Teletoon at Night

Teletoon at Night (branded as The Detour on Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a late-night programming block that aired on Teletoon. It primarily carried adult animation and other programming targeting adult audiences.

Teletoon had carried programming targeting teen and adult audiences during the prime time and late night hours since its inception. The channel eventually established formal brands for such programming—The Detour on Teletoon and Teletoon Unleashed—in 2001 and 2002; by 2004, the "Unleashed" block was dropped.

Teletoon at Night was similar in format to the Adult Swim block of Cartoon Network, from which the block acquired most of its programming. A Canadian version of Adult Swim was launched as the late night block of the newly-launched Canadian Cartoon Network channel in 2012. The two blocks operated in parallel, with most Adult Swim original series eventually moving to the new channel, and Teletoon at Night focusing on other original and acquired adult animation series, as well as films.

On April 1, 2019, the block was permanently discontinued; it was succeeded by the newly-launched Adult Swim channel. The block's French counterpart, Télétoon la nuit, continues to air on Télétoon.^[1]

Since its launch in November of 1997, Teletoon had included a selection of adult-targeted programming during the nighttime hours. This initially included series such as Duckman, The Simpsons, Captain Star, Highlander: The Animated Series, Dilbert, and Pond Life, as well as animation documentaries and some uncensored anime films.

However, the root of what eventually became modern 'Teletoon at Night' lay in their revolutionary 2001 marketing strategy following the birth of the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network in the U.S, and the general boom in adult animation. These circumstances inspired the launch of the adult-oriented Teletoon Unleashed block in September 2001, followed by the unique, teenage-oriented Detour on Teletoon which launched in March 2002.

Programming featured on The Detour on Teletoon targeted the 12-17 range with risqué/dramatic animation aimed at older youth, such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Ripping Friends, The Tick, Spy Groove, Daft Planet, Time Squad, Grim & Evil, Cybersix, as well as Family Guy, Futurama, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force later on. ^[2]

On the other hand, Teletoon Unleashed targeted the 18-34 range with more overtly "blue" or sophisticated themes. This catalogue included Undergrads, John Callahan's Quads, Mission Hill, The Oblongs, Spicy City, Todd MacFarlane's Spawn, The Head, The Maxx, as well as Baby Blues, Clone High, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, The Animatrix, MTV's Downtown, and Home Movies.

During this period, in order to specify the audience group each block sought to target, content classification was applied dichotomously. For example, regardless of the fact that only a minority (Quads, Spawn etc.) were explicit enough to require "adults-only" designation, all programs on Teletoon Unleashed were classified with the 18+ rating. The Detour used this same technique with 14+.

The Unleashed branding was eventually dropped in March 2004, owing to lack of new content. This was due to most of the line-up only consisting of a single season of around 13 episodes - hence constant re-runs resulted in the brand becoming stale.

By September 2004, the two original blocks were amalgamated under The Detour on Teletoon branding, this time with an all-new visual design created by Guru Studio, intending to target the 12-34 "mature" demographic at large.^[3] In addition to existing selections (Family Guy, Futurama, Grim & Evil, etc.), new programming at this point included Delta State, Zeroman, & The Brak Show, with others such as Bromwell High, Sons of Butcher, Station X, The Wrong Coast, The Venture Bros, & The Boondocks debuting throughout 2005.

In September 2006, 6 new Adult Swim originals debuted on The Detour (such as Tom Goes to the Mayor, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Stroker & Hoop, 12 oz. Mouse, Squidbillies, Robot Chicken).^[4]

The acquisition of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast was particularly notable, as Teletoon had been attempting to acquire it since about 2004, yet struggled to work out a licensing deal.

In September 2007, following the success of the previous season, another Re-brand occurred, reducing the name to simply Teletoon Detour, and including 8 more Adult Swim originals - Metalocalypse, Sealab 2021, The Smoking Gun, Moral Orel, Assy McGee, Perfect Hair Forever, Frisky Dingo, and Minoriteam. This season was also marked by the loss of Family Guy, previously a staple on The Detour.

