Since early ground-breaking shows like The Flinstones and The Simpsons began capturing adult audiences, there have been hundreds of animation series’ aiming for the broader audience. It seems like every year there is a slew of new adult cartoons released, each more obscene than the last. For every show that has reached a level of success, there are ten behind it that have floundered, or simply vanished.
There are a few short-lived series’ like The Maxx or Clone High that have managed a cult following, and will always be remembered by a dedicated few. However, there is an extensive collection of shows that failed to get more than a dozen episodes released before that proverbial plug was pulled. Let’s have a look back at ten of these shows that have been pushed out of your memory, or you had no idea existed in the first place.
Ren and Stimpy: “Adult Party Cartoon”
In 1991 the original Ren and Stimpy Show was released as a children’s cartoon along other Nicktoon success’s Rugrats and Doug. While being praised for its outrageousness and off-beat humour, Ren and Stimpy was also riddled with controversy for its dark humour, innuendos, and violence. The kids show managed to gain a following, not only with its target audience but, with teens and adults, inevitably running for five prosperous seasons. It makes sense that in 2003, Ren and Stimpy would be rebranded as an adult show.
Ren and Stimpy: “Adult Party Cartoon” was produced by Spike Animation Studios with a planned 12-episode season. Immediately, critics bombarded the series with negative reception. While fun, imaginative, and undoubtedly aimed at adults, the show lacked any sign of a comprehensible plot. Ultimately, Ren and Stimpy was pulled after airing just three episodes. The characters reputation was impacted so negatively that Nickelodeon has cut all ties to the original show; including losing out on a potential theatrical feature with Paramount Studios.
Stripperella
If there was a list of the strangest celebrity collaborations ever conceived than Stripperella takes the top spot. Created and produced by Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, Stripperella’s cast is a crapshoot of famous voices, including Pamela Anderson, Mark Hamill, Vince McMahon, and Kid Rock. The show was released for mature audiences in 2003 on Spike. Initial reception for the cartoon was surprisingly positive. However, the show was cancelled prematurely under the guise of “creative difference.” The real story is even stranger than the show’s cast.
During the series release in 2003, an ex-stripper in Daytona Beach, Florida filed a lawsuit against Stan Lee and Pamela Anderson. Janet Clover, a.k.a. Jazz, a.k.a. Stripperella had claimed that she was the true creator of the stripper/vigilante, Stripperella and that she had divulged this idea with Stan ‘The Man’ Lee during a lap dance. While her memories of Stan Lee were vague, as she “you know, meets lots of men,” the case became popular with the media, leading to Stripperella being pulled after its first season.
Friday: The Animated Series
Based off of Ice Cube’s Friday trilogy- that is soon to be revisited in 2018- Friday: The Animated Series is one of many projects on this list riding on the success of other popular media. Created and produced by Ice Cube himself, the series was made for New Line Television, a subsidiary of Friday distributors, New Line Cinema. The shows premise was based loosely on the titular films, following Craig and Smokey’s struggling misadventures in South Central L.A.
Premiering on MTV2 in 2007, the show was short-lived, airing just eight episodes under one month. While the series gained significant attention early from the films dedicated fan-base, without key cast members included in the voiceovers the show failed to captivate audiences.
Bob and Doug
The SCTV characters of Bob and Doug McKenzie, played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, became such a phenomenon in the 1980’s they managed two album releases, and a feature film, Strange Brew. The Canadian icons became so ingrained in the northern culture that listening to their rendition of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ is a holiday tradition. However, nobody expected that nearly thirty years after the hoser-craze had run its course that Bob and Doug would receive their own animated television show.
Originally produced by Fox for American audiences, the show ended up in the hands of Global for a Canadian release. Promotional shorts were sporadically released for seven years before the shows premiere in 2009. While Bob and Doug will forever be beloved characters in the Great White North, the show failed to garner much attention. The addition of unknown characters and the absence of original ‘Bob’ due to Rick Moranis’s retirement left the series feeling dry. The show ended after one season although, five ‘secret episodes’ were released randomly over a two-year span.
Black Panther
Marvel’s Black Panther is becoming a household name with his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, and the soon to be released solo film. However, not many fans will recall that Black Panther had his own animated series in 2010. Produced under the Marvel Knights Animation title, Black Panther boasted a TV-14 rating and was made for BET.
