5 Biggest Adult Animated TV Show Bombs Of All Time

The immense success of "The Simpsons," one of the longest running TV shows in history, solidified the value of American animated TV shows aimed at adults. Since then, networks and streamers alike have been flooded with animated shows targeted at older audiences. Initially, these programs materialized as sitcoms, such as "King of the Hill" and "Family Guy." In recent years, though, adult-skewing animated shows have become so popular that they now inhabit all kinds of stories and genres. These productions can range from "Smiling Friends" to "BoJack Horseman" to "Invincible," among many other current hits.

Given how long "South Park" and "Bob's Burgers" have remained on the air, it's easy to think that adult-skewing animated shows are a license to print money. In reality, though, tons of these efforts have gone nowhere. Over the years, networks have launched several attempts to make the next "Simpsons" or "Rick & Morty" only to end up with something like "Allen Gregory." 

Five of these boondoggles are particularly fascinating in hindsight. Their various flaws are glaringly obvious now and breaking down those shortcomings is more entertaining than the shows themselves. Adult-skewing animation is everywhere nowadays, but these five programs are cautionary tales that not everything can be "The Simpsons."

Once "The Simpsons" proved animation on primetime could be massive hits, every other network scrambled to get in on the action. Immediate attempts to recapture that "Simpsons" magic from CBS and ABC have gone down as overhyped TV shows that ended up being terrible. This included the especially misguided "Fish Police," based on the comic series from Steve Moncuse. While "The Simpsons" provided a wackier and more emotionally complex portrait of the standard sitcom family, "Fish Police" was a paint-by-numbers noir pastiche (albeit underwater).

The show, centered on Inspector Gil (John Ritter), hailed from Hanna-Barbera, Inc. and began airing on CBS in February 1992. Immediately, reviews were dire, with many critics lamenting how the storytelling instincts of its source material had been traded for lifeless puns. Whereas "The Simpsons" has lasted for hundreds of episodes, "Fish Police" was jettisoned from CBS's schedule after three. The three remaining installments gradually leaked out, initially only to international audiences.

Why didn't "Fish Police" catch on? Emphasizing talking fish and all-ages gags made "Fish Police" seem like it was skewed towards younger audiences. However, its bursts of adult humor alienated that market and also didn't captivate grown-up viewers. "Fish Police" appealed to nobody, making its flop status inevitable.

The 2004 indie "Napoleon Dynamite" was a bolt-out-of-the-blue success that forever changed how people talked about ligers and tater tots. Whether it's the things only adults notice in "Napoleon Dynamite" or the finer nuances of the film's dry performances, this Jared Hess directorial effort has captivated people's imaginations. While the chances of seeing a "Napoleon Dynamite" sequel are slim, the movie did get translated into an animated sitcom of the same name created by the film's creative masterminds, Jared and Jerusha Hess. Former "Simpsons" showrunner Mike Scully shepherded the program into the realm of animation, while the entire cast of the initial film came back to reprise their respective roles.

Premiering in January 2012, the small screen "Napoleon Dynamite" already had a problem in launching eight years after the original film. "Vote For Pedro" shirts weren't quite as hot a commodity in a post-"Hangover" world. Meanwhile, adhering to the movie's grounded, subdued vibes made "Napoleon Dynamite" a very odd animated show. It couldn't get as stylized as "Family Guy," yet the character designs and some visual gags still felt too heightened compared to the initial film.

In the end, the series lasted only six episodes before getting canned. The "Napoleon Dynamite" movie may have endured in pop culture, but its TV adaptation was nowhere near as lucky.

It's common now to criticize adult-skewing animated shows for having off-putting animation. Contributing to this widely-maligned trend was the 2017 Fox sitcom "Bordertown." Take one look at its characters and it's easy to see why people wouldn't want to stare at these figures for 22 minutes a week. These repellant-looking creations anchored a show by creator Mark Hentemann and executive producer Seth MacFarlane that was originally set for a fall 2014 debut. In a worrying sign of what was to come, it didn't premiere until January 2016.

Reviews were nothing short of scathing, with critics declaring "Bordertown" an unimaginative project exploiting the laziest gags imaginable. Audiences weren't any more enthusiastic. While the show initially aired in the 9:30 p.m. slot on Fox's Sunday nights, right after "Family Guy," it was quickly shuffled off to the 7:00 p.m. slot. This ominous shift was followed up two months later by the show getting cancelled.

Immigration was a hot-button topic in American political discourse in 2016, hindering the breakout potential of "Bordertown," a series that took place on the border between America and Mexico. People were already inundated with discussions about this topic, and this sitcom was flailing its arms around a crowded room, not helped by the show's awful nature and abysmal character designs.

If you told someone a new Fox comedy was launching starring Jason Bateman, chances are they'd be intrigued. If you told them that it also starred Will Arnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Kenan Thompson, and Henry Winkler, they'd declare it a must-see. That was exactly the cast assembled for "Sit Down, Shut Up," an American remake of a live-action Australian sitcom of the same name. As a cherry on top, this endeavor was headed by Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator of "Arrested Development" and many of its best running gags.

Alas, even with so much talent assembled, "Sit Down, Shut Up" didn't last long. This show's cast of degenerate high school teachers weren't much fun to spend time with. "Sit Down, Shut Up's" central players (even with that stacked voice cast at its disposal), bound by the constrictions of broadcast television, couldn't get as dark or creatively warped as, say, the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" cast. They instead came across as abrasive and unpleasant.

"Sit Down, Shut Up's" creative flaws inspired an embarrassing run involving Fox shunting it to a worse Sunday night timeslot after only two episodes, and canceling after just six. Instead of being one his smash hits, "Sit Down, Shut Up" turned out just as rotten as some of Jason Bateman's worst movies.

David Spade's most famous voice acting role is easily Kuzco from "The Emperor's New Groove." The same year that kooky Disney comedy debuted, though, Spade voiced the two sibling leads of the animated sitcom "Sammy," Sammy and James Blake. The "Saturday Night Live" veteran even co-created "Sammy," a sign of how invested he was. Unfortunately, "Sammy" ultimately suffered from too much David Spade. Critics lambasted the show for, among other drawbacks, its overuse of the comedian's trademark snarky punchlines. 

It took only two weeks for NBC to also dismiss this program. "Sammy's" first episode aired in early August 2000, and after that second installment, NBC removed the show from its schedule. However, what happened next was unusual, even among adult animated show flops. After its demise, the program vanished entirely. Whereas similarly short-lived animated series like "Father of the Pride" or "The Goode Family" got DVD releases, "Sammy" was totally inaccessible.

The show even technically qualified as lost media until 2021, when episodes (including unaired ones) began getting uploaded online. This brought some resolution to a show that seemed doomed to a new level of obscurity. Needless to say, Spade found a bit more success with his Kuzco shenanigans.