All those aforementioned shows are some of the ones that created a lasting impression and legacy with fans; however, there were so many other adult animated series that have fallen into obscurity, a quarter-century later. In fact, it was exactly 25 years ago now that one criminally underrated adult animated show first premiered, and it totally deserves another shot at success, via reboot.
The Oblongs First Premiered 25 Years Ago (And Never Got A Fair Shot)
The WB / Adult SWIM
On April 1, 2001, The Oblongs first premiered on The WB network (which later became The CW). The animated series followed a family named the Oblongs, who live in a low-income part of town called The Valley. Due to rampant waste and pollution in their area, each member of the Oblong family has been mutated in some grotesque way. The perennially chipper father, Bob (Will Ferrell), has no arms or legs; mother Marie, aka “Pickles” (Jean Smart), is a former rich girl from the other side of town, who left it behind (and all her hair) when she moved to The Valley. Biff and Chip Oblong (Randy and Jason Sklar) are teenage conjoined twins who share a leg but have contrasting personalities. Milo Oblong (Pamela Adlon) is the middle son suffering from mental and social disorders; Beth Oblong (Jeannie Elias) is the youngest and only daughter, who has a sick, warted growth extending from her head, while Grammy Oblong is an old, wheelchair-bound woman in a vegetative state, who only communicates through a red light/green light communicator.
The Oblongs was a true sitcom, detailing how the Oblongs just try to deal with everyday life, faced with challenges that range from economic struggles to the class warfare between the wealthy neighborhood of The Hills and the poor, exploited neighborhood of The Valley. Then there were the twisted takes on everyday family issues, from career troubles to school troubles, romance and intimacy issues, coming of age, challenges, etc.
The Oblongs only got thirteen episodes made; only 8 of them aired on The WB before the show was canceled, less than two months after it premiered. The final five episodes aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, when the network picked up The Oblongs and ran the entire show on cable during the summer and fall of 2002. It gained a minor cult following when it was later released on DVD in 2005, as The Oblongs: The Complete Twisted Series, but has since fallen into obscurity.
The Oblongs Deserves A Reboot
The WB / Adult SWIM
Therein lies the irony: The Oblongs was very much a pioneer of the kind of edgy, adult-themed animated sitcom that is now a standard. In an age where Hazbin Hotel, Rick and Morty, and South Park all get major acclaim for holding up a twisted satirical mirror to society, The Oblongs got crucified for it. But looking at it now, the series was ahead of its time in some significant ways.
Aside from pioneering the adult animated sitcom, The Oblongs was an early showcase of some major talent. Will Ferrell became one of the top comedic talents of the 2000s (Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights); Jean Smart became one of TV’s most acclaimed stars, and is currently sweeping the Emmys, yearly, with her hit HBO Max series, Hack, and Pamela Adlon managed to create an iconic animated character years later, in another pioneering cartoon sitcom, King of the Hill.
More than that, however, is how well The Oblongs has aged, compared to the real world around it. Nowadays, a show about the wide gap between the rich elite and the working class, or a town ruined by environmental dumping, is much less extreme than it seemed in the 2000s (see: Flint, Michigan); the same goes for the entire idea of an adult animated sitcom that takes a satirical look at society: in the early 2000s it wasn’t something a lot of viewers “got,” but now it would have no problem getting an audience to tune in, or to engage with the kind of humor the show was creating.
Given all the other series from the 1990s and 2000s that have gotten reboots or “revivals,” The Oblongs is arguably overdue for its shot. You can stream the entire series on Tubi. Discuss your favorite animated series with us over on the ComicBook Forum!
