animated series. This is an interesting take on the universe and seeing the crew hang out and be themselves is refreshing.
11. Central Park
Another series from the Bob's Burgers team except this has a musical twist. There are some really great original songs in the show making it unique among the adult animated series. Much like the previous entry The Great North this isn’t overly adult either and is suitable for a family viewing. If you ever get Apple TV Plus this is one to check out, especially with the third season set to come out soon.
10. Hit Monkey
This is another adult Marvel show with this produced by the Archer team. The storyline is rather absurd with an unlikable hitman being killed amongst a tribe of monkeys with the only surviving monkey having the ability to communicate with the hitman’s ghost in order to enact revenge. The animation is very stylized and comic book-like in tone. The dynamic between the despicable hitman and the confused monkey is also extremely entertaining.
9. The Legend of Vox Machina
This is based on the Critical Role web series which features people playing through Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. This is like watching someone’s D&D campaign because that’s exactly what it is. There are lots of shenanigans the characters get into with them getting into tavern fights and accidentally getting themselves into troublesome situations. This isn’t for everyone but for those who like action, fantasy, humor, and violence, this is one not to miss.
8. Tear Along the Dotted Line
This Italian animated show is about a cartoonist who reflects on his life choices. The show makes fun of everyday life, like when you're scrolling through Netflix you think there’s not enough to choose from but in fact, there is, and you’re just not in the right state of mind to watch them. It’s a very funny and intelligently written show that’s definitely worth checking out.
7. Harley Quinn
An entertaining DC adult animated show about fan-favorite antihero Harley Quinn. This is full of extreme violence and over-the-top stylized action that’s definitely worth checking out. There are also some great characters like Poison Ivy who’s a great mentor for Harley Quinn. There are many other great DC characters who show up, and it’s one to definitely check out, especially for its female empowerment message.
6. Saturday Morning All-Star Hits
A live-action and animated hybrid that captures and parodies the 80s Saturday morning cartoon show. The cartoons capture that crudely animated style that we come to know from 80s cartoons, but feature content that’s not entirely appropriate. One features a dinosaur named Randy who's depressed because his tail keeps accidentally destroying property. The team behind Brigsby Bear do a good job capturing the Saturday morning cartoon show, and it’s one to definitely check out.
5. Love, Death and Robots
This series is a collection of sci-fi shorts with mind-bending storylines and creative animation. It’s very much an animated Black Mirror with each episode having its own self-contained story. They are all tonally different to one another with some funny and others horrifying. If you love Black Mirror and haven’t watched both seasons of this show it’s definitely one to check out.
4. Close Enough
From the creators of Regular Show this is an equally funny series with surreal storylines and great writing. The episodes contain two stories each and are tightly paced making it easy to binge-watch. The episodes focus on the parent’s struggle to look after their child and live an adult life as they approach their thirties. With the third season released recently, this is one to check out if you haven’t already.
3. Undone
Achieved through rotoscoping this is an amazing looking show with every shot looking like a painting. The highly realistic animation means the performances are just as great as any live-action show but enhanced. Its style is very similar to A Scanner Darkly and this is a style Minnow Mountain is continuing to thrive in with films like Apollo 10 ½ A Space Age Adventure. This is an excellent series that’s definitely worth checking out for its great performances and beautiful rotoscoping.
2. Invincible
Based on the comic book of the same name this is an interesting more twisted take on the superhero genre. We’ve seen dark adult superhero stories recently like with Amazon Prime’s The Boys and the horror film Brightburn, but the Invincible comic series predates those. A young superhero is unaware of his father's murderous act of killing his whole superhero team but soon discovers his sinister motives. Full of twists and turns and extremely graphic violence this is one of the best new adult animations.
1. Arcane
Based on the popular video game League of Legends this is a must-watch Netflix animated series. It has great fluent animation and the attention to detail is astounding. You don’t need to know much about the game to enjoy this and doesn’t rely on you having to know the lore. The adventure and fantasy is excellent, and it’s certainly an adult animation you can’t afford to miss.