Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis on the Origins of Adult Swim’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” High-Caliber Work

For some, the 12-minute cartoon show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, available now on HBO Max, is a cult classic. With its odd, surreal humor and unelaborate though quirky animation, the television show struck a chord with twenty-something-year-old viewers when it aired in the early 2000s. Featuring the three iconic characters—Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad—the show, which was part of the original Adult Swim cartoon block that first aired December 2000 and then again more permanently in September 2001, was so unlike anything else on television that its mere spectacle caught and held viewers’ attention for seasons. Soon, with the help of early file sharing methods, the show became an underground hit, along with other Adult Swim shows like Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. We caught up with the creators of Aqua Teen Hunger Force—Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis—to talk about their show’s beginnings, Adult Swim’s early years, and some room called The Fart Vault.

This is the first in a running series on Under the Radar celebrating Adult Swim and the airing of its first original block of cartoons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law. Watch Adult Swim on HBO Max.