Is HBO Max The Best Place To Watch Your Favorite Adult Swim Shows?

If you’re like me you probably have a lot of fond memories of Adult Swim. I remember staying up late and watching shows my parents didn’t approve of. It later got me into absurdist comedy and anime. Quite the range, right?

And, my fellow fans of Adult Swim, you might hear the buzz about HBO Max and how it’s streaming lots of classics. The possibility to get old shows revived or new seasons for ongoing shows seems exciting. 

You might wonder: do they have my favorite shows? Is HBO Max the best place for me to revisit those zany Adult Swim shows I know and love? The answer is a little complicated depending on what shows you like.

One thing to consider is how great of a selection they have. A quick browse of the Adult Swim collection is actually quite promising. The number of shows they have on HBO Max is astonishing.

What Adult Swim shows does HBO Max offer?

It has the earliest shows, some that formed some of my earliest memories of the staple Adult Swim absurdity. The spot shows like Sealab 2021, Home Movies, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, and The Brak Show on the streaming platform. Lesser remembered shows such as Lucy, Daughter of the Devil and Delocated also make an appearance. Long-running favorites are also represented, familiar titles like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocalypse, Superjail!, and Robot Chicken are available. Even The Boondocks, in its rebooted form, is available can be seen here.

What’s great to see is how some of the shows get a second chance at life. Other shows not mentioned above are also some of Adult Swim’s other programs that most would be familiar with. However, there is a bit of an issue.

Where’s my favorite show?

Perhaps you’re a fan of The Eric Andre Show, Rick and Morty, Mr. Pickles, or Children’s Hospital. You might wonder why, with all this hype surrounding HBO Max, those shows aren’t there. 

The number of streaming services available now presents a bit of an issue if you want your favorite shows in one place. Hulu has the shows mentioned above that HBO Max is missing.

Hulu had a contract with Adult Swim initially to host some of their content. It’s possible once the contract expires these shows could join the rest of the content on HBO Max. However, there are still a few things you might be wondering about. 

What about the anime I saw on Adult Swim back in the day?

Anime can be found on a variety of services. Adult Swim may have popularized shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, or Trigun for its audience but they’re not on HBO Max. All of them, except for Ghost in the Shell, is on Hulu, but separate from the Adult Swim section.

The ironic thing is that Toonami, the Saturday night block of anime on Adult Swim, even managed to get 2 more seasons of FLCL. The staff at Toonami are huge fans of the original 6 episode series they were able to make it happen. But FLCL doesn’t seem to be available on either HBO Max or Hulu.

Hulu does have anime under their Adult Swim category. That show being the anime Fire Force. But that’s it. Both streaming services don’t have anything else listed under Adult Swim.

I Used To Watch Futurama On Adult Swim, Where Is It?

Futurama, Family Guy, and American Dad all had a Renaissance of sorts on Adult Swim. All 3 shows were produced by Fox but seemed to receive a mixed reception from their own network. Adult Swim only aired reruns, however.

With reruns being the extent of the contract it seems they weren’t able to negotiate a deal for HBO Max. All three of these shows are not available there. Though if you’re like me, your first exposure to these shows was most likely on Adult Swim.

All three shows seem to be available on Hulu, but not under the Adult Swim category. But Disney+, Amazon video, and TBS also seem to have Family Guy and American Dad. Disney+ has Futurama available for streaming.

What surprisingly doesn’t complicate matters here is Futurama. Some might recall that Futurama had its final season air on Comedy Central. Thankfully there don’t seem to be any further streaming complications from what I can find.

What streaming service should I get?

The answer isn’t very straightforward. It really comes down to what you want to watch. Adult Swim’s content seems to be sprinkled around the web and seems to be a challenge to keep up with.

HBO Max has the most promise for series that are rumored or scheduled for a new season/series. The Boondocks is being rebooted thanks to its presence on HBO Max. The Venture Brothers is rumored to get another season, seeing as the cliffhanger it left off on had fans optimistic for what came next. Plus HBO Max does have a lot of great shows there.

Hulu has its own catalog of Adult Swim shows, plus some of the shows discussed above like American Dad and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. You just have to search for them because they’re not under the Adult Swim section.

However, if you’re nostalgic for a show you feel nobody remembers the best bet to find it is on Adult Swim’s own website. They have the shows not available on other platforms.

Shows like Xavier: Renegade Angel, Perfect Hair Forever, 12 Oz Mouse, Frisky Dingo, and Saul of the Mole Men are all available on the Adult Swim website. Even some anime is available too. The new seasons of FLCL Toonami made are completely available, plus some stuff that is airing on Toonami. Anime like Food Wars, Attack on Titan, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell. Toonami is also hosting the highly anticipated Uzumaki anime, an adaption of the popular Junji Ito horror manga, later in 2021.

In conclusion, it boils down to what you have and what you want to watch. Both HBO Max and Hulu have great selections already. If you have one or both services then you should be set. If you want the most Adult Swim content in one place then their website should cover the most bases. If you do choose to use the Adult Swim site just note that Family Guy and Futurama aren’t on there, American Dad is, but it doesn’t have full seasons.

I hope that this was informative and helps you decide what to do streaming-wise. The answer isn’t very cut and dry, we all like different shows, you know? Hopefully, this gave you some guidance and maybe even helped you realize where your favorite show(s) might be streaming. Wherever those shows are make sure to enjoy them!