Adult Swim Goes Safari, Motherfucker!

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Adult Swim made a massive splash at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, unveiling an ambitious slate of new greenlights, nostalgic anniversary specials, and highly anticipated release dates. Ouweleen is rumored to also be looking at projects made in Europe that could be ordered and then syndicated in international markets where HBO MAX is available. Get Jiro! is slated to premiere sometime this fall.

“Annecy is always a great reminder of what happens when you give talented people the space to take big risks,” Adult Swim President Michael Ouweleen shared during the presentation. From legendary creators to fresh animated voices, the network’s upcoming lineup is packed with major milestones.

Here are the biggest announcements from the showcase:

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Heist Brothers Officially Greenlit

The visionary mind behind Primal, Samurai Jack, and Dexter’s Laboratory is back. Adult Swim has officially handed a full-season order to Heist Brothers, a high-octane 2D action-comedy series consisting of ten quarter-hour episodes.

The project has a unique history; Tartakovsky originally pitched the concept live on stage to Ouweleen during a panel in 2024 (under the working title Heist_Safari). Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, the series follows an incredibly chaotic premise: three frog brothers trying to rob a bank. According to the network, while the setup sounds simple, the actual execution promises to be completely “bonkers.”

A Double Dose of Robot Chicken Anniversary Specials

Stoopid Buddy Stoodios’ Emmy-winning stop-motion powerhouse is returning to celebrate a pair of massive network milestones with its signature rapid-fire parody style:

  • The Adult Swim 25th Anniversary Special (Premieres Sunday, August 30, 2026): To celebrate a quarter-century of late-night dominance, every iconic character in Adult Swim history finds themselves on a luxury cruise ship. Naturally, the celebration devolves into a disaster movie parody of Titanic proportions. Fans can expect to see characters from Smiling Friends, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros., and more fighting for survival. It hits Adult Swim on August 30 and streams the next day on Max.

  • The Cartoon Network 35th Anniversary Special (Coming in 2027): Robot Chicken will set its sights on the daytime side of the house, skewering classic, beloved Cartoon Network characters in a dedicated block of sketches to honor the channel’s thirty-fifth year on the air.

A Deep-Dive Cartoon Network Docuseries

Further honoring its rich animation legacy, a definitive five-part documentary series tracking the thirty-five-year history of Cartoon Network will debut in 2027.

The docuseries will chart the network’s evolution from its early days as a repository for classic library animation into a powerhouse of original, creator-driven storytelling. Blending rare archival footage with new interviews, it will feature reflections from the legendary artists and storytellers based in Burbank who drew the shows, as well as the Atlanta teams who established the brand’s famously irreverent voice.