With the above, in addition to programs such as Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in all the World, 2008-2009's lineup had become more unequivocally "adult" than ever before.

New programming during the 2008-2009 season included The Critic, Angry Kid, Punch!, American Dad, Code Monkeys, Father of the Pride, & Life's a Zoo, as well as the Adult Swim originals Lucy, Daughter of the Devil, Xavier: Renegade Angel, & Saul of the Molemen later on.

Also during this season, a segment named F'n Good Movies became a part of Detour's Saturday lineup, devoted to airing adult-oriented live-action/animated films, such as 300, The Room, V for Vendetta, & Labyrinth.

On September 1 2009, the block was rebranded as Teletoon at Night on weeknights. While a selection of Adult Swim originals (e.g., Robot Chicken, Moral Orel, The Venture Bros.) continued to be shown, the goal behind this neutrally-toned branding was versatility - attempting to relate better to wider majorities within the 18-34 group who "appreciated clever, culturally-topical comedy".

The Detour branding remained as the "weekend block" until the next year, including re-runs of originals such as Clone High, Tripping the Rift, Bromwell High, & Sons of Butcher.

From this point forward, Teletoon at Night began to rely more heavily on major prime-time series (e.g., American Dad, Futurama), which consistently proved to target a more broad selection of viewers than the niche Adult Swim originals. Accordingly, Teletoon acquired the rights to broadcast King of the Hill for the rebrand, and brought the ever-popular Family Guy back to the schedule by 2010.

Other new additions throughout 2010 included Archer (2009 TV series) & The Dating Guy, as well as the appointment of Fred Kennedy as "host", whose Fred at Night segments alternated with programs on the Sunday night lineup.

New additions in 2011 included Crash Canyon & Apollo's Pad. In 2012, Fugget About It debuted.

With the launch of the Canadian version of Adult Swim (via the Canadian version of Cartoon Network) on July 4, 2012, most of the original programming from the American service eventually migrated to its Canadian counterpart.^[5]

In the Summer of 2014, Saturday film telecasts were branded as the "Saturday Night Funhouse Double Feature".^[6] Meanwhile, Teletoon acquired broadcast rights to The Awesomes, a Hulu original series.^[7] In October 2014, Bento Box Entertainment, the studio that produces The Awesomes, announced they would be producing a new slate of shows for Teletoon at Night.^[8] In the same month, Blue Ant Media, Mondo Media, and Corus announced that Teletoon at Night would air a new series featuring shorts from Bite on Mondo, a program in which content creators pitched ideas for several new TV series.^[9] It was later revealed on Adult Swim's Facebook page that the new series, dubbed Night Sweats, would air on Adult Swim instead.

During the week of September 1, 2015, it was announced on air that, on that date, several of the block's shows would move to Adult Swim.^[10][11][12] In a press release posted on September 3, 2015, it was announced that the block would now air Mondays through Thursdays starting at 10:00 p.m, with a film at 11:00 p.m. Teletoon's Superfan Friday block expanded in Teletoon at Night's place.^[10][13] It was later announced in December 2015 that, starting on January 4, 2016, Teletoon at Night would be adding more films to their schedule and their remaining shows moved over to Adult Swim.^[14]

In February 2016, several TV series that were airing on Adult Swim began airing on Teletoon at Night. On February 24, 2016, it was announced in a press release that the seventh season of Archer would air on both blocks.^[15] In the same month, Teletoon at Night's website revealed that its Fred at Night segment would be discontinued after six years, with the final installment airing on February 25, 2016.^[14] On March 23, 2016, it was revealed that Archer's seventh season would instead air on Teletoon at Night, although the season premiere did air in simulcast on Adult Swim.^[16]

On March 4, 2019, along with the announcement that Action would relaunch as a full-time Adult Swim channel on April 1, 2019, it was also announced that Teletoon at Night would be discontinued.^[17] The block signed off for the final time on April 1, 2019, at 3:00 a.m..