10 Funniest Animated TV Series That Aren't 'The Simpsons' or 'South Park'

Image via Fox Published Oct 15, 2026, 7:13 PM EDT Ryan Heffernan is a Senior Writer at Collider. Storytelling has been one of his interests since an early age, with his appreciation for film and television becoming a particular interest of his during his teenage years. This passion saw Ryan graduate from the University of Canberra in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Film Production. In the years since, he has found freelance work as a videographer and editor in the Canberra region while also becoming entrenched in the city's film-making community. In addition to cinema and writing, Ryan's other major interest is sport, with him having a particular love for Australian Rules football, Formula 1, and cricket. He also has casual interests in reading, gaming, and history. Sign in to your Collider account Animated comedy television has been an essential cornerstone of TV entertainment ever since series like The Simpsons and South Park broke new ground in the medium back in the '80s and '90s. While both of those series remain striking stalwarts of adult animation, they have also inspired a litany of successors which have built upon their legacies and expanded what TV animation is capable of. Some shows have dialed up their satirical elements to offer a more pointed social commentary, while others have blended their comedic elements with genres like sci-fi, spy thrillers, and even hard-hitting drama to superb effect. From Netflix originals to Adult Swim classics, these 10 animated series stand as some of the funniest television shows ever aired. 10 'Bob's Burgers' (2011–Present) Image via FOX By 2011, it seemed most animated hit series were using their cartoonish appeal to target and lampoon American culture. Bob’s Burgers definitely still does that to a degree, but it also places an emphasis on daffy comedy, which has given it an endearing freewheeling momentum. The series, which follows the misadventures of a burger restaurateur and his oddball family, didn’t get off to the best of a start, with the first season garnering mixed reviews, but it has since found its feet, carving out its own goofy niche within the ensemble of animated television comedy. 9 'Rick and Morty' (2013–Present) Image via Adult Swim While there have been funnier series with larger fan followings, few series – animated or live action – have had such a pointed cultural impact as Rick and Morty. A meshing of animated comedy, science-fiction adventure, and underlying character drama, the hit series found a balance which is as unique as it is bizarre. The important thing, though, is it works wonderfully well, with fans being drawn to the series’ frenzied comedy, striking characters, and even its sneaky, occasional touches of truly masterful storytelling. It will be fascinating to see how the sci-fi series progresses with its original premise continuing to be stretched in wacky and unexpected ways. 8 'Futurama' (1999–Present) Image via Hulu While it struggled to break free of the shadow cast by The Simpsons for much of its tenure, Futurama has come to be celebrated as a pivotal animated comedy series. From creator Matt Groening, it boasts his irreverent sense of humor laced with pop-culture references and social commentary, and creatively mixes it with a futuristic sci-fi setting. The series itself follows an immature slacker who, after accidentally being kept in cryosleep for 1000 years, finds work at an intergalactic delivery company and befriends his colorful colleagues. Propped up by its spectacular characters, the series has maintained its sharp comedic edge throughout its entire run, which is a commendable achievement in itself. Image via Adult Swim Infused with everything from blood and gore to strong crude humor, apocalyptic schemes, and music mayhem, Adult Swim’s hit heavy metal series Metalocalypse was a high-octane sensation of the highest caliber. It follows global music phenomenon Dethklok, a death metal band whose powerful influence sees the U.S. government try to quell them through a great many eccentric and dastardly ploys. Beneath the surface-level chaos, though, the Adult Swim series dedicates a surprising amount of time to exploring the insecurities of its characters, often with hilarious though poignant results. Complimented by its great music, criticism of the music industry, and vast array of A-list guest stars, it exudes a brand of reckless, infectious fun which is easily enjoyed. 6 'SpongeBob SquarePants' (1999–Present) Image via Nickelodeon Animated comedy takes on a different form entirely when primarily directed at younger audiences. Amid the litany of children’s shows to have come about in recent decades, there are but few which have been warmly received by adult viewers, with SpongeBob SquarePants chief among them. The series follows the misadventures of a Sponge fry cook living in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. From its ludicrous absurdity to visual gags, delightfully dumb jokes, and colorful array of memorable characters, the series has accumulated fans ever since it premiered in 1999. Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Iconic Fandom Should You Join? Harry Potter · Lord of the Rings · Star Wars · Star Trek Eight honest questions about how you actually are: what you put on when you need cheering up, how deep you go into the things you love, what you argue about, what you keep on your shelf. Answer them and we will tell you where you belong. Four of the biggest fandoms on earth are taking new members, and they could not be more different from one another. ⚡Harry Potter(Wizarding World) 💍Lord of the Rings(Middle-earth) ⚔️Star Wars(A Galaxy Far Away) 🖖Star Trek(The Final Frontier) FIND YOUR PEOPLE → 01 What do you put on when you need cheering up? Nobody is brave about this one. AThe same thing I have watched a hundred times. BSomething long, slow and beautiful. CSomething big and loud with a great score. DOne clever episode of something hopeful. NEXT QUESTION → 02 How deep do you go into something you love? There is no shallow end here, only different deep ends. AI know every character and all the gossip. BI have read the appendices and studied the maps. CI have a ranked opinion on every instalment. DI want to know how the world actually works. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What do you and your friends actually argue about? Every fandom has one argument it has been having for years. AWhich one of us is which type. BWhether the adaptation got it right. CWhether the new stuff ruined the old stuff. DWhether the right thing was actually done. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you feel about a room full of strangers? Every one of these comes with a very big room. AGreat, and I will know everybody by the end. BFine, as long as they take it seriously. CBrilliant, especially if there is something to dress up for. DHappy, provided the conversation is interesting. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Where would you rather spend a week? Pick on instinct rather than on budget. AAn old castle somewhere rainy. BMountains, long walks, no phone signal. CA desert with an unbelievable night sky. DA city built around a university. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What do you believe about people, mostly? All four of these stories have an answer, and they disagree. AMost of them turn out better than expected. BThe smallest ones decide the biggest things. CAnybody can change, even very late on. DWe work it out if we keep talking. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What is actually on your shelf? Look over at it before you answer. AEverything I owned when I was twelve. BHardbacks, in order, read more than once. CFigures, posters, and a few things still boxed. DBooks about how things work, plus a model or two. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What do you actually want from a story? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your fandom. AA place I can go back to whenever I need it. BA world complete enough to get lost in. CSomething huge I can share with everybody. DAn idea that changes how I think. REVEAL MY FANDOM → Membership Confirmed Your Fandom Is…Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you would be having within a week. Harry PotterYou belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting you. You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within about five minutes and has never stopped. This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every single person in your life would be. The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you do with things you love. The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the arguments are about to start all over again. Lord of the RingsYou belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture. You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it. This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly alarming, and it has good reasons for that. Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all, which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes. Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make that argument. Star WarsYou belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity. You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that. Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly 1980 with no sign of resolution. The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score and the look of a used and dented galaxy. You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good time. Star TrekYou belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done. You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major franchise still willing to say the future might be better. The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else. Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar. You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you will always find somebody willing to have it. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'Tom and Jerry' (1940–Present) Image via HBO Max It’s one of the greatest television rivalries of all time and has made for some of the most hilarious moments in animation history. Created in 1940, Tom and Jerry quite simply focuses on the fights between adversaries Tom, a house cat, and Jerry, an elusive mouse. The cartoonish violence escalates to some absurd levels throughout the iconic animated duo’s escapades. Its prolific use of slapstick comedy has entertained audiences of all ages for years, though, as has its brilliantly simple character work and its ability to shift perspectives as necessary to build up to hilarious visual gags. 4 'Archer' (2009–2023) Image via FXX While plenty of animated series have done it since, Archer was arguably the first to regularly tackle such weighted and mature themes while breaking into mainstream consciousness. It tracks a troubled secret agent and his dysfunctional co-constituents as they complete missions for the International Secret Intelligence Service in a global Cold War-esque setting. It is easy to highlight the series’ sublime lampooning of spy thrillers like the Bond films (and it does that with excellence), but it has also drawn high praise for its commentary on the male fantasy as well as its crude humor, exceptional voice cast, and astute characterization. 3 'Family Guy' (1999–Present) Image via Fox If The Simpsons and South Park have long been the two dominant forces of adult animated comedy, then not far behind them has been Family Guy. Coming from the comedy mind of Seth MacFarlane, the series focuses on members and friends of the dysfunctional Rhode Island family, the Griffins. It has garnered a significant fanbase throughout its numerous seasons with its use of blue humor, pop-culture references, lampooning of American culture, and its striking implementation of cutaway gags. Such is the series’ popularity that it has spawned a number of spin-off shows, parody movies, and even crossover episodes with The Simpsons among other hit animated shows. 2 'BoJack Horseman' (2014–2020) Image via Netflix Arguably the most ambitious animated series ever put to screen, BoJack Horseman excelled not only as a riveting comedy, but as a scathing satire of celebrity lifestyles and a somber character drama as well. It follows the titular horse (voiced immaculately by Will Arnett), a washed-up television actor whose life has deteriorated to reliving past glories and escaping his reality through drug addiction and alcoholism. The series blends absurd cartoonish comedy with poignant, blindsiding drama to offer a complex viewing experience that garnered a passionate fanbase. The series earned widespread critical acclaim due to its thematic resonance and comedic brilliance, and still stands as one of Netflix’s most daring and divine original series. 1 'Looney Tunes Cartoons' (1930–Present) Image via HBO Max Consisting of a multitude of comedy skits featuring some of the most beloved and iconic cartoon characters ever created, Looney Tunes Cartoons paved the way for television animation the way we know it today. Dating back to the 1930s, the series produced one sensation after another, from Bugs Bunny’s run-ins with Daffy Duck and Elma Fudd to the hilarious rivalry between Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. The kid-friendly series utilized slapstick comedy, exaggerated characterizations, and witty writing as its primary sources of comedy. It’s a testament to the show’s brilliance and ability to evolve over time that it remains such a renowned pop-culture icon almost 100 years after it first aired. Looney Tunes Release Date 1929 - 2004-00-00 Network The WB Directors Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert Clampett, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Frank Tashlin, Arthur Davis, Abe Levitow, Maurice Noble, Ben Hardaway, Cal Dalton, Bernard B. Brown, Cal Howard, Hawley Pratt Writers Michael Maltese, Warren Foster, Tedd Pierce, John W. Dunn, Lou Lilly, Rich Hogan, Aesop, Dave Monahan, Lloyd Turner, Michael Sasanoff, Bill Scott, Melvin Millar, Sid Marcus, David Detiege, Ernest Gee, Jack Miller, George Hill, Ben Washam, Clement C. Moore, Don Christensen, George Manuell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Howard Baldwin, Jacob Grimm Cast Arthur Q. Bryan Elmer Fudd Billy Bletcher Papa Bear, Spike, Wolf, various others June Foray Granny, Witch Hazel, various others Mel Blanc Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, various others