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When it comes to animated series, Netflix does the thing, and it does it well. And if you’re looking for one to binge, we’ve outlined the seven best animated comedies on the streamer right now.

One might think making an animated series is easy. Most episodes are about 20 to 30 minutes in length, there’s freedom to stretch reality or play around with grotesque plots you probably couldn’t get away with in live action. But on the flip side, that’s what also makes it a niche skill, and the reason why there are only so few that make it into the Hall of Fame.

Between Netflix’s original works and the titles it licenses, the streamer has some heavy-hitters everyone can enjoy. Here’s the seven we chose.

“Bojack Horseman” (2014) “Bojack Horseman” (Netflix)

When it comes to the best animated series on Netflix, there’s absolutely no...

The alternative comedy movement of the 1990s and early 2000s spawned a dazzling host of boundary pushing entertainment that spanned films, television, stand-up, music, and animation. It was hard to keep tabs on all of the original voices emerging during this time, sometimes frustratingly so. For example, just when you thought you'd found a new favorite TV show, the network would abruptly pull the plug due to lousy ratings, even though raves from critics indicated that it had a high-quality series on its hands that might just need a little more time to find its audience (as was the case with "Seinfeld"). This is how we unceremoniously lost classics like "The Ben Stiller Show," "Freaks and Geeks," and "Undeclared" after one season.

While I'd like to think some of these series would've eventually caught on with a large enough viewership to justify their continued network existence, many oddball series were doomed from the outset.

Long before Fox's Animation Domination programming block on Sunday nights, there was Adult Swim, the mature audience-oriented block on Cartoon Network. Starting in 2001, Adult Swim initially ran later at night on the cable channel, featuring more risqué content than the daytime programming, at least in terms of humor and violence. As Adult Swim's popularity grew, distinguishing itself further from Cartoon Network's usual programming, the block began to feature a growing amount of original series in addition to licensed shows. This move helped not only expand Cartoon Network's viewership to older audiences but solidified the popularity of adult animation in the United States.

Even though Adult Swim featured the official North American debuts of several popular international series, especially anime, we're focusing on original shows produced specifically for the programming block. From mock live-action talk shows to both serious and comedic animated series, Adult Swim continues to offer a wide variety with its series.

Prior to the debut of "The Powerpuff Girls" in 1998, show creator Craig McCracken had directed a series of tasteless cartoon shorts starring a character named No-Neck Joe. No-Neck Joe appeared regularly at the celebrated annual Spike & Mike Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, cementing McCracken's underground credentials. The Powerpuff Girls first came into McCracken's repertoire as early as 1992, back when they were called the Whoopass Girls. The juxtaposition between the characters' creepy, ultra-cute, Margaret Keane-like faces and their ultra-violent behavior was the stuff of comedy legend, and McCracken kept the Girls in his back pocket for years.

Throughout the 1990s, McCracken rose in the ranks of the animation world, landing gigs on shows like "2 Stupid Dogs," "Dumb and Dumber," and, most notably, Genndy Tartakovsky's seminal series 1996 "Dexter's Laboratory." McCracken directed many episodes of the show. "Dexter's Laboratory" was one of four new series launched by the Cartoon Network...

Adam Reed was searching for inspiration. He’d just sold his stake in the production company he co-founded, 70/30 Productions — responsible for his animated series Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo — and fled to Europe, to embark on what he calls a “pilgrimage.” One day during his expedition, he was idling at a café in Salamanca, Spain, and observed a group of stunning women. He wondered who could possibly have the courage to approach them. And then, all of a sudden, a suave fellow sat down at the table, ordered a...

Looking to check out the latest iteration of Aqua Teen Hunger Force — Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm? It's now available for streaming.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm is the latest entry in the long-running Aqua Teen Hunger Force series. The 2022 animated film is a direct-to-video and streaming movie that continues the adventure of the Athf characters, with Master Shake, Frylock, Meatwad, and of course, Carl, returning.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Watch Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm on Amazon Prime Video

The Long History of Aqua Teen Hunger Force

If you're not familiar with Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as simply Athf or Aqua Teen) it originated as an animated series on the cable channel Adult Swim's late-night block of programming. It was an important part of the network's early programming, alongside other animated shows such as Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Archer” Season 10, “Robert De Niro,” including the ending.]

