None of This Matters (with hosts mc chris and Dana Snyder)

The return of the kings! Adult Swim’s mc chris and Master Shake himself (and friend of ASC) Dana Snyder started their own watchalong(?) podcast for ATHF! So far, they are two episodes in and it’s everything you would expect from a Dana Snyder podcast, with “useless” trivia, pop-culture, life lessons and more! Go listen to this award-winning podcast now!!!!

Guild of Calamitous Podcasts: Jackson Publick & Doc Hammer Interview

The show may be over, the episodes + movie all covered, but our resident Venturoo Rilo and his special guest host (and also friend of ASC) Chandra Free have at least 1 more present to give… an exclusive interview with Venture Bros. co-creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer. Expect an hour plus of love and fellowship.

Dancing is Forbidden: And ATHF Exploration Podcast

(Also also friend of ASC) Ronnie is kicking names and taking ass in the ATHF community. Going above and beyond any other previous (or idle) Adult Swim podcast, Ronnie goes hard into ATHF deep dives while also interviewing cast and crew of the show such as (FRIENDS OF ASC) Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro among others. Speaking of interviews, keep your ears peeled for Ronnie’s upcoming interview with comedian David Cross.

the Swimcast???

Lest we forget, the longest running existing podcast and the exclusive companion to Adult Swim Central. 186+ episodes, 17+ years, and tons of factoids, deep dives, interviews, and mindless banter you would expect from Adult Swim superfans. Check out some of our episodes… we also have the full catalogue available for $1 monthly on our Patreon, will be unlocking some of our classic interview episodes to YouTube soon. Also… new episode? Stay tuned!

If there’s any Adult Swim-related podcasts we missed, let us know!

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT PODCASTS, ADULT SWIM & MORE?
– DISCORD – ADULTSWIM.FAN
P.S.: FOLLOW US ON THREADS & BLUESKY!

…your modern-day online firefighters return with another installment of “Stay Calm! It’s Not Official.”

In the last installment, Rilo mentioned how none of Venture Bros. (with the exception of two specials) was leaving Max (Besides the fact that you can likely find the entire series elsewhere). There was also the entire “Someone from Titmouse said something about Venture Bros. returning” issue that we won’t even get into here… but let’s break down this current one…

We reported recently that ATHF co-creator Matt Maiellaro joined Twitter. In one of his recent responses, he answers a question that came from another post:

There’s a number of ways to break this down… however there’s no doubt, the incorrect way is “OMG ATHF IS CANCELLED!!!!” What I mean by this:

• “Cancelled” doesn’t have the same meaning as it used to: When linear programming (aka broadcast/cable TV) was still the king, “cancelled” meant done. The show is never coming back, go scratch, the end. In recent years, that clearly has had a different meaning. In 2015, then VP Mike Lazzo “cancelled” ATHF outright and we came to terms with the fact that the show would not be coming back at all…
  
  Six years and two merger/acquisitions in corporate (plus two streaming apps) later, it was announced that not only would we be getting a new movie, but five episodes were being greenlit, which we presumed (and was later confirmed by President Michael Ouweleen) was a way of sorts to test the waters for more episodes. The episodes were seemingly successful, to the point where it received a slideshow nod during Wednesday’s Upfront Presentation (FYI: Where no shows were mentioned as coming, outside the previously mentioned Rick and Morty: The Anime) alongside of regular Rick and Morty, and other previous/current programs.
  
• Two words vs. an entire elaboration: There’s a vast difference between a creator (or someone close with the creator) mentioning something with a two-word cryptic/misconstrued message vs a creator just coming out and saying it. I’m of course talking about Dodge Greenly (creator of Pibby) stating on Instagram last October on how WBD passed on a full series for the show. Honestly, I once responded to a similar post like Eric Alper’s above with Dancing With the Stars, and a couple of people actually were like “Wait, what?!?” As I am but a humble under 1.5k poster, it didn’t go too far, but imagine if someone with 20k – 50k followers reposted? Hmmmm….
  
• Speaking of trolling: Maiellaro (and by association Adult Swim) are notorious for saying stuff that turns out not to be true, or even cryptic: Take this perfect example of when ATHF was in its prime: An ad campaign ran during the 2004 season of the show, wherein the characters were killed one-by-one with the caption “ATHF is cancelled” Our then, AquaTeenCentral.com whether in our forums, by e-mail, etc would get dozens of messages every month after from fans, that asking us if the show was indeed cancelled. Some of which we straight out said “No, this was a joke.” others we had fun with (because we were kids with no lives who didn’t like having to answer the same thing over and over again) and decided following suit was an alternative. Later in the show’s run there were episodes with titles like “The Last One” and “The Last One Forever and Ever” and I believe one or two other iterations where people asked the same question, and it was a lather rinse repeat of the same answer(s). In short, don’t believe everything everyone says or read into it.

