15 Best Animated Series for Adults to Watch in 2026

The best cartoons for adults are nostalgic, humorous, and sometimes a little crass. However, the chances are they’re worth visiting again because you probably missed half the jokes while watching these shows as a youngin’. Coming to you from various channels and streaming platforms, these shows collectively deliver hour upon hour of gut-busting entertainment. Thanks to the wonders of animation, each show traverses a limitless expanse of creative terrain, exploring both mature and immature themes through a wildly inventive lens, while sometimes delivering action-packed set-pieces that are impossible to deliver through a live-action approach. Some are old, others are new, some are funny, and others are devastating, but ultimately, these cartoons guarantee laughter, enjoyment, action, and plenty of adult humour.

Best Adult Cartoons at a Glance

Highlights from our list include the following:

• Best for humour and satire: South Park
• Best for character drama: BoJack Horseman
• Best for action: Blue Eye Samurai
• Best for mind-bending sci-fi: Scavengers Reign
• Best for fantasy adventure: The Mighty Nein
• Best for originality: Common Side Effects

Now you’ve read our favourites, let’s check out the complete list.

1. Arcane

• Where to Watch: Netflix
• IMDb Rating: 9.0
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
• Seasons: 2
• Cast: Ella Purnell, Hailee Steinfeld, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung, Harry Lloyd
• Creators: Christian Linke, Alex Lee

Based on the video game series League of Legends, Arcane follows two sisters—Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell)—as they get pulled deeper and deeper into a conflict between two major cities: the undercity of Zaun, and the utopian ‘city of progress’, Piltover. While references to the original video game are there for the hardcore fans, Arcane is thankfully easily approachable even to those who have no idea what jungling or soloing a lane even means, and in many ways expands the universe beyond League of Legends‘ constraints as a MOBA into something a bit more cohesive. Watch it if you’re after compelling characters, beautiful visual design and animation, and a surprisingly deep exploration of class conflict.

2. Blue Eye Samurai

• Where to Watch: Netflix
• IMDb Rating: 8.7
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Maya Erskine, George Takei, Masi Oka, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
• Creators: Amber Noizumi, Michael Green

While you might see the trailer for Blue Eye Samurai and think it’s just another katana-led story of revenge and reclaiming honour, you’d only be half right. Yes, it is that, but it’s also a fantastic meditation on the complex relationship of race and identity—both personal and cultural—as well as the inherent issues in adopting a violent path toward death by any means. Oh, it’s also absolutely beautiful, and has some of the most well-choreographed and gruesome fight scenes I’ve ever seen—seriously, don’t watch this one with your kids unless you’re happy with them seeing people sliced up like minced meat. It’s the perfect time to get up to date, as a second season has been in production for quite a while and is set for release in the next year or so.

3. BoJack Horseman

• Where to Watch: Netflix
• IMDb Rating: 8.8
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
• Seasons: 6
• Cast: Will Arnet, Amy Sedaris, Allison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, Aaron Paul
• Creators: Raphael Bob-Waksberg

The first animated series of our list of the ‘reflects the horror and absurdity of our modern reality through the lens of what could have been a Saturday morning cartoon’ persuasion, BoJack Horseman is, in many ways, the darkest show of the bunch. If you haven’t watched the show, BoJack (Arnet) is a washed-up sitcom star circling the drain in Hollywood who aims to reinvigorate his career with an autobiography to be written by a ghostwriter, Diane (Brie). She, naturally, needs to dig into his life in order to do her job, and the more she (and we) learn about BoJack’s mental state, the more we start to see the broken man behind the long face. It’s a deeply troubling watch at times, as BoJack and the characters around him spiral deep into depression and addiction, but somehow it always remains funny. I’m a big fan of Arrested Development, but BoJack might be Will Arnet’s best role to date.

4. Castlevania

• Where to Watch: Netflix
• IMDb Rating: 8.3
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
• Seasons: 4
• Cast: Richard Armitage, James Callis, Alejandra Reynoso
• Creators: Warren Ellis

Another animated series based on a video game, Netflix’s Castlevania is interesting in that rather than launching to capitalise on a franchise’s success (see Arcane above), it instead came out as a means of revitalising a series that had been effectively abandoned. In this world, vampires and demons are very real and plague the countryside of Wallachia—but one vampire stands above all: Vlad Dracula Tepes. After his human wife is burned at the stake for false crimes of witchcraft, Tepes vows revenge against humanity and allows his vampiric hordes to do as they wish. There is hope, though, as the last living member of a legendary monster-hunting tribe, Trevor Belmont, alongside a spell-slinging ‘speaker’ Sypha Belnades, take up arms to hunt Dracula down and take his head. While it’s a fairly standard plot, the show does grapple with the hypocrisy of religion, as well as the search for meaning in a cold, cruel world. If you like it, there’s also a whole second series called Castlevania: Nocturne that picks up further down the Belmont family tree.

