Matt Thompson on the Origins of Adult Swim’s “Sealab 2021”

Sealab 2021, one of the four original Adult Swim shows that aired first in December 2000 and then later, more formally, in September 2001, was the underwater-set work comedy in which a group of scientists living in a submarine laboratory interact and get into trouble. The show, created by Matt Thompson and Adam Reed, made use of older Hanna-Barbera cartoon footage from a former cartoon, Sealab 2020, made originally to highlight ocean conservation. But reused and put through the surreal Adult Swim lens, the 2021 version sung with madness and warm, fuzzy oddities. We caught up with Thompson, the show’s co-creator (thanks to the fine folks at HBO Max), to talk about how he first fell in love with animation, how Sealab 2021 found Adult Swim (and the Cartoon Network) and what he remembers most from making the show. 

This is the second 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.