It was time to move forward. Over the last three seasons of “Archer,” creator Adam Reed sent his merry band of marauders to “Dreamland,” “Danger Island,” and “1999,” resetting their surroundings and professions each year without altering their enticing character dynamics. The results made for grand entertainment — and proved how far the series’ core could be stretched without cracking — but the set-up demanded a return to the present, sooner rather than later.

Thus, the Season 10 finale abides, wrapping up a series of silly, lush, and barely connected space adventures with a big bang that doubled as a jumpstart back to reality. As unveiled at Comic-Con, “Archer” finally wakes up. The coma he was sent into at the end of Season 7 comes to a close, as do the dreamy adventures he went on while unconscious that shaped each previous season.

And yet, what Reed has accomplished...

The world of Harvey Birdman is expanding.

Adult Swim has given a series order to “Birdgirl,” a spinoff of “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” with Paget Brewster set to lend her voice to the title character. Brewster previously voiced Birdgirl in the original series as well as the recent special “Harvey Birdman, Attorney General,” which aired on Adult Swim in October.

In the new series, after being named CEO of the world’s largest and most non-sensical corporation, Sebben & Sebben, Judy Ken Sebben (aka Birdgirl) has to find a way to maintain her work/superhero life balance. Through the halls of the company headquarters she assembles her Birdteam. By day, they try to drag the company into this century. By mid-afternoon, they usually end up having to break a lot of things to stop something bad that one of them may have helped cause.

The half-hour series was created and...

It can be hard to believe, but “Archer” is about to enter its 10th season. That’s right, the creative team behind “Archer” has been going at it non-stop for almost 10 years. (Phrasing!) To celebrate Gold Derby offers the photo gallery above of the 40 greatest episodes of the animated series, ranked worst to best. Click through our photo gallery above and see if your favorite episodes made it on to the list.

“Archer” centers on Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), a selfish, womanizing covert agent at Isis, an intelligence agency run by his over-bearing mother, Malory (Jessica Walter). Also working at Isis is his ex-girlfriend, Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), who is dating the agency’s incredibly nerdy comptroller, Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell). The rest of the cast consists of Malory’s completely insane secretary, Cheryl (Judy Greer), Isis’s raunchy and surprisingly strong head of human resources, Pam Poovey (Amber Nash...

It can be hard to believe, but “Archer” is about to enter its 10th season. That’s right, the creative team behind “Archer” has been going at it non-stop for almost 10 years. (Phrasing!) To celebrate Gold Derby offers the photo gallery above of the 40 greatest episodes of the animated series, ranked worst to best. Click through our photo gallery above and see if your favorite episodes made it on to the list.

“Archer” centers on Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), a selfish, womanizing covert agent at Isis, an intelligence agency run by his over-bearing mother, Malory (Jessica Walter). Also working at Isis is his ex-girlfriend, Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), who is dating the agency’s incredibly nerdy comptroller, Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell). The rest of the cast consists of Malory’s completely insane secretary, Cheryl (Judy Greer), Isis’s raunchy and surprisingly strong head of human resources, Pam Poovey (Amber Nash...

When Adam Reed pitched his “James Bond meets ‘Arrested Development’” spy series to FX, he always intended for it to be animated because that was his area of expertise.

The cabler, which prides itself on having a slate of successful shows that are “radical deconstructions and reconstructions of genre,” per CEO John Landgraf, did not blink at the idea of adding “Archer,” an adult cartoon, to its lineup in 2009. And as the years have gone by, an increase in animator talent and an evolution of digital technology has allowed the show to take more creative risks.

“When we started it was really just eight of us in this house in East Atlanta,” art director Chad Hurd says. “The house style was limited animation [and] everything was drawn in Adobe Illustrator. We storyboarded everything to be very, very user friendly, but the animation was a little stiffer.”

The first season of “Archer” received a 10-episode order,...

Apollo Gauntlet is a delightful marriage of 80s Saturday morning cartoons you loved growing up and the ramblings of a Canadian. Check out the trailer and continue on below for more: 

Paul Cassidy is an ex-cop transported to a world not unlike He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe. The real difference comes in the form of Cassidy, who finds a suit and transforms into the mighty Apollo Gauntlet. Using super powers and an incredibly specific and obscure sense of humor, Apollo Gauntlet saves his new home time and time again with little recognition from those around him. 

