11 years ago today, a hidden gem animated series ended its run with Adult Swim, and fans are still hoping to see the series come back years after its cancellation. Adult Swim has been one of the most intriguing additions to Cartoon Network’s broadcast schedule as it began a whole new wave of experimentation for the network. Adult animation has flourished with the programming block in the decades since, but some of these shows were cancelled shortly into their run despite the fans loving them. That’s the case for one major series that ended ten years ago today.
Black Dynamite was such a cool idea as it took the already heightened Blaxsploitation genre of the 1970s, and added a whole new layer of parody for a new generation of audiences. It was then taken to a whole new level thanks to the debut of its official animated series with Adult Swim that ran for two seasons before it aired its final episode 11 years ago today, on January 10, 2025. And was subsequently cancelled not long after despite fans wanting much more.
What Is Black Dynamite?
Courtesy of Adult Swim
Black Dynamite first made its debut as a live-action film back in 2009. Directed by Scott Sanders, the film stars Michael Jai White (who also co-wrote the film alongside Sanders and Byron Minns) as the titular Black Dynamite, a former government agent who is on a path of vengeance following the death of his brother. That brings him through the underbelly of the criminal world as he steadily uncovers a major drug ring and government conspiracy. And it’s up to Black Dynamite himself to put a stop to it all and save the community. The film was already a hit with fans, but then it got to expand with its own animated series.
Developed by Carl Jones (who has worked with Adult Swim on shows such as The Boondocks, The Jellies and more), the Black Dynamite animated series was first announced alongside the home video release of the live-action film and briefly made its debut a year later with a short pilot that gave fans an action of what an animated series for the film would actually be like. Then on July 15, 2012, the full series premiered with members of the live-action voice cast making the jump over to the new version.
Black Dynamite’s animated series featured Michael Jai White as the titular hero once more, and was set in pretty much the same 1970s world of the film. Byron Minns returned as Bullhorn, Tommy Davidson was back as Cream Corn, Kim Whitley as Honeybee, Cedric Yarbrough as Chocolate Giddy-Up and many more faces from the film came to the animated series to really emphasize that this was a fully endorsed spinoff take on the cult film hit. The series was able to run for two seasons before it was brought to an end on January 10, 2015, and soon after fans got the bad news that it was cancelled.
What Happened to Black Dynamite?
Courtesy of Adult Swim
The second season ends with an hour long musical special, and it was such a grand finale feeling kind of experience that Adult Swim fans had worried that it was the send off for the series on a whole. This unfortunately turned out to be the case when a couple of weeks later, series creator Carl Jones confirmed with fans on social media that Adult Swim had cancelled the series. All sorts of rumors and reports have popped up as to why it might have been cancelled since, but Jones himself never revealed why.
Adult Swim does have a lot of faith in its animated works, and often gives even the weirdest shows a couple of seasons before cancelling them. But for Black Dynamite, fans are still thinking that it’s two seasons were far from enough for the series. It’s definitely felt ten years later in the wake of the cancelled reboot for The Boondocks and other developing shows, and it could be prime time to bring the animated series back with something new someday.
We’ll never quite figure out why Black Dynamite was cancelled, however. It could be for any number of reasons like it’s too expensive, licensing for the brand fell through, disagreements with the creator and more are all potential reasons the axe was brought down. Either way, fans are hoping to see the show return regardless. We’ve seen other Adult Swim shows coming back with new projects after their presumed endings, so there’s still a chance that it could happen here too.
If you wanted to check out Black Dynamite for yourself, you can find its two seasons streaming with HBO Max to see what all the fuss is about. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!