5. Common Side Effects

• Where to Watch: HBO Max
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Dave King, Emily Pendergast, Mike Judge
• Creators: Joseph Bennet, Steve Hely

The latest series from Mike Judge, the creator of King of the Hill and Silicon Valley, Common Side Effects mixes the wild world of conspiracy theories with the absurd fun Adult Swim has become known for. We follow Marshall Cuso, an expert in fungi who has discovered an incredibly rare mushroom that will effectively cure all illnesses and injuries, which makes him a target for powerful pharmaceutical executives and an eclectic DEA duo looking to suppress this new discovery. It’s big on the deep-conspiracy, making a main character out of the ‘crazy guy no one takes seriously but who secretly knows the truth’ trope, and is honestly stronger for it.

6. Futurama

• Where to Watch: Disney+
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%
• Seasons: 13
• Cast: Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal
• Creators: David X. Cohen, Matt Groening

The series that just won’t stay dead, no matter how many times it gets cancelled. Futurama is one of those touchstone shows that in its heyday managed to combine the wit of creator Matt Groening’s other hit show, The Simpsons, with surprisingly deep and touching storylines that to this day remain heartwarming and tearjerking in equal supply. Philip J. Fry (West) is accidently cryogenically frozen on New Years Eve, 2000, and wakes up 1,000 years later to an entirely different, futuristic Earth, teeming with alien life. At its best, Futurama details this weird and wonderful world, as well as the characters that live within it, through all sorts of intriguing and original ideas—often making use of Fry’s fish-out-of-water existence to compare our own world with the future Groening sketched out. Much like The Simpsons, though, Futurama’s more recent seasons have fallen victim to self-referential storylines and a diminishing sense of the originality the series once displayed.

7. Invincible

• Where to Watch: Prime Video
• IMDb Rating: 8.7
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%
• Seasons: 3
• Cast: Steve Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh
• Creators: Robert Kirkman

Bored of superheroes yet? Yeah, me too—but here me out on this one. Invincible is one of the exceptions to the rule, delivering a story centered on humanity and hope in the guise of a fight for the survival of Earth. Mark Grayson (Yeun) is the son of Omni-Man, the all-powerful superhero who protects the planet from all manner of evil. And, when Mark starts showing signs that his own powers are manifesting, he sees an opportunity to become the hero he wants to be, just like his dad. Unfortunately, Omni-Man isn’t so benevolent after all, and Mark ultimately decides to stand up to his old man in a confrontation that literally decides the future of Earth. The series is based on an award winning comic book from Robert Kirkman, who also wrote The Walking Dead, so you know character drama is going to take centre stage. 

8. The Mighty Nein

• Where to Watch: Prime Video
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Laura Bailey, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brien, Travis Willingham, Sam Regal, Matt Mercer
• Creators: Critical Role Productions

Based on the incredibly popular Dungeons & Dragons podcast Critical Role, The Mighty Nein takes a chance-driven story told over the course of hundreds of hours of gameplay and whittles it down into a manageable animated series: keeping the fantastic characters and worldbuilding, but leaving out the extended shopping sequences and turn-based combat sequences. If you’ve always been interested in the kinds of stories that tend to get told at a game table, as well as the kinds of characters people gravitate toward embodying, The Mighty Nein is about the best place to start without needing to sit through literal weeks of content.

9. Pantheon

• Where to Watch: Netflix
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
• Seasons: 2
• Cast: Katie Chang, Paul Dano, Aaron Eckhardt, Rosmarie DeWitt
• Creators: Craig Silverstein

Pantheon is an incredibly timely show, detailing the existential impact rapidly evolving technology can and will have on a society that isn’t quite ready for it. The world is heading toward a technological singularity, where the merging of man and machine is being spearheaded by powerful tech firms which are more than willing to make unethical and dehumanising choices in the conquest for progress (and the money that comes with it). Maddie Kim is a teenager struggling with the death of her father two years prior, but when a version of him captured years prior through a secretive brain scan reaches out, Kim gets pulled into a technological arms race to decide the future of humanity. Well worth a watch if you’re into hard sci-fi.

10. Rick and Morty

• Where to Watch: HBO Max
• IMDb Rating: 9.0
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%
• Seasons: 8
• Cast: Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Chris Parnell, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer
• Creators: Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland

Few adult cartoons have straddled multiple demographics and captured the modern zeitgeist like this one here. With the universe literally at their disposal, an alcoholic genius named Rick and his grandson Morty traverse time and space to consistently hilarious effects. Just how hilarious, you ask? Look no further than the impressive 9.0 ratings on IMDb for your answer. Meanwhile, the show’s cultural impact remains palpable, with a best-selling Szechuan sauce and a range of catchphrases to show for it. 