While the 80s cartoon vibe is a nice touch, Paul Cassidy/Apollo Gauntlet is the gem that makes this series truly shine. His references appear random, but in truth they're just the everyday thoughts that run through the head of creator of the series Myles Langlois. Pro wrestling, Hall & Oates, even Ukranian...

Kirsten Howard Jun 2, 2017

As Archer's eighth season comes to a close, Adam Reed opens up about the inspiration behind Dreamland...

This article contains spoilers for Archer season 8.

See related Better Call Saul season 3 episode 7 review: Expenses Better Call Saul season 3 episode 6 review: Off Brand Better Call Saul season 3 episode 5 review: Chicanery

When Adam Reed first created Archer for FX eight years ago, it's unlikely he thought it would go on as long as it has, but the success of the show and its subsequent renewals have given Reed and co. the chance to make bold moves with their storytelling.

Sterling Archer has gone from spy, to drug runner, to dad, to detective, to coma patient over the better part of a decade, and its this last sticky situation that led to season 8 plunging Archer and the other suddenly-not-so-familiar characters of Reed's series into Dreamland, a 1940s noir fantasy world...

Man, I love me some Adult Swim. Hell, I remember when it first premiered with those bumpers that showed grainy footage of old people in a community pool. I still have fond memories of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Home Movies, and Sealab 2021.  Anyway, two new 15-minute shows are being produced for Adult Swim that sound like Adult Swim shows. First up is Apollo Gauntlet, based on a popular... Read More...

Channing Tatum will be voicing our nation's first President, George Washington, in an animated film featuring a revisionist history of America. Deadline tells us Netflix will be pushing its first animated motion picture titled, America: The Motion Picture. The film is being produced by Tatum as well as the duo behind Archer. Dave Callaham, who wrote the first two Expendables movies, wrote the script, and Matt Thompson will be directing. 

I think I'm sold on what little info we know so far, how about you? Everything from the Archer team from Frisky Dingo to SeaLab 2021 has been gold, so I can't expect anything different from this. ...

Alec Bojalad Dec 1, 2018

Hulu's TV collection is vast and intimidating. Simplify things (or complicate them further) with our list of older and lesser-known gems.

Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back to see what other little-seen classics get added to Hulu.

Updated for December 2018. You can see a complete list of new Hulu releases here.

There are very few Internet streaming pools deeper than Hulu's current TV offerings.

And that's an excellent opportunity to find some excellent shows on Hulu you didn't know were streaming. Ok, you may be aware of some - especially if you have a Hulu subscription and a healthy appetite for television. But we're betting there are even some you may have missed along the way.

Here, you might find some old favorites from your childhood or something more foreign, sometimes literally if you're American. They're all worth watching,...

Dax Shepard seems to be pulling an Orson Welles (or an Ed Wood, depending on how it all turns out) by writing, directing, producing, and acting (as co-lead Jon Baker) in the new CHiPS remake, based on the popular cop show starring Erik Estrada (forever known, to me at least, as the voice of Marco from Sealab 2021). Joining him, in the aforementioned Estrada role of "Ponch", is none other than... Read More...

Archer is probably one of my favorite shows at the moment. It's funny, action-packed, and even has a bit of heart.  And I've loved everything creator Adam Reed has done so far, including his previous shows Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo (of which Archer bears a more than a passing resemblance to Xander Crews from that show). One thing that has made the show so appealing is its... Read More...

Adult Swim animator and voice actor Clay Martin Croker died yesterday at the age of 54, as reported by Adult Swim creative director Jason DeMarco and contributor/rapper Mc Chris. Croker is best known for voicing both Zorak and Moltar on the long-running Cartoon Network talk show parody “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” a series credited for establishing Adult Swim, spawning four separate spin-off shows — “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Sealab 2021,” “The Brak Show,” and “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” — and produced the majority of the writers and staff who still currently work for the alternative programming block.

Read More: Adult Swim Makes History By Launching First Full Episode On Vine

Croker began his career animating promos for TNT in the early-90s, but moved to Cartoon Network a few years later to help animate and design bumpers for the network’s rebranding. It was then producer Mike Lazzo, now Senior...