• What we know: Since starting to write this, I reached out to a couple of sources and found out the following that seem to match up:
  
  1) The show isn’t cancelled; it just hasn’t been ordered for a new season.
  
  2) More than likely this is due to last year’s strike, which slowed down/stopped a lot of animated shows and work. For example, I bring up that this season’s Bob’s Burgers had to be cut down. Fans of the show didn’t get the standard Halloween – Christmas episodes, and the show has been on hiatus since early March, with the season finale finally premiering this coming Sunday.
  
  3) In both instances I heard Season 12 did rather well… and have no reason to doubt that, considering (again) it was prominently featured on-screen at the Upfronts.
  
  4) Maiellaro might just be playing it up, as word has just come out about him guesting on Ronnie’s Aqua Teen Podcast: Dancing is Forbidden on Monday.
  
  So let’s recap… what have we all learned from this…
  
• Words have meaning, and when someone’s been cryptic or given next to no information, keep calm and wait for further instructions. Best not to read into it until 110% clear.
• “Cancelled” doesn’t mean what people think it means. Reasons we have new versions of Fraiser and The Office
• Listen to P.E.:

Programming Notes:

The Upfronts – As I’ve mentioned many times before (and will continue to), every year networks on TV and streaming head to NYC to entice advertisers with their upcoming next 12 months of programming. Previously, Adult Swim held a separate one themselves and included an after part with some random musical act and or guest (of which we tried to get into for over a decade but were sadly never invited). Since the merger with AT&T, and later Discovery, the Warner Bros Discovery family have been consolidated into one full-blown presentation, showcasing Adult Swim, TNT, TBS, Food Network, Discovery, HBO and the rest of the gang (including Max). This year’s takes place tomorrow morning at 10am East and as always, we’re left wondering what will be mentioned, if anything.

Last year, we had the privilege of alleviating the AS Twitter Fandom’s uncertainty of a report by site CordCutters where the Chairman/CEO of WBD US stated they were adding an extra hour of the network on the success of a previously added hour, potentially for American Dad reruns and/or Rick and Morty: The Anime, the latter of which has yet to air. Ultimately this announcement would evolve into, yet another additional hour added, and the creation of the Checkered Past block on weekdays starting at 5pm. Hopefully we will have a better idea tomorrow morning and will have an update. For what they COULD announce, check out these two links to info from last year’s New York Comic Con as well as the Annecy Animation Festival in France.

Annecy – Speaking of Annecy, our friend and resident internet genius on all things WBD Animation, RegularCapital posted recently that this year’s Annecy will feature another WBD Adult Animation Panel on June 14th at Noon CEST, featuring panelists Peter Girardi (Head of Production: WB Animation), Suzanna Makkos (EVP Original Comedy and Adult Animation: Max) and Michael Ouweleen (President: Cartoon Network/Adult Swim). Post-Upfronts, it remains to be seen as to what they plan on discussing, but as previously noted, there have been a number of programs announced previously that are currently in production.

New Smiling Friends

Moving on to current programming… in case you didn’t know: Smiling Friends Season Two is now on Sundays at midnight (next day on Max) for your watching pleasure. First two episodes aired last Sunday (including the April Fools episode). Do yourself a favor and watch them both and every episode thereafter. As with the first season you’re in for a ride. Gwimbly Mania has hit the interwebs.

P.S.: As previously mentioned, S2 of My Adventures with Superman will be out in a few short weeks!

Space Ghost: The Comic Book!

In an analog media surprise on May 1st, Dynamite Comics has released the first issue of the (IMHO) well-awaited Space Ghost, written by David Pepose (Moon Knight: City of the Dead, The Punisher) and illustrated by Jonathan Lau (Red Sonja, Vampirella Strikes). Dynamite, as well as Pepose himself have been giving us some great sneak peeks at the upcoming issues, and they look just as amazing (if not more amazing) as issue #1.

In addition, Former Marvel Comics head, Joe Quesada has lent his talents and illustrated a variant cover for the upcoming issue #2 (in comic shops on June 5th – put in your order today!) I purchased #1 for Free Comic Book Day (support your local comic shops AND your comic book writers/artists) and I have to say it’s a great trip down both the OG Space Ghost cartoon as well as Coast to Coast, with the characters us fans know so well. I’ve already added this to my pull list and can’t wait for more!

