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Adult Swim

Country	Canada
Broadcast area	Nationwide
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Programming
Language(s)	English
Picture format	1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	Corus Entertainment (branding licensed from Warner Bros. Discovery)
Parent	Showcase Television Inc.
Sister channels	Télétoon Cartoon Network Boomerang
History
Launched	September 7, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-07)
Former names	Showcase Action (2001–09) Action (2009–19)
Links
Website	www.adultswim.ca
Availability
Streaming media
StackTV	Over-the-top TV
RiverTV	Over-the-top TV

Adult Swim is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily airs animated and live-action comedies targeting a teenage and young adult audience. Its branding is licensed from the Adult Swim programming block broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network; it is the first full-time television channel to use the "Adult Swim" brand.

The channel was originally launched in 2001 as Showcase Action (later known as simply Action), a digital cable spin-off of Showcase focused on action series and films. The channel was re-launched under its current branding on April 1, 2019; it subsumed the Adult Swim block that had aired on the Canadian version of Cartoon Network, and the Teletoon at Night block that had aired on Teletoon.

History

As Showcase Action/Action (2001–2019)

In November 2000, Alliance Atlantis was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a new category 2 specialty service named "Action Television", which would be devoted to entertainment programming in the action genre. The channel launched on September 7, 2001, as Showcase Action, a spin-off of its analog specialty channel Showcase.

On January 18, 2008, Alliance Atlantis's broadcasting assets were acquired by CW Media, a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. The channel was renamed Action on August 31, 2009. On October 27, 2010, the channel was acquired by Shaw Media as part of its acquisition of Canwest. By 2011, Action had begun to diverge from its original format, shifting more towards general entertainment and reality shows targeting male audiences.

On May 1, 2015, a high definition feed of Action was launched. In 2016, Shaw Media was acquired by its sister company Corus Entertainment.

As Adult Swim (2019–present)

Much like its U.S counterpart, Adult Swim previously operated as a block on the Canadian version of Cartoon Network, which launched on July 4, 2012. Its sibling channel, Teletoon, carried the similarly-positioned Teletoon at Night block—which had historically acquired programs from Adult Swim.

From March 2016 through November 2018, Time Warner had also operated an Adult Swim subscription video on demand service for Android and iOS devices via Adult Swim Games, which streamed some of Adult Swim's original programming in Canada. New episodes were added to the app following their U.S. airings, Originally, Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken premieres were only added after they aired in Canada. Beginning with its third season, new episodes of Rick and Morty were added the next day after their U.S. premiere. In 2017, new episodes from Samurai Jack's fifth season were added two days after they premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block.

On March 4, 2019, it was announced that Action would be relaunched as a standalone Adult Swim channel on April 1, 2019, marking the first time that the brand would be used for a 24-hour channel. Both the Teletoon at Night and the Adult Swim blocks were discontinued as part of the channel's launch. The network would launch with a two-month free preview, while full episodes of the channel's programming were made free to watch on-demand until January 2020. Shows announced for the channel's launch included Rick and Morty, Robot Chicken, Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, The Eric Andre Show, and Lazor Wulf, the latter of which was announced to premiere day-and-date with the U.S service.

During Corus Entertainment's 2022 upfronts presentation, the company announced a new original series for Adult Swim called Psi Cops, and an animated adaptation of the Québécois comic book Red Ketchup that was co-commissioned for Télétoon la nuit.

Programming

The channel primarily airs original productions from Adult Swim in the U.S, including adult animation series, live-action comedies, and anime series that were co-produced or commissioned for its Toonami block (such as Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Housing Complex C). The channel has also acquired original animated series from the sibling Max streaming service (such as Harley Quinn), and off-network reruns of animated sitcoms.

Most of the channel's domestic, first-run programs are English dubs of series commissioned by the French-language Télétoon's late-night block, Télétoon la nuit (including The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi, Doomsday Brothers, and Red Ketchup). In order to fulfill Canadian content requirements, the channel also carries reruns of library content (including original series that had been produced for the Teletoon at Night, Télétoon la nuit, and Canadian Adult Swim blocks), and airs made-for-TV films on Monday mornings (a holdover from Action).

As Showcase Action, the channel initially aired programming within the action genre. By 2011, Action had begun to drift towards airing general entertainment programming targeting a male audience, including acquiring reality shows from the U.S. network TruTV (such as Impractical Jokers). In 2011, Action would begin airing two original comedy programs, The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour and Kenny Hotz's Triumph of the Will, both of which were cancelled after one season. Another original series, But I'm Chris Jericho!, starring Canadian-born professional wrestler Chris Jericho, premiered as a webseries in 2013 on Action's YouTube channel, and was later acquired for a second season by CBC Television's digital outlet CBC Comedy.