This isn’t anywhere close to the true story about eight Eternians… It’s been more than 30 years since He-Man first channeled the power of Greyskull. Now, the muscleman with the bob cut is back in a “reality” show that just launched on YouTube. In this Real World-style video that’s clearly inspired by What's Up, Tiger Lily? and Sealab 2021, He-Man, Teela, Skeletor and the rest of the crew move into Castle Greyskull and the chaos ensues. The Real Masters of Eternia is produced by Dreamworks TV and was written by Matt Levy and Alex Hoffman. This isn’t the first time someone’s attempted a reality animated show. From 2004-07 Comedy Central aired the show Drawn Together, which featured the voices of Adam Carolla and Tara Strong. Check out the video of The Real Masters of Eternia…...

Photo found at Dorkly

Are you ready for San Diego Comic-Con?! The event is closing in on us really fast, and it's going to be so great to be in San Diego among hundreds of thousands of other like-minded geeky individuals. Every year I attend Comic-Con it's like coming home. It's my most anticipated event of the year. Comic-Con International has released the full event and panel schedule for Friday, July 25th that you can see in its entirety here. But I've provided a few of the most notable panels that will be taking place that day below. It's a big day for TV as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones panels will both be held in Hall H.

Marvel: Spider-Verse - It's the most epic Spider-Man event of all time as every Spider-Man Ever come together to face a world-ending threat! Senior editor Nick Lowe, Dan Slott (Amazing...

San Diego Comic-Con has released the full schedule of events for Friday, July 25, following the Thursday schedule that was released yesterday. You can clickHere to view the lineup in its entirety, which includes numerous comic book panels and events, but we have pulled out all of the movie, DVD and TV-related panels for your convenience.

Friday, July 25

10:00am - 11:00am - Cartoon Network: Uncle Grandpa & Clarence

Good mornin'! What's better than a panel of one Cartoon Network Comedy? Two cartoon network comedies! That's right fans, prepare yourself for double the comedy, double the fun and double the friends with Uncle Grandpa and Clarence! Join the always-entertaining cast and crew for a behind-the-scenes look at two of the newest hit shows on Cartoon Network. It's woooooorth it. Appearing from Uncle Grandpa are creator Peter Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa), Kevin Michael Richardson (Mr. Gus), and Eric Bauza (Belly Bag). Appearing from...

There was a certain point in history, somewhere between The Simpsons and Daria, when TV animation ceased to be the sole provenance of kids drooling over their morning bowls of Lucky Charms. These days, cartoons for grown-ups are not only ubiquitous, but hilariously twisted and high-quality to boot — and that's due in large part to a phenomenon called Adult Swim. What began as a freaky little block of late-night programming has evolved into a vast, even-freakier universe of animated and live-action series with a sardonic, absurdist sense of humor that's...

They conceive the characters, write or co-write the scripts, set the pace and provide the vision for the TV programs you know and love. They're called showrunners, and they are the designated auteurs of the boob-tube renaissance still in progress. Writer-producers such as Joss Whedon, Shonda Rhimes, Matthew Weiner, Vince Gilligan, and the holy trinity of Davids — Chase, Milch and Simon — have earned profile pieces and graced magazine covers, becoming celebrities in their own right. They are to modern television what film directors were to the New Hollywood of the...

Once upon a time, it may very well have been possible to see all of the great television that aired in North America in a calendar year. For most of us, that time is over. From the ever-growing list of networks supplying quality programming to the advent of digital content providers smuggling in new and previously-unavailable series from around the world, 2013 marked the year TV became a truly unwieldy beast – in the best way possible. Beyond the distribution aspect, great television became a more diverse concept than ever before, in ways reflected in our staff’s collective list. Our Top 25 finds room for series of all shapes and sizes, from popular network mainstays to canceled-but-beloved cable darlings and everything in between. The beauty of it all? It’ll likely be even more painful to whittle it down to just 25 next year.

****

25. Archer (FX)

One of the best animated series going at the moment,...

Comic-Con released their full schedule of events and panels for for Friday, July 19th! It looks like another great day at the event, and we're excited to be there to cover as much as we can for you!

Friday will include panels for The World's End, Kick-Ass 2, Riddick, The Walking Dead, "DC Comics Justice League: Trinity War", Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Game of Thrones, "Marvel: Cup O' Joe," Robocop, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Veronica Mars, Robot Chicken, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and more!

