Posted in: Adult Swim, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim

Adult Swim April Fool's Day 2026: Will It Happen? What Can We Expect?

Will we get Adult Swim: April Fool's Day 2026? What can we expect? With only days to go, we throw out some thoughts on what might go down.

From Adult Swim Jr. and the twisted adventures of Pibby, to a sneak peek at upcoming shows, a puppet-themed Smiling Friends showcase, and Rick and Morty live theater (more on that one below), Adult Swim has some serious street cred when it comes to April Fool's Day plans. Will that extend to this year, when the holiday that we usually hate, except for Adult Swim, hits at 12 am Tuesday/Wednesday? Assuming that's the case, what could we end up getting? Two things that come to mind could be either a tribute to Smiling Friends (which wraps up its run later in April) or something to promote the upcoming return of Rick and Morty for a ninth season.

That said, it would also be a perfect time to revisit using that time to roll out some looks at what's to come. Along with Smiling Friends and Rick and Morty, we could get looks at new seasons of Ninja Kamui, Common Side Effects, My Adventures with Superman, and a new run of SMALLS shorts. On the new series side, we could get looks at Keeping Up with the Joneses, SuperMutant Magic Academy, Heist Safari, Get Jiro!, "Rick and Morty" spinoff President Carter, and MAWS universe series, My Adventures with Green Lantern. Here's a look back at our coverage of last year's Adult Swim April Fool's Day:

Adult Swim's April Fool's Day 2025 Rewind: Live-Action "Rick and Morty"

If you're a Rick and Morty fan, then you walked away from last year's midnight broadcast with a big smile on your face. The biggest headline-grabber was the announcement that the dimension-hopping duo would be returning for Season 8 on May 25th. Of course, that wasn't all. A sneak peek of the new season saw Rick and Morty apparently dealing with a serious Easter Bunny/egg issue – one that drew the attention of some cloaked religious folks with cross-guns, and they were not happy.

But with this being April Fool's Day, there was no way that was going to be rolled out like these things usually are – oh, no! Viewers who tuned in on Monday night were treated to "The Rick and Morty Playhouse Players Present: Portal People," a 22-minute anthology special featuring fan-favorite moments from the animated series re-told through an Adult Swim lens of absurd, live-action, theater-based genres.

"We hope you enjoyed our theater interpretations of 'Rick and Morty,' especially if you are well-off/impulsive and now want to back a Broadway version of the show," shared Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen. "For the rest of you, we're glad you now know when Season Eight is starting, so you have time to stretch and get loose because the team has yet again made a totally great season of television." Here's a look at what went down when April Fool's Day hit:

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