New ATHF Talent Have Arrived on Social Media

And speaking of talented people behind Space Ghost, Aqua Teen, and more… he has arrived! The legendary Matt Maiellaro of the aforementioned, plus your favorite AS classics like 12 oz. Mouse and Perfect Hair Forever is now on Twitter to give you all kinds of behind the scenes musings, show you exclusive merch, and a whole lot more. He also has a YouTube you should check out, featuring some pilots and other animated awesome for your eyes and ears.

Also worth noting: Animation/Art Director for ATHF, Brak Show and more, Matthew Jenkins has joined Twitter as well with his awesome character designs, art cels, and much more!

Also also! Our long-time friend and ATHF (among many other shows) animator Todd Redner has opened his very own website. Go check it out at ToddRedner.com!

That is everything I can type without passing out for the evening. Will be back for the Upfront News and whatever else comes up in the near future. Stay tuned!

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT ADULT SWIM?
– DISCORD – ADULTSWIM.FAN

Episodes of the Swimcast are available on your podcast player of choice or at https://ACPNet.net

Looking at the clips (a few times), it looks like we’re getting episodes regarding:

• The previously mentioned “Shaketopia” VR episode at NYCC
• An episode about exercise that looks like it may include a reference to this seemingly ripped-off pasta version of Master Shake.
• A new robots episode and Shake looking rather Harry Potter-esque on a Roomba
• Some kind of Anubis playing mind tricks episode.
• Shake, Meatwad and Carl form a rock band (and it may connect to some kind of ear creatures).

In addition, you can definitely tell the animation has been beefed up – as we’ve reported previous, Floyd County (Archer) has taken over animation duties for the new season. On top of the new animation, there is also a new view of Frylock’s room, complete with a “Meat Atom” poster among other easter eggs.

Are you ready for obese milkshakes, crazy robots, sentient ears, guitar jamming and (everyone’s favorite) pantsless Carl? You won’t have to wait much longer, as ATHF RETURNS on November 26th @ 11:30pm (and next day on Max). Check out the trailer as well as more screengrabs below:

Well… those rumors were accurate…

Today, Adult Swim announced the 5-episode season 12 of ATHF will premiere at 11:30pm on Sunday, November 26th (with release to Max the following day). Fans rejoice and be merry with NEW jam-packed episodes featuring some awesome guest stars and even more interesting plots.

Check out the official press release:

ADULT SWIM’S REVIVAL OF ICONIC ANIMATED COMEDY “AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE” ARRIVES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26

One of Adult Swim’s first original series, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” will make its long-awaited return for a 12th season on Sunday, November 26 at 11:30pm ET/PT. From creators Dave Willis (“Squidbillies,” “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell”) and Matt Maiellaro (“12 oz. Mouse”), new episodes of the quarter-hour comedy that follows the fast-food trio of Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad will feature guest appearances from Emmy® winner Eric Bauza, Emmy winner Brian Cox, Dan Fogler, Emmy winner Maurice LaMarche, and Gary Anthony Williams. Coming off last year’s original film “Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm,” the new season marks the return of stars Carey Means (“The Brak Show”) as Frylock, Dana Snyder (“Squidbillies”) as Master Shake, and co-creator Willis as Meatwad and Carl. “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” Season 12 is written, produced, and directed by Maiellaro and Willis.  Their official season description is below: “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” is back to make television watchable again, and to fill your empty, content-starved lives with a magical season 12! Don’t call it a comeback! Even though by all accounts it seems to be just that. It’s a micro-itty-bitty-mini season, five brand new episodes of attention-whittling stupidity – but don’t worry, the laugh-per-episode density is far higher than anything else you willingly agree to place before your swollen, encrusted eyes. The new season picks up where we left off in 2015, as Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad have returned to solve all of life’s modern issues, and Carl returns because he can’t sell his crappy house because he lives next door to food. Look for your favorite trio of “detectives” to go head-to-head with A.I. appliances, join an apocalyptic fitness cult, and search for friendship through ancient Egyptian pyramid schemes. In the end, all problems shall be solved, and all brains shall be melted. Did Adult Swim mess with a winning formula? You better believe it! Master Shake now has two all-new facial expressions…“Bemused” and “Lips Pursed in Thought”! And Shake can close his hands now, as if to hold things! Also, Frylock is sixty stories high and Meatwad bounces to get around. Tune in to see if we’re telling the truth! New episodes of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” will also be available the next day on Max.

It would be a boldfaced lie if I said this year was no different… however, with both the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes at the forefront of the event (the latter still in progress) there were little expectations as to what exactly would be occurring this year. SAG specifically forbade any actors attending to comment specifically about any past or future works, leaving actors to answer the simplest of questions from fans.

