Insight: Bloomberg Investigation Reveals What We’ve Been Saying For Years: Adult Swim Is Killing Itself

Cartoon Network and its late-night counterpart Adult Swim, long revered as bastions of innovative and creator-driven animation, are reportedly struggling for their survival under the current Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) regime, according to a detailed Bloomberg report published Tuesday. The networks are caught in a maelstrom of aggressive cost-cutting measures spearheaded by WBD CEO David Zaslav and a company-wide strategic shift that heavily prioritizes the Max streaming service.

For decades, Adult Swim cultivated distinct identities, launching iconic and often subversive series Rick and Morty, and The Boondocks. They were celebrated for taking creative risks and providing a platform for unique animation styles and storytelling. However, the landscape has drastically changed since the WarnerMedia merger with Discovery.

The Bloomberg investigation paints a grim picture of severe budget reductions, significant layoffs, and a consequent decline in the development of original programming. This new direction under Zaslav, aimed at tackling WBD’s substantial debt($34 billion!!!) load, has led to a more conservative programming strategy. There is now a greater emphasis on leveraging existing WBD intellectual property, such as DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera characters, rather than investing in new, untested original concepts that were once the networks’ bread and butter.

A key concern highlighted is the dilution of Adult Swim’s unique brand as it is increasingly integrated into the broader content strategy for MAX. Content decisions appear to be driven more by the needs of the streaming platform – to attract a wide subscriber base – than by the specific ethos of the individual channels and we actually called out Jason DeMarco on this where instead of focusing on making quality programming that was dubbed for English he waffled with the idea of not dubbing anime and Japanese-produced series which subsequently saw him close his social media channels.  This has led to instances where popular shows have been removed from Max for tax write-off purposes, causing frustration among creators and fans alike.

The impact on creative talent and studio morale is palpable, with Bloomberg suggesting a climate of uncertainty and a diminished appetite for the kind of boundary-pushing animation that defined the networks’ golden eras. While Michael Ouweleen, a veteran of the channels who now oversees them, is reportedly attempting to navigate these turbulent waters, he faces the monumental task of preserving their legacy while adhering to WBD’s new financial and strategic mandates. The problem is Michael never takes any accountability when he does anything wrong. The article notes that the upcoming eighth season of Rick and Morty is on the way, but even the article’s author acknowledges that the show doesn’t have the same excitement behind it ever since Justin Roiland’s firing from the show over allegations that ended up being not true, note nowadays when allegations are brought on those in show business there seems to be a longer leash to let the legal process play out as seen in the cases of Justin Baldoni, Johnny Depp, and Marilyn Manson, all one-time victims of what turned out to be false accusations (Baldoni’s case is still ongoing, but he’s been posting text message receipts on X.com that has been proving his innocence). Ergo, if Justin’s allegations would’ve happened today, he would not have been fired, and instead would have seen a similar route to his career as Dan Harmon who also was on the other end of sexual misconduct allegations that turned out to be true, yet, still gets to take part in all of Rick and Morty’s creative processes. Doing this has had a negative impact as fans have loudly stammered Adult Swim’s social channels about how bad the new Rick and Morty voices are with the ratings of the series taking an almost 40% decrease in the overnight ratings.

Industry observers and loyal viewers are expressing growing anxiety that the very essence of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim – their commitment to originality, diverse voices, and artistic experimentation – is at risk. Just last week Dodge Greenley talked about his struggle in working with Adult Swim during his development of Learning with Pibby which, despite setting all sorts of records for original series on Adult Swim’s social channels, was never ordered to series.  The struggle of these animation powerhouses underscores the broader challenges facing niche cable brands in an era dominated by streaming giants and corporate consolidation, leaving a question mark over their future identity and influence in the world of animation.

[h/t: Bloomberg]