These Viral Adult Swim TikTok Parodies Rival The OG “Bumps”

A new TikTok trend is paying homage to Cartoon Network’s after-hours programming, Adult Swim. While it’s been two decades since the late-night comedy spots first began airing from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the network in 2001, you might be wondering what the “AS” TikTok trend means if you’ve seen the logo recently popping up on your For You page. Here’s how TikTokers are putting their own twist on Adult Swim nostalgia to hilarious results.

If you’ve watched Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, you’ll remember the programming was significantly more NSFW than its daytime content and oftentimes featured short skits or “bumps” shared in between the shows. The bumps themselves, which were oftentimes set in mundane settings, were usually used to convince younger viewers to switch the channel once Cartoon Network’s after-hours programming got started.

While Adult Swim has been around for a while, TikTokers are now putting their own spin on the segments by placing a stylized Adult Swim logo (generally depicted as the words “Adult Swim” or “AS”) somewhere in their TikToks. These TikToks generally show people performing nondescript tasks or simple backdrops before the creator eventually reveals the tell-tale logo. It’s up to the creator how they want to do it, but the most viral TikToks parody the oftentimes unpredictable or random nature of the Adult Swim bumps:

If you need some inspiration, you might want to take some cues from the trend’s origins. It appears that TikToker @Vano 3000 officially began the trend on May 23 when he sampled BADBADNOTGOOD’s “Time Moves Slow” to make an original Adult Swim sound. Using that sound, he then created his own Adult Swim-inspired bump — a video of someone decked out in a Spider-Man costume and walking around in a New York City subway station before the “Adult Swim” logo appears — on May 24.

Since then, @Vano3000 has made a number of other “AS” TikToks and others have jumped on board by using his original audio. The trend has gone viral, and as of June 8, the TikTok tag #adultswim has 1.1 billion views.

Keep in mind that people are getting really creative with the trend, and there’s no one way to do it. While some people like TikToker @actually.average are putting their own spin on making the initials “AS” out of unique materials, others are making pool-themed videos to really lean into the swim inspiration. If you decide to jump on the trend, just remember to use Vano 3000’s Adult Swim sound and have some fun putting a clever twist on the ‘000s Adult Swim commercials.