Patrick McHale, Ian-Jones Quartey, Rebecca Sugar, Pen Ward Team Up For Experimental Adult Swim Special

Adult Swim returned made three new project announcements on Thursday at Annecy.

Two of the projects — one special and one series — are already greenlit, while a third is in development.

“We’re not just announcing new series, but also new ways of creating – from Adult Swim Smalls to a special done in an unconventional way – all that hopefully help push the boundaries of animation,” said Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim. “As always, we will be creator-driven and chance-taking until such time someone puts us in handcuffs. Literal ones.”

Here’s a look at what was announced, accompanied by the official Adult Swim descriptions:

The Elephant

A powerhouse collection of creators including Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), Ian Jones-Quartey (OK K.O.!), Patrick McHale (Over the Garden Wall), and Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time) are reuniting for a one-of-a-kind animated event so mysterious, even they don’t know what it’s about. Adult Swim’s The Elephant is an animated special where one team is responsible for one of three acts without any knowledge of what the others are making. With Sugar and Jones-Quartey working as a duo and McHale and Ward overseeing their own separate parts, The Elephant is guided by “game masters” Jack Pendarvis and Kent Osborne for a storytelling experiment that unfolds as a collaborative surprise, ultimately merging into a single, unexpected narrative. Married to the animated special will be a behind the scenes documentary, showing the unconventional situation in which the directors were operating. Coming to Adult Swim, The Elephant promises to be a truly original experience — not just for audiences, but for the creators themselves. The Elephant is produced by Titmouse for Adult Swim and will debut in 2026.

Keeping Up With The Joneses

From creators Hugh Davidson, Rachel Ramras, and Larry Dorf comes Keeping Up With The Joneses, a half-hour adult animated comedy that follows the Newberry family as they try to “keep up” with their staggeringly wealthy Dallas neighbors – including the one next door, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. The trio previously co-created and executive produced the Netflix series The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window. Davidson also wrote for Adult Swim’s Mike Tyson Mysteries and Robot Chicken, earning an Emmy Award for the latter. Keeping Up with the Joneses is produced for Adult Swim by Warner Bros. Animation.

Heist_Safari

Adult Swim and Cartoon Network Studios are in development for Heist_Safari from celebrated creator and director Genndy Tartakovsky. One year ago, during the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the series was pitched live on stage to Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen at the network’s Studio Focus Panel. An animated high-octane action comedy, Heist_Safari tells the story of three Frog brothers robbing a bank. Seems simple enough, but the execution is special as !#&$??!!!!

In addition to the new projects, Adult Swim also announced that it has renewed two shows for two seasons each: Smiling Friends (seasons 4 & 5) and Ninja Kamui (seasons 2 & 3).

Additionally, the network announced a release date for its first Spanish-language series, the previously-announced quarter-hour comedy Women Wearing Shoulder Pads. Created by Gonzalo Cordova (Tuca & Bertie, Adam Ruins Everything) and produced in partnership with Mexico City-based studio Cinema Fantasma, the series will launch globally on Sunday, August 17, at midnight ET/PT.