To see the full panel and event line-up, click here. Below you'll find a few noteworthy panels. Stay tuned for all your Comic-Con awesomeness!

Friday, July 19

Star Wars Comics: Here and Now

What is the current state of Star Wars comics? Join Dark Horse editor Randy Stradley and Star Wars creators Carlos D'Anda, Corinna Bechko, Gabriel Hardman, Doug Wheatley,...

Friday’s Comic-Con schedule has landed! And it’s totally packed with action, from Simon Pegg’s latest The World’s End panel to a special Veronica Mars presentation.

In case you missed it, click here to see Thursday’s schedule and below you’ll see Friday’s TV and movie highlights. For more info and the complete schedule head over to the official Comic-Con site.

10:00am-11:00am, Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Cartoon Network: Regular Show: Care to join the not so regular cast and crew for an eventful hour of over the top regular?...

If you are among the many people today who fancy themselves a geek and/or nerd then you undoubtedly know the name Mc Chris. Now on the off chance that his name is unfamiliar to you then your nerd card should be revoked. From his voice work on early Adult Swim cartoons like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021 to his humorously catchy nerd themed raps Mc Chris has certainly earned himself a spot in modern geek culture. With eight studio albums and a legion of loyal fans it is somewhat mind boggling that networks have so quickly passed on the pitch for his cartoon (cleverly named The Mc Chris Cartoon).

Even Adult Swim with whom the Mc has worked on and off with since the programming block’s debut in 2001 has decided to pass on the project. Surly they have a good reason (most likely temporary insanity). Because...

After Frisky Dingo's brief Mr. Ford cameo, Adam Reed finally got to do his big crossover episode with Sealab 2021 during tonight's "Sea Tunt: Part 2."

So how did Jon Hamm do in filling the shoes as the voice of Captain Murphy?

Murphy, like many villains in the Archer-universe, was hardly the most dangerous man of the night. Even as the captain threatened to unload nerve gas missiles against the eastern seaboard, it was Randy Magnum and his 3.5 gallons of booze that really got in the way. That, and Krieger's cocaine-induced gun mods.

Hamm's Murphy, despite holding a knife to Lana's neck, certainly redeemed himself when it was revealed he merely had a psychotic breakdown, lacked any actual missiles... and even helped the Isis plan their escape Sea Lab.

But, honestly, Hamm never quite captured the ridiculousness that was the real Captain Murphy. Nor did he really sound like himself.

Keeping with the theme, the first episode of Archer‘s two-part season finale includes another charade, this one more convoluted than all the rest. In order to fund his philanthropic endeavors, Cheryl’s brother Cecil lures her and her Isis cohorts aboard his “chopper-saurus” in an elaborate ruse to get recorded testimony verifying what we’ve all known since the pilot, that Cheryl is (to use a Weird Al lyric) “two fries short of a Happy Meal.”

This is a two-parter, however, alerting the viewer that another twist is on its way, or else there would be no second part. As Lana points out, Cecil could’ve called them to court and the end result would’ve been the same. Why fool them with the promise of a nuclear weapon Malory could ransom back to the United States?

It’s left a smidgen vague, the writers making us connect the...

After the last season finale sent us to a space station, naturally this year's part one of a two parter took us in the opposite direction... leagues and fathoms below to an underwater sea lab.

On our journey to the lab this week, part one took place entirely on a choppersaurus, where H. Jon Benjamin brought along two of his Bob's Burgers co-stars, Eugene Mirman and Kristen Schaal.  The comedic duo voiced Cheryl's philantrhopic brother, Cecil Tunt, and and his very vegan girlfriend, Tiffy.

Much like Isis, we were led to believe we were on an exciting maritime race against the Russians to recover a hydrogen bomb. You know, to collect a big fat ransom treason reward.

In the end, the episode ended up being a best of Cheryl's crazy as Cecil attempted to steal his sister's share of the family's billions. That, and some impressive bartending by Archer and major soy scrimpting by Pam.

Troy Baker will be playing Booker while Courtnee Draper takes on the role of Elizabeth as Irrational lays out the "Mass Effect," "Kingdom Hearts II," and "Sealab 2021" vets among the cast portraying the heroes and villains of "Bioshock Infinite."