Current programming

As of December 2024:

• American Dad!
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force
• Archer
• Bob and Margaret
• Bob's Burgers
• Creature Commandos
• Delta State
• The Eric Andre Show
• Family Guy
• Fugget About It
• Harley Quinn
• Invincible Fight Girl
• Joe Pera Talks with You
• King of the Hill
• Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
• Pelswick
• Psi Cops
• Rick and Morty
• Rick and Morty: The Anime
• Robot Chicken
• Royal Crackers
• Smiling Friends
• Space Ghost Coast to Coast
• The Super Dave Osborne Show
• T. and T.
• Teenage Euthanasia
• YOLO

Upcoming programming

• Common Side Effects (2025)

Former programming

As a channel

• 12 oz. Mouse
• 2 Nuts and a Richard!
• Apollo Gauntlet
• Assy McGee
• Ballmastrz: 9009
• Batman: The Animated Series
• Beef House
• Birdgirl
• The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi
• Black Dynamite
• Black Jesus
• Blade Runner: Black Lotus
• The Brak Show
• Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule
• China, IL
• The Cleveland Show
• Clone High
• Decker
• Delocated
• Doomsday Brothers
• Dream Corp LLC
• The Drinky Crow Show
• Eagleheart
• FLCL
• Frisky Dingo
• Gēmusetto
• The Greatest Event in Television History
• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
• The Heart, She Holler
• Home Movies
• Hot Package
• Hot Streets
• Housing Complex C
• In the Know
• Infomercials
• The Jellies!
• JJ Villard's Fairy Tales
• Knuckleheads
• Lazor Wulf
• Loiter Squad
• Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
• Metalocalypse
• Minoriteam
• Momma Named Me Sheriff
• Moral Orel
• Mostly 4 Millennials
• Mr. Pickles
• My Adventures with Superman
• Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter
• Ninja Kamui
• NTSF:SD:SUV::
• Off the Air
• Primal
• Red Ketchup
• Samurai Jack
• Saul of the Mole Men
• Scavengers Reign
• Sealab 2021
• The Shivering Truth
• Squidbillies
• Stroker & Hoop
• Superjail!
• Ted
• Tender Touches
• Three Busy Debras
• Tigtone
• Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
• Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories
• Titan Maximum
• Tom Goes to the Mayor
• Tropical Cop Tales
• Tuca & Bertie
• Unicorn: Warriors Eternal
• Uzumaki
• The Venture Bros.
• Young Justice
• Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell

As a programming block

• The Awesomes
• Axe Cop
• Crash Canyon
• Fat Guy Stuck in Internet
• Futurama
• Golan the Insatiable
• Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil
• Napoleon Dynamite
• Night Sweats
• Perfect Hair Forever
• Stone Quackers
• Undergrads
• Xavier: Renegade Angel

See also

• Télétoon la nuit

References

1. Decision CRTC 2000-675 CRTC 2000-12-14
2. CTV, Score Media Challenge New Specialty Channel Applications Archived May 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The Wire Report 2010-06-03
3. CanWest Completes Acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Archived 2012-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Investor Point 2007-08-15
4. Goldman's happy ending at CanWest The Globe and Mail 2010-05-03
5. Canwest Global receives final CRTC approval for acquisition of Alliance Atlantis CNW press release 2008-01-18
6. Showcase Action Unveils its Fall 2009 Programming Highlights Archived May 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Channel Canada 2009-07-26
7. Shaw Communications closes purchase of Canwest TV assets, rebrands as Shaw Media Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
8. CRTC approves Shaw’s purchase of the Canwest Global television properties Archived 2013-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Action Free Preview!" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2015.
10. "Corus Entertainment acquires Shaw Media for $2.65-billion". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
11. ^ "Odds & Ends: Haikara-San sequel doubtful for theatrical, Chunibyo cancelled, Canadian Adult Swim app dies, Crunchyroll's top fall titles". November 17, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
12. "Adult Swim Announces New SVOD Service In Canada". March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) March 3, 2016
13. "You can now legally stream Rick and Morty and other Adult Swim Shows in Canada". March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
14. ^ Pinto, Jordan. "Corus to launch Adult Swim channel in Canada". Retrieved February 23, 2023.
15. ^ First Ever 24-Hour Adult Swim Channel Coming to Canada This Spring Newswire March 4, 2019
16. Corus Announces Canadian Adult Swim Original ‘Red Ketchup’ Amid 200 Hours of New Content, Animation Magazine, June 2, 2022
17. Kolm, Josh (2022). "Upfronts 2022: Corus announces this year's slate of originals". Retrieved February 23, 2023.
18. Ayers, Shawn (June 2, 2023). "Vancouver-based adult animated TV series launching Sunday". CityNews. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
19. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (June 8, 2022). "Corus Upfronts Slate More Adult Swim & Kids Toons for Canada". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
20. "The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour and Kenny Hotz's Triumph of the Will -- Coming to Action This July". Showcase.ca. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
21. Ore, Jonathan (2017). "From TV to wrestling, Chris Jericho is the king of the comeback". CBC News. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
22. Adult Swim
23. TV Schedule for Adult Swim - East HD
24. "CORUS ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES ITS 2024/25 LINEUP OF OUTSTANDING SERIES ACROSS ITS SPECIALTY NETWORKS AND STREAMING PLATFORMS". Corus Entertainment (Press release). June 4, 2024.

External links

• Official website

• Television channels and stations established in 2001
• 2001 establishments in Canada
• Adult Swim
• Corus Entertainment networks
• Cable television channels in Canada
• English-language television stations in Canada
• Warner Bros. Discovery Americas