While the removal of the show’s creator, Justin Roiland, stirred up some concerns about its quality moving forward, season seven was released to pretty solid reviews, and the new voice actors of Rick and Morty, Harry Belden and Ian Cardoni, did a fantastic job. 

11. Samurai Jack

• Where to Watch: Apple TV+
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
• Seasons: 5
• Cast: Phil LaMarr, Mako, Tara Strong, John DiMaggio
• Creators: Genndy Tartakovsky

Pulling from a range of cultural influences, this cartoon series follows a nameless samurai as he travels through time and tries to save the world. In addition to its compelling storyline of the action-adventure dystopian genre, the show features downright stunning visuals. Samurai Jack is in the running for one of the greatest animated shows of all time, garnering massive critical acclaim and winning eight Emmys. After the fourth season, it went on a 13-year hiatus before finally wrapping up in 2017.

After adopting the name Jack, the samurai wages a one-man war against an all-powerful demon, Aku, who rules the mostly destroyed world, to return to the past to defeat Aku before he can begin his rule. One of the most striking features of Samurai Jack is just how little dialogue there is. In the style of silent samurai films, the story is often told through beautiful imagery, silent communication, and measured action. It is a must-watch for anyone who loves cinematic storytelling.

12. Scavengers Reign

• Where to Watch: Binge
• IMDb Rating: 8.6
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
• Seasons: 1
• Cast: Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Alia Shawkat, Bob Stephenson, Ted Travelstead
• Creators: Joe Bennett, Charles Huettner

Despite being one of the most inventive sci-fi series of the past decade, Scavengers Reign is regrettably a one-and-done show. While it started life as a short on Adult Swim, before eventually getting turned into a full-length season on HBO Max, the series released to critical acclaim before being picked up by Netflix and promptly shelved. When a deep-space freighter is damaged, the crew must escape to a nearby planet which, as they’ll discover, is just about as difficult to comprehend as possible. Drawing on the work of famed sci-fi artist Moebius, artists and creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner deliver on the concept of what it’d be like to actually land on a truly alien world—nothing makes sense in the way you’d expect, but it does make sense, and the human survivors start to see the planet as a puzzle to crack in an effort to get themselves back into space and headed home. If you’re ready for some incredibly unique sci-fi, strap in and hope for a season two renewal with the rest of us.

13. The Simpsons

• Where to Watch: Disney+
• IMDb Rating: 8.6
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
• Seasons: 37
• Cast: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria
• Creators: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon

You knew it was coming. A list of the best cartoons for adults would be incomplete without acknowledging the granddaddy of them all: The Simpsons. Though the quality of the show has varied over the years, it must be said that in its prime, The Simpsons was untouchable and it has remained culturally relevant for over thirty years. 

It isn’t hard to think of incredible episodes: Who Shot Mr. Burns? The one where Homer works for a bond villain, Hank Scorpio. Any episode focusing on the rivalry between Bart and Sideshow Bob? Some of the best episodes, though, are ones disconnected from the show’s ‘main timeline’: the Treehouse of Horror episodes, which often lampoon famous horror movies or stories but with the show’s irreverent approach to character-based humour. I know there have been a lot of Draculas over the years, but Mr. Burns will always be my favourite. 

14. Smiling Friends

• Where to Watch: HBO Max
• IMDb Rating: 8.5
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
• Seasons: 3
• Cast: Michael Cusack, Zach Hadel, Marc M.
• Creators: Michael Cusak, Zach Hadel

Smiling Friends is what happens when you finally let the people who’ve been making niche YouTube animations for decades loose on a full-length animated series. I mean that literally: both creators, Michael Cusack (Cusack Creations) and Zach Hadel (Psychicpebbles) have been iterating on their own styles of creation for more than a decade, and have brought all the absurdity of the early years of the internet to HBO Max. Smiling Friends looks, at first blush, to be just another cartoon using ‘random’ humour, but the show is much weirder than that in the best way possible. Charlie Dompler and Pim Pimling are employees at Smiling Friends, a company focused on bringing happiness to people, but things often go awry as everyone who comes in to Smiling Friends is incredibly strange in their own way. 

15. South Park

• Where to Watch: Paramount+
• IMDb Rating: 8.7
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%
• Seasons: 28
• Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone
• Creators: Trey Parker, Matt Stone

If The Simpsons paved the way for cartoons for adults, South Park paved the way for cartoons for adults with adult themes. We all remember staying up late to watch South Park after our bedtime growing up, right? Well, now you can just binge the whole series at any time you like, and it is just as cutting and profane as you remember it. Some of our favourite episodes are ‘Cartman Gets an Anal Probe’, ‘Volcano’, ‘Sexual Harassment Panda’, and ‘How to Eat with Your Butt’.

Even after almost 30 seasons, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone still pull off some of the funniest and often most timely shows on TV. Who knew that four foul-mouthed grade schoolers could render such a lasting cultural impact (for better or worse)?