You can find the full cast list after the jump.

The coolest thing about this cast list is that it's populated by veteran voice actors and not simply sprinkled liberally with television and film actors putting in a couple of hours in the booth. "Dishonored" had a great cast of performers turning in one of the more uninspired collection of voice overs in recent memory.

Troy Baker

(Final Fantasy Xiii, Catherine, Red Faction: Guerilla, Brothers In Arms, Batman: Arkham City)

as Booker DeWitt

Courtnee Draper

(Surf’s Up, Ponyo, and Kingdom Hearts II)

as Elizabeth

Jennifer Hale

(Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)

as Rosalind Lutece

Oliver Vaquer

(Dexter,...

If your friends are weak at the knees for Two And A Half Men, or earwaxing lyrical about what happened on American Idol last week, there’s a quickfire remedy available sans syringe, chloroform, or having to spend months finding new friends: turn them on to FX’s highest quality offering, Archer.

Maybe it’s just that you miss Arrested Development. Maybe you’ve come to the realization that there hasn’t been any quotable dialogue produced by The Simpsons in more than a decade. Perhaps in an age of high unemployment and over-qualification across dozens of crowded industries, you’re looking for something to fill that hole in your doughnut . . . alright, that was heavy. Probably not that one. Maybe you just need something to knock off half an hour while you’re waiting for the bus or something. If so, this is the best way to spend any half...

When Marvel Studios teased that it wanted to give other, smaller superheroes from its comic book catalogue the time to shine, the studio wasn't kidding. Enter the All Heroes Squad, a group of obscure Marvel superheroes who are the stars of the studio's new web series.

Seemingly taking a page out of Adult Swim's playbook, the pilot episode of the new series seems like a bit like "Sealab 2021" meets "Archer" with a dash of "The Avengers" and "Celebrity Rehab" thrown in. Not intrigued yet? Well, how could you not be when beloved (read: unknown) superheroes like Howard the Duck, Frog-Man and Squirrel Girl are part of the show!

Hopefully Marvel got some help from their parent company Disney for this cartoon, and maybe even had the helping hands over at Pixar pitch in. We dig the idea of this series more than we do the "Avengers"/"Phineas and Ferb...

Following a crowd-pleasing, sample-laden set at Pitchfork Music Festival two weekends ago, Flying Lotus has released a new song, “Between Friends,” available for download now through Adult Swim’s Summer Singles Program. The song features an appearance by erstwhile Odd Future prodigy Earl Sweatshirt, who seems to be keeping himself busy following a return to music earlier this year. Also guesting on the song is one “Captain Murphy,” who appears to be neither the Swedish rock band nor the Sealab 2021 character of the same name. Flying Lotus’s new album, Until the Quiet Comes, is set to be released ...

With Comic Con 2012 kicking off in sunny San Diego this week, theTVaddict.com thought now might be as good a time as any to share our definitive list of Must See TV Panels.

Wednesday July 11

6:00-9:45Pm: Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings— Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of five of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2012-13 television season: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution and Cult. (Ballroom 20)

Thursday July 12

10:30-11:30Pm: Battlestar Galactica: So Say We All: Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt Apollo) hosts a 35th anniversary preview panel and fan discussion of the Battlestar universe, politics, philosophy, and 35 year history. Joining Hatch are Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar and Caprica), Lili Bordan (actress, Blood and Chrome), Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Blood and Chrome), Toni Graphia...

The Comic-Con 2012 schedule has now been released in full, and barring any major updates, is set. The blessing and curse of being an attendee is deciding which panels/autograph sessions/special events to attend, when they conflict. And they always do.

For you to see for yourself, below are what we are calling the “headliner” panels; those panels that are taking place in Hall H, Ballroom 20, Room 6Bdf, and the just-next-door Hilton Indigo Ballroom, the four major venues for panels. There are descriptions of each panel as well as the show(s) and/or movie(s) they are there to discuss.

See how many conflicts you might have, or how you might arrange time and space to somehow attend these plus spend every day in the vendors’ Exhibit Hall and chasing zombies in the nearby The Walking Dead Escape. By the way, if you figure that out, Please let us know.

Comic-Con International has released the full schedules for Preview Night, Wednesday, July 11, and the first full day at the Con, Thursday, July 12. We have pulled out all the movie, DVD, and TV-related events right here. You can also clickHere for the entire schedule, including comic book events.