That being said, it was only a few short weeks ago that we got a (sort of) answer in regard to Adult Swim programming via ReedPop’s Panel Registration page popped up inconspicuously, only stating the subtitle: “A First Look at New and Returning Series” and teasers of what to expect (although missing from the lineup was anime, Uzumaki – which some have speculated is nowhere near ready to be shown).

What we got was a pretty standard “What’s We’re Cooking Up At Adult Swim” panel, featuring President Michael Ouweleen, Director of Comedy Development Missy Laney, and VP of Comedy Development Cameron Tang, and moderated by Perri Nemiroff of Collider (whose expertise appears to be in horror films – not as a knock on her, but some questions came off a bit generic and borderline cringey – yet she powered through the interview portion). That being said, here are some of the highlights to the panel itself:

Opening Comments:

(Our “Formerly Known As Twitter” was somehow set to GIF mode when we started posting. Still looks cool, though.)

• Mike O was asked about action vs comedy and stated that it wasn’t just about the comedy shows anymore, giving Primal as one of the main examples.
• Missy discussed live-action and how you can have shows on different sides of the spectrum such as a Joe Pera or an Eric Andre.
• Cam mentioned the pitch for Joe Pera was “punk rock anti-business but also so funny.”
• Cam also mentioned having piloted a show over a tweet before (the show was not mentioned however).
• Perri asked Mike how he goes about passing on a show, to which he quipped “I make these guys do it.”

Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (Coming in 2024):

• Missy took point on introducing this show, Adult Swim’s first ever Spanish Language Program.
• Stated “I want this to be the first Adult Swim show to go Criterion.”
• Apparently, the show was originally pitched as being made with marionettes (which would explain the main character’s name).
• More on WWSP on our Official ASPR Announcement Post

Smiling Friends Season Two (Coming in 2024):

• Cam discussed suggesting to creators B about using S2 to develop and focus more of the lesser characters such as Glep, Mr Boss, and Mr. Frog (hello!)
• We’re shown an animatic from an episode – Pim takes Charlie to visit his “UFO Hunting Group” on the premise that Charlie suggested he was interested – he never did.
• One of the characters is quick to correct Charlie and call them “UAPs.”
• New character Fillmore is crazy-go-nuts.
• Very colorful vomit from one of the other characters.
• The characters unveil an “experimental alien beacon device” which ends up being a theremin. Charlie uses it to summon an actual UFO.

Yolo: Rainbow Trinity (Coming “Soon”):

• Off the heels of the SF clip, the image is teased (and not much else). We can’t wait!
• More on Y:RT on our Official ASPR Announcement Post

The Return of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Coming “Soon… this Year Soon”)

• Perri: “Why specifically Five episodes?” Mike: “Five is the new Full Season”
• Mike (in seriousness) talked about how they were all in town last year for the Aqua Teen Plantasm screening and Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis wanted to do more (as it’s fairly well-known, former Adult Swim VP Mike Lazzo unceremoniously pulled the plug on the show, with little warning to the guys).
• Mike agreed and was able to put together a 5-episode run based on the success of the new movie, as kind of a “Let’s see.”
• Mike: Show has been evolved for 2023
• Perri (to Missy and Cam – and later Mike): Which character was your fav and has that changed… 😒
• Perri segways to Checkered Past – Mike goes into the history of Ted Turner buying the Hanna-Barbera library, spawning CN, AS, and their respective shows, mainly What a Cartoon, Billy and Mandy, etc. Mike and Kim Manning planned to reair the classics for CN’s 30th which garnered great ratings, so they decided on the block, someone else came up with the name and they found the classic “SKULL” from the end of the classic AS shows, and it all came together.
• ATHF Clip opens with different animation and Shake narrating about a new world… Behold, Shaketopia!
• Shake (as a greek emperor-type on a throne) is surrounded by little gummy bear type creatures (they kinda remind me of the Storage Zeebles or the bees from Sweet C) barking orders one fetches him a VR helmet for him to play “Fantastisploosh” a game where you have to create rectangles out of squares – the game is definitely a parody of Candy Crush, voiceover and all.
• Scene glitches out to reveal… Shake on the recliner in a robe looking emaciated and drooling. Frylock reveals Shake has been “in” for over 2 months. Meatwad tries to draw a dick on him.
• Back to the game (and the game game) one of the creatures points out the obvious about the game consisting of squares being converted into rectangles… Shake zaps her into ashes.
• Perri asks how Mike determined the animation for “Shaketopia” …😒 (Note: Aqua Teen’s upcoming season is being animated by Floyd County Productions). Mike answers diplomatically on how the video game scene “informs the animation.”
• Perri expands on the previous question about expectations on “other animation styles” in the 5 episodes…😒 (see previous note). Mike jokingly says the budget wasn’t that big but that the “style” is much richer than the original series. He also promised that AI was not involved.
• Guest Stars including voice over royalty Maurice LaMarche, Gary Anthony Williams and Eric Bauza as well as Dan Folger, and Brian Cox (Succession). (As previously noted, Ronnie from Aqua Teen Pod will also be a voice in an episode).
• Mike: “It will be out soon… this year soon…” (It was rumored for a November release previously).

