Opening the door for adults in animation did not happen overnight. In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, TV started to experiment with cartoons that were not meant to babysit kids, but to talk to older teens and grown-ups about family, politics, media, boredom, music videos, and even therapy. These shows kept the visual language of cartoons, but the jokes were sharper, the themes were more adult, and the characters were allowed to be flawed. It was the moment when television quietly said that animation is just a tool, and adults can enjoy it too. What follows are real, verifiable shows from that wave, many of them on network prime time, some on MTV, some on HBO, some on early Adult Swim. They all helped prove that cartoons are not just for children.
#1: The Simpsons (1989–)
This is the one that showed the rest of television that it could be done. The Simpsons took the format of a family sitcom, moved it to an animated Springfield, and filled it with satire about American life, politics, parenting, and pop culture. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie looked like a cartoon family, but they argued about money, about work, about school, about bad government.
Because it was animated, The Simpsons could bring in outrageous side characters and surreal jokes. However, it stayed grounded enough for adults to see themselves.