Wednesday, July 11 - Preview Night

6:00-9:45 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings

Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of five of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2012-13 television season: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution and Cult.

666 Park Avenue

At 666 Park Avenue, anything you desire can be yours...for a price. Lost's Terry O'Quinn and Desperate Housewives' Vanessa Williams headline this scary, seductive drama from Alloy Entertainment as the owners of a Manhattan apartment building who recruit an idealistic young couple...

“This is the year two thousand and twenty. The place is the Challenger Sea Mount, the top of an underwater mountain, a complex beneath the sea. Two hundred and fifty men, women and children live here. Each of them, a scientist pioneer. For this is our last frontier, a hostile environment which may hold the key to tomorrow. Each day, these oceanauts meet new challenges as they build their city beneath the sea. This is Sealab 2020.”

Hanna-Barbera had to change with the times and as the 1970s dawned, kids and adults alike were tuning into the difficulties planet Earth was facing. Ecology and Earth Day were on everyone’s lips. At the same time, parents’ groups were insisting Saturday morning cartoon shows do more than shill cereal and have characters hit one another.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Their answer was Sealab 2020, which lasted a mere season comprising just 13 episodes.

Adult Swim created a new language for cartoons. From the style of animation (which combined old school cell animation with new digital technology) to the nonsense plots that would often run for fifteen minutes or less, it’s a formula that has become something of a standard – until then, animated shows often went The Simpsons route. Archer, the FX adult cartoon show, is a mixture of both, but with a lot of that Adult Swim style. It’s no surprise that creator Adam Reed also worked on Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Sealab 2021. The show stars H. Jon Benjamin as Archer, the would-be Bond spy for Isis, a spy organization run by his mother (Jessica Walter). There he works with fellow spy Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), desk girls Cheryl Tunt (Judy Greer) and Pam Poovey (Amber Nash), and with Lana’s former lover Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell). The...

When people are asked to name great animated comedies the likes of South Park and Family Guy are usually at the top of the list. And every time that happens, I shed a tear (I'm an emotional man). Not because I dislike those shows (in fact, quite the opposite), but because Archer never seems to be among the top three named. Despite being created by Adam Reed (Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Sealab 2021), Archer is often overlooked by many.  But we're going to change that status right here, right now (time zones be damned!). Hear me, Internet, Archer is a show worthy of your time and affection! Don't believe us? Here's 11 reasons why you should watch Archer.

Also, don't forget to watch the comedy's return January 19th on FX.

Like always, Comic Con International is revealing the schedule of events day by day. It certainly makes planning a lot easier. But that's neither here nor there. There's a lot of panels to cover, so let's just get to it. Check out the pertinent film and television panels set for the first two days of the show after the jump.

The first "day" of the show is Preview Night only, so there's only a couple things happening that night:

6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series—

Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of three of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2011-12 television season — Alcatraz, Person of Interest, and The Secret Circle — as well as Supernatural: The Anime Series,...

We're less than two weeks away from the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, and convention organizers have finally released the schedule for the first day of programing. You can find the full schedule on comic-con.org [1], or after the jump I've listed the film and television highlights, which includes the Masters of the Web panel which I've been invited to be a panelist on (In full disclosure, I've been asked to be on this panel for a few years now, but I've only just recently gotten over my fear of speaking in front of large audiences). It should be a fun panel, and I hear they will be giving away some really cool prizes as well. Wednesday (Preview Night) 6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series— Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night...

In an interview with The New Yorker that ran in October 2001, a month after she died, renowned film critic Pauline Kael said: "I still don't look at movies twice. It's funny, I just feel I got it the first time. With music it's different. People respond so differently to the whole issue of seeing a movie many times. I'm astonished when I talk to really good critics, who know their stuff and will see a film eight or ten or twelve times. I don't see how they can do it without hating the movie. I would." That kind of brash commitment is typical of Kael, but though she was a fantastic critic, the sentiment's a remarkably myopic one. Many times, it's possible to see a film and know that you "got it the first time," but any critic can only ever bring their current experience, knowledge, and understanding to the...