The plot followed T’Challa, the newly inherited king of Wakanda as he defended his home from a team of international super-powered villains. With the rise in popularity of modern superhero entertainment, the show was expected to be a hit. Unfortunately, fans could not get behind the primetime show time of an animated comic book character, and it was pulled after just six episodes.
Playboy’s Dark Justice
No company has struggled more to stay relevant in the age of the internet than Playboy, and not for lack of effort. In 2000, the company tried its hand at animation, launching the series Playboy’s Dark Justice on the corporations adult-only Playboy TV channel. Using a blended style of Manga, western animation, and computer graphics, the series was drastically different from the variety and reality shows typically aired on the premium cable channel.
In a future dystopia, the heroine, Justine would fight crime with a group of other vigilantes. Of course, before the end of each episode, the plot would turn quickly into sexual situations with extended softcore pornographic scenes. The only show of its kind ever created used motion capture technology, but the resulting animation was of low-quality. Playboy’s Dark Justice was cancelled after 20, of an intended 26 episodes, for reasons that are probably self-explanatory.
Clerks: The Animated Series
Unlike the other film adaptations on this list Clerks: The Animated Series boasted the complete original cast of Kevin Smith’s cult classic film of the same name. The show was ripe with talent and had a head start of Kevin Smith’s significant following as an audience. After airing just two episodes in 2000, ABC pulled the plug on Clerks due to low ratings and unsuccessful test-screenings. The network could be partly to blame as they aired the episodes out of order, premiering with the fourth instalment and following it up with the second episode, which was meant as a ‘flashback’ to the intended first.
The full six-episode season was later released on Comedy Central and DVD, and Kevin Smith has long been in talks to produce an animated film. The show was praised by critics, specifically IGN who named Clerks to their top 100 list of best-animated series’. With positive reception and high cult following, Clerks: The Animated Series has often been compared to shows like Firefly for its improper airing and being cancelled before its time.
Baby Blues
Many cartoon strips have found success with a leap to television audiences. Garfield, Dilbert, and Peanuts were probably an inspiration when Warner Bros. opted to produce the Baby Blues animated series. Premiering on the WB Network in 2000, the series was pulled after eight, low-rated episodes. Years later Adult Swim picked up the show airing the remaining five episodes but, the show was again dropped before releasing any of the thirteen-episode second season.
Reception on the Baby Blues animated adaptation was almost as bad as the ratings. The most prominent complaint involving the changes from the original material. Zoe, the elder child, was made an infant for the show, dropping younger sister, Hammie. The inclusion of wacky next-door neighbours was considered television-cliché, and critics slammed the series as an insult to the comic’s loyal readers.
Spaceballs: The Animated Series
You would think by 2008 television networks might have caught on that these animated adaptations of popular films didn’t work. Regardless, Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs was picked up by G4 and Canada’s Super Channel. The series was loose in its connection to the film. Instead, the series approached each episode as a parody of other pop culture references like Lord of the Rings or Grand Theft Auto.
Ultimately, Spaceballs: The Animated Series was doomed to fail before it even premiered. Initially marketed to release in fall of 2007 no information was released until much later when a June 2008 release was announced. Again, the date passed, and G4 failed to release the premiere, or subsequent information, despite the fact that the show had been released in Canada. It was not until September of that year before the first episode premiered but, by then interest had dwindled. Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs cartoon was never picked up for a second season.
Lil’ Bush
An animated political satire focused on poking fun of a presidential administration in an immature way. It sounds like we could use a show like this nowadays. Lil’ Bush was a Comedy Central original series that put the then President, George W. Bush, and his staff in an Elementary School setting. Attempting to make light of the policies and procedures put forth by the administration in an indirect way. Seriously, they need to make a Lil’ Trump show, how is this not a thing?
Premiering in 2007 critics slaughtered the series with negative reviews with complaints of being too late in Bush’s presidency to remain relevant, and that many of the references and jokes lacked subtlety. As if having Dick Cheney exclusively wear a Darth Vader helmet is too on the nose? The show stopped airing after two short seasons and unfortunately was not picked up for Bush’s final year of service.