Rick and Morty Season 7 (Out Now):

• You’ve seen the clip and the episode by now. No sense rehashing it.
• Perri: Why kick off with Mr. Poopybutthole. Mike: We were concerned about him.
• Mike says the R&M intro is similar to the new ATHF one where things may/may not happen in episodes.
• Canon in episodes.
• S7 whole new characters and new worlds. “Servicing the characters.”
• “And there’s a great episode about spaghetti.”
• Perri asks Mike the burning question as to the voice replacements and why they’ve been kept secret. Mike responded, “It’s about the show… getting the show out is the point.” and that you’ll find out during the credits (if you’ve seen the episode or either Variety or Hollywood Reporter’s articles, you’ll know by now… more on that at another time).

Fan Q&A:

Obviously, showcasing the more coherent ones… most of which are essentially a wish list to Santa Mike:

• One fan asked for them to consider a Frisky Dingo Season Three, to which Mike responded, “I don’t think the guys want to.” (There’s a bit of rumor, innuendo and a tiny bit of fact as to how/when/why Dingo got axed – won’t get into it here).
• Another fan asked about Sym-Bionic Titan. Mike responded: “Never say never… but that was a Cartoon Network show.”
• A third fan asked if we’d be getting a Ballmasterz 8008 S3. Mike: “Not in the works but we love working with the same creators.” This bodes well for Christy Karacas who is an amazing talent.
• Fan asks why they’ve never thought of bringing previous HBO max exclusive Close Enough to the network? Mike’s answer is interesting (but expected) since there’s a lot of red tape in acquiring content from different avenues, even from an “exclusive.”
• Fan asks if they’re trying to go more General Audience/Young Adult shows… Mike says they have a lot of daytime hours now so both will exist.
• Next fan: More Xavier: Renegade Angel? Mike: “No plans…” but suggests they always could.

FYI: Mike O co-created Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, so he’s definitely in the “Let’s bring back the classics” camp. A lot of these asks may seem crazy, but not completely out of the realm of possibility…

…speaking of, there was also a Titmouse panel that brought up Venture Bros… yeah, we’re not touching that one. Jackson Publick already debunked it… anyway, here are some Venture Bros cosplay pics:

So that’s EVERYTHING and more Adult Swim that happened at NYCC this weekend. I’ll be writing more coverage from the convention over at the mothership pretty soon. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news as we get it. Also here are a couple more pics:

Want more ATHF fandom? 👀

What strikes me as interesting is the fact there’s actually some history between Floyd County and ATHF/Adult Swim proper…

Floyd County was established circa 2009 by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson (who previously worked on Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo for Swim). Towards the end of Dingo, Reed left then 70-30 Productions to clear his head and eventually developed the concept for Archer, while Thompson and Co. attempted to continue Frisky Dingo. They even tried to stay afloat with a spin-off, The X-Tacles, but sadly Swim passed on a full series for either, thus the 70-30 ultimately closed.

With a limited budget, Reed, Thompson, and a few others established Floyd County and produced Season One of Archer with the help of/out of the same building space as Radical Axis Studios (the studio who originally animated Swim shows such as ATHF, Squidbillies, 12 oz. Mouse and many others). With a lot of the Williams Street animated mainstays being completed (or axed), Radical Axis would end up closing some time before the (at that point) final season of ATHF, with many of the animators/artists and other staffers moving to either Bento Box Atlanta, Awesome Inc., or to Floyd County. In particular, ATHF lead animator Todd Redner, editors Pierre Cerrato and Brad Lee Zimmerman, animators T.J. Buford and Adam Towes, to name a few. Most went on to work on various seasons of Archer, as well as less popular FX shows such as Chozen and Unsupervised, as well as many other projects for other networks.

As far as I’m concerned, it will be very interesting to see who of the “unsung heroes” will be behind animating and designing the new season of the show. A lot of the aforementioned as well as countless others are amazing and talented people. Speaking of which, one in particular, Bob Pettitt (background designer for ATHF) has been posting a ton of BTS on his Twitter for ATHF. Wish someone would make an Art of book for it… I’d help write it. 😀