Cartoon Network Shows Tier List: Every Series Ranked
Cartoon Network has been making kids weird in the best way since the 90s, and that means picking favorites is basically a civil war. We put all 32 shows, from the original Hanna-Barbera holdovers to the Adventure Time era to the newer Craig of the Creek crowd, into one list and ranked them.
This reflects what fans and critics argue about most on forums and review sites, plus our own calls where the arguments don't settle. Disagree? That's the fun part. Rank your own and see how close you get.
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SS Tier: The ones that defined the network
Adventure Time
Started as goofy Finn-and-Jake nonsense and quietly became one of the most emotionally complex shows on TV, animated or not. The Ice King backstory alone turns a joke character into a tragedy. Few shows age this well while still being genuinely funny to a six-year-old.
About Adventure Time
Finn, a human boy, and Jake, his shape-shifting dog, go on surreal adventures across the Land of Ooo. Created by Pendleton Ward, it became a major critical and cultural hit.
- Debut
- 2010
Steven Universe
A show about magic gem aliens that ended up being one of the most sincere depictions of grief, identity and love on children's TV. The musical numbers hit harder than they have any right to. Rebecca Sugar built a universe that rewards obsessive rewatching.
About Steven Universe
A boy raised by alien guardians, the Crystal Gems, learns to harness his own gem powers while navigating friendship, identity and galactic conflict. Created by Rebecca Sugar.
- Debut
- 2013
Samurai Jack
Genndy Tartakovsky treated silence and composition like weapons, and the result is some of the best-looking animation Cartoon Network has ever aired. The scope, a samurai flung into a dystopian future hunting a shapeshifting demon, still feels massive. The final season's darker turn split some fans, but the craft never wavered.
About Samurai Jack
A samurai is flung into a dystopian future ruled by the demon Aku and fights to find his way back home. Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, praised for its visual style.
- Debut
- 2001
The Powerpuff Girls
Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup punching monsters in Townsville while the show sneaks in real commentary on gender and power. It's got jokes for parents, chaos for kids, and a theme song everyone over 25 still knows by heart. One of the most influential original properties the network ever made.
About The Powerpuff Girls
Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, three superpowered little girls created by Professor Utonium, defend Townsville from monsters and villains. Created by Craig McCracken.
- Debut
- 1998
- Creator
- Craig McCracken
AA Tier: Excellent, no real weak points
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Genuinely unsettling at times, which is exactly why kids loved it. Courage's bug-eyed terror in the middle of nowhere Kansas (or Nowhere, technically) made for some of the most memorable nightmare fuel of the era. Still one of the strangest, boldest shows the network greenlit.
About Courage the Cowardly Dog
A cowardly pink dog protects his owners from supernatural threats in the isolated town of Nowhere. Known for its horror-tinged tone, unusual for a kids' show.
- Debut
- 1999
Ed, Edd n Eddy
A cul-de-sac full of scheming kids trying to scam each other for jawbreakers shouldn't work this well for this long. The scams always fail, the Eds never learn, and somehow that's the whole joke and it never gets old. Danny Antonucci's animation style is instantly recognizable.
About Ed, Edd n Eddy
Three boys nicknamed Ed scheme to earn money from their cul-de-sac neighbors, usually ending in failure. Created by Danny Antonucci.
- Debut
- 1999
Dexter's Laboratory
One of the original Cartoon Cartoons and arguably the one that proved the network could make something genuinely great in-house. Dexter versus Dee Dee is a sibling dynamic every kid with an older or younger sibling instantly recognized. "Omelette du fromage" lives rent-free in a lot of heads.
About Dexter's Laboratory
A 1990s animated series about a boy genius with a secret lab and his relentless sister Dee Dee. Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, it was one of the original Cartoon Cartoons.
- Debut
- 1996
- Creator
- Genndy Tartakovsky
Codename: Kids Next Door
Kids versus adults as an actual spy-thriller premise, complete with numbered operatives and genuinely clever gadget designs. It balanced absurd comedy with real stakes better than most shows aimed at that age group even tried. Operation stuff got surprisingly dark by the end, too.
About Codename: Kids Next Door
A secret organization of kids, each identified by a numbered codename, fights against adult and teenage tyranny using homemade gadgets.
- Debut
- 2002
Over the Garden Wall
A ten-episode miniseries that feels like a half-remembered folk tale, and it's better than most full series on this list. Wirt and Greg wandering through an autumnal, vaguely sinister forest hits a tone nothing else on the network has matched. Patrick McHale made something timeless here.
About Over the Garden Wall
A miniseries following two brothers, Wirt and Greg, lost in a strange autumnal forest called the Unknown. Created by Patrick McHale.
- Debut
- 2014
Regular Show
Mordecai and Rigby slacking off at a park job that somehow spirals into cosmic, universe-ending stakes every other episode. It's a show about being a 20-something who doesn't have it together, wrapped in the most unhinged plots imaginable. The soundtrack and the vending machine jokes both hold up.
About Regular Show
Two groundskeepers, a blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby, turn mundane park jobs into cosmic, absurd adventures. Created by J.G. Quintel.
- Debut
- 2010
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
The Grim Reaper losing a bet and getting stuck as the world's worst babysitter is a premise that never should've worked for as many seasons as it did. Mandy remains one of the best deadpan characters in the network's history. Irwin got what he deserved, repeatedly.
About The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
The Grim Reaper is forced to be the eternal best friend of two mismatched kids, Billy and Mandy, after losing a bet. Spun off from Grim & Evil.
- Debut
- 2001
The Amazing World of Gumball
Mixing live-action, CGI, traditional animation and stock photography in one frame sounds like a mess, and somehow it's one of the most consistently funny shows on this list instead. Gumball and Darwin's sibling chaos holds up because the jokes are just genuinely well-written. Deserves more credit for how weird its format actually is.
About The Amazing World of Gumball
A mixed-media comedy following Gumball, a blue cat, and his goldfish brother Darwin, navigating school and family life in Elmore. Created by Ben Bocquelet.
- Debut
- 2011
Teen Titans
Took DC's younger heroes and gave them an anime-inflected style that split critics at the time but aged into a cult favorite. "The End" and the Terra arc show the show could do real drama when it wanted to. Still the version a lot of fans picture first when they think Raven or Beast Boy.
About Teen Titans
A team of young DC superheroes, including Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg, fight crime in Jump City. Blended anime style with American superhero storytelling.
- Debut
- 2003
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Took an old Hanna-Barbera hero, stuck him behind a talk show desk interviewing real celebrities, and invented a format that's influenced adult animation ever since. Weird, dry, often genuinely funny in a way nothing else on the network was doing at the time. Not for kids, and it didn't care.
About Space Ghost Coast to Coast
A repurposed 1960s superhero character hosts a surreal talk show, interviewing real celebrities. One of the first Adult Swim-style programs on the network.
- Debut
- 1994
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Went from a shaky theatrical pilot to one of the best Star Wars stories in any medium, animated or otherwise. Ahsoka Tano