Five Cartoon Network and Adult Swim Shows To Watch on Sling Freestream

Young or old, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim on Sling Freestream have the cartoons you’re craving. Here are five of our favorites.

Although it later became popular with kids, The Flintstones was the first animated show aimed at adults. Its universal popularity speaks to the current state of animation, where shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy have followed multiple generations from their childhoods into adulthood and even middle-age.

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim embody this phenomena, as kids programming during the day gives way to adult animation at night. On Sling Freestream, you don’t have to wait until the sun goes down to watch your favorite Adult Swim shows: There are hundreds of episodes of both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows available to watch free, on-demand on the Cartoon Network & Adult Swim Sneak Peek channel.

Here’s a brief look at our favorites from each programmer. To watch Sling Freestream on your web browser, use the links below, or visit the Sling Freestream home page to create your free account and watch on your TV and other devices.

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Adult Swim

Rick and Morty

Rick and Morty is one of Adult Swim’s most popular shows, and deservedly so. Although you’ll need to subscribe to Sling Blue to catch all the new episodes of season 8, the premiere – “Summer of All Fears” – is on Sling Freestream, and it’s an all-timer. The premise is that Rick has banished Summer and Morty to the Matrix for the crime of forgetting to return his phone charger…and then forgets about them, forcing them to age and grow up in a harsh world where the sanctity of phone chargers must be protected at all costs. The episode is hilarious and surprisingly poignant, the sweet spot for the best of Rick and Morty.

Common Side Effects

Common Side Effects, the newest Adult Swim hit, feels original even on a channel that’s known for its unpredictability. Executive producers and King of the Hill alums Greg Daniels and Mike Judge (who also voices a character) help supply the laughs, but more than anything, Common Side Effects is an intense political thriller. To be clear, this is a show about magic mushrooms, but still, Common Side Effects features cliffhanger endings, brutal murders, and double-crossing schemers - elements more at home in Mission: Impossible films than the typical Adult Swim animated comedy. Adult Swim has already ordered a second season.

Smiling Friends

Absurdism is one of the hallmarks of the Adult Swim brand, and their shows don’t get much more absurd than Smiling Friends. The barest of setups – an eclectic group of coworkers at a company specializing in spreading happiness – allows each episode to follow its own path toward surreal misadventures. This is one of the harder Adult Swim shows to describe, just watch and you’ll smile. Following last year’s second season, season three will premiere this fall.

Ninja Kamui

Anime is a growing branch on the Adult Swim tree, and Ninja Kamui – their collaboration with director Sunghoo Park (The God of High School) and Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai) – actually premiered here in the States before its debut in Japan. The story is a boilerplate revenge tale, but Ninja Kamui is so well-stylized, anime fans won’t mind. The network just announced a second and third season.

The Venture Bros.

The pilot of The Venture Bros. first aired in February 2003, less than a year and a half after the debut of Adult Swim. By the time it wrapped with its final episode in October 2018, it had become one of the network’s long-running series, and is now considered one of the seminal shows in the rise of adult animation. A gentle satire of space age animated series like Jonny Quest, The Venture Bros. slowly evolved into a thematically rich show that touched on generational trauma, forgiveness and redemption, and according to co-creator Doc Hammer "beautiful sublime failure.” In many respects, The Venture Bros. walked so that shows like Rick and Morty could run.

Cartoon Network

Ben 10

For kids of a certain age – aka those who are now young adults – Ben 10 (and its many spin-offs) was a defining show of their childhoods. Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the show’s popularity was equaled by its success as toys and merchandise; in fact, since its premiere in 2005, Ben 10 has reportedly earned more than $7.85 billion in retail sales, making it Cartoon Network’s most valuable IP. Between the original series, Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Omniverse, and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Sling Freestream has more than 200 episodes available to watch on-demand.

Adventure Time

For the most part, there’s a pretty clear delineation between the kids-oriented programming on Cartoon Network and the shows on Adult Swim. But if there’s one show that splits the difference, it would be Adventure Time. One of Cartoon Network’s most acclaimed series, Adventure Time has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, three Annie Awards, two British Academy Children's Awards, a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award, and a Kerrang! Award. Silly enough for kids but trippy enough for the Adult Swim crowd, Adventure Time is a cartoon show that kids and their parents can agree on.

Steven Universe

Upon its release in 2013, Steven Universe became the first Cartoon Network show that was created by a woman, Rebecca Sugar (who has since come out as non-binary). A storyboard artist on Adventure Time, Sugar’s show went on to earn similar acclaim, including a Peabody Award and GLAAD Media Award for LGBTQ representation. Steven Universe has some similarities to the coming-of-age story arc of Adventure Time, and it spawned a limited series sequel, Steven Universe Future, which is also available on Sling Freestream.

Summer Camp Island

Another strange, surreal series, Summer Camp Island centers on Oscar and Hedgehog, two friends who attend the titular camp. The main characters are voiced by kid actors, but the large ensemble features everyone from comedians Mike Birbiglia, Fortune Feimster, Paula Poudstone, and Cedric the Entertainer to Whoopi Goldberg, Elijah Wood, Richard Kind, Melanie Lynskey, and Alia Shawkat.

Teen Titans Go!

“Originality” is a difficult nut to crack for shows based off of IP, obviously. But somehow, Teen Titans Go! figured out its formula early and nine seasons on, is still one of the most distinct shows on Cartoon Network. Following the adventures of young DC heroes Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire, Teen Titans Go! is clever and self-depricating, using the mythology of the comics to take playful jabs at the superhero genre.