A surreal anthropomorphic animated series from Adult Swim was just renewed after eight whole years without being on air, returning for its 12th season. Aqua Teen Hunger Force premiered at the start of the millennium in 2000, lasting until 2015, when it aired its final season on the small screen. To everyone’s surprise, the revival news of the trailblazing series arrived at a susceptible time for the comedy channel, right as Rick & Morty‘s Justin Roiland and Adult Swim parted ways.
On Jan.12, it was reported that Roiland had been charged with felony domestic violence, thus forcing a train of channels and shows to cut ties with the Rick & Morty co-creator. In spite of Adult Swim’s unwavering dedication to the comedy series via its genius marketing strategies, the channel did not hesitate to fire Roiland from the show. Nonetheless, the news surrounding Aqua Teen Hunger Force appears to arise at a time when the channel is still under fire for housing one of the most controversial names in animation.
While Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro might have taken the momentum from the franchise’s film Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasma hitting HBO Max’s platform to order more episodes, the timing seems to be tightly on par with Roiland’s departure from the channel. As a possible marketing purveyor attempting to appease the channel’s audience, the Cartoon-network adjacent might very well be bringing out an old-school favorite as a ploy to please the crowds, perhaps with the intention to pull the focus away from Roiland altogether.
On a similar tone, Adult Swim is still receiving critics for continuing on the show with Dan Harmon, Roiland’s co-creator in Rick & Morty. Following Roiland’s misdeeds, Harmon too became the subject of discussion when the Community creator was also the target of sexual misconduct allegations from one of the show’s writers. In spite of his problematic past, neither Adult Swim nor Peacock has made any comments regarding Harmon’s own misconduct while on the set of the comedy sitcom. Instead, Harmon is still involved in the upcoming Community film, in spite of his past controversies, while on set evidenced by being fired from his own show, even if only temporarily.
Naturally, the reasons surrounding the true motives behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force are just speculative, with perhaps not having any ill intent behind them whatsoever. Chances are, no one will ever have a confirmation from the channel whether the show was renewed as a ploy or not.
Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasma will premiere on HBO Max on Feb. 8 and on Adult Swim on March 12. No premiere date has yet been set for the long-awaited 12th season of the show. On the other hand, Rick & Morty will continue on without Roiland, as it heads to its seventh season.