Archer

Season 2, Episode 1 - A Swiss Miss

Starring: H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, Chris Parnell, Aisha Tyler, Adam Reed and Jessica Walter

FX Network

Air date: January 27, 2011

I’ll admit, I didn’t watch much of the first season of Archer. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the show or anything of the sort, I just... didn’t watch it. However, the season two premiere of Archer reminded me of what I loved about the episodes I had seen and made a lot of headway in selling me on the rest of the season.

For those unfamiliar, Archer is a spy parody that focuses on the day to day life of a group of spies at the International Secret Intelligence Service or Isis which is run by Archer’s mother, Malory Archer (Jessica Walter), but with the humor and great animation style of Adam Reed (creator...

Archer returns tonight! Yay, my favorite foul-mouthed espionage cartoon is finally back for its second season. For anyone who ever crowded around a dorm-room computer to watch episodes of Sealab 2021 or Frisky Dingo, Archer feels like the natural next step. But it’s also a bit more ambitious (not to mention raunchy) than its predecessors with narrative arcs that lightly carry over episode-to-episode. Why isn’t everyone watching this show? The world’s just a really stubborn place that hates laughing and being awesome, I guess.

To the delight of its fans and the dismay of all others, Archer is eminently quotable.

This Week in DVD & Blu-ray is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD and Blu-ray releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s. Archer (Season 1) Much like its FX counterpart, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer is a show about horrible people doing horrible things. Premised as a '60s spy thriller spoof, the series adopts the same irreverent brand of humor we've come to expect from creator Adam Reed (Frisky Dingo, Sealab 2021), thrusting our deviant band of self-obsessed special agents through the ringer as they spout fiercely clever/cleverly stupid insults at one another and zanily stumble through mission after mission—with varying degrees of blood loss. It's everything loyal fans like myself came to love about Frisky Dingo, just with a tad bit more (very welcome) narrative structure. If you aren't watching it, you should be. Available on Blu-ray?...

If you've got money or gift cards left over from Christmas that are burning a hole in your pocket, there are a few new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week that just might be worth picking up. Most notably, Anton Corbijn's The American starring George Clooney hits stores today, along with the fourth Resident Evil film Resident Evil: Afterlife, which is also available on Blu-ray in 3D! If that's not enough for you, there is also Joel Schumacher's latest crapterpiece Twelve, along with new seasons of Jersey Shore and Diablo Cody's The United States of Tara, plus the first season of the amazing animated spy comedy Archer, from the makers of Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo. Will you be buying or renting anything this week? The American [1] (+ Blu-ray [2]) Resident Evil: Afterlife [3] (+ Blu-ray [4], Blu-ray 3D [5]) Twelve [6] (+ Blu-ray [7]) Fubar II [8] (+ Blu-ray [9]) (Canada only) Legendary [10] Legacy [11] And Soon the Darkness...

Confession time, folks: I really don't know what to make of Taco Bell's "Super Delicious Ingredient Force" campaign created by veteran comic book artist Neal Adams.

Sure, it's funny in a retro-tastic "Sealab 2021"-style that twists the old "Super Friends" cartoons in all the best ways, but I can't help wondering whether the semi-veiled drug references, racial and sexual stereotypes, and interesting dialogue decisions are all part of the fast food company's master plan. (If you haven't checked out the campaign yet, I've included the first "episode" of the ad campaign at the end of this post.)

When MTV News caught up with Adams during this year's Dragon Con in Atlanta, Ga, the veteran creator discussed the very unique ad campaign, and plans for a new, 60-second to air during this weekend's Video Music Awards on MTV.

"Taco Bell seems to have hooked into this kind of animation," said Adams.

One of the most underrated new shows of last season in my humble opinion was FX’s animated spy comedy Archer. The best way to describe the show (to borrow a phrase from series creator Adam Reed) is “James Bond meets Arrested Development”. Given my adoration for the show, I jumped at the opportunity to meet and talk with Reed and cast members Judy Greer and Chris Parnell earlier today. Hit the jump for the interview highlights.

Judy Greer

The first person I got to speak with was Judy Greer (Arrested Development), voice of Cheryl, the spy agency’s ditzy secretary. Imagine an animated version of Greer’s Arrested Development character Kitty and you’ve got Cheryl.

-Greer was approached by Reed to do the show and agreed because she thought the show was “really funny and dark and naughty” but she never realistically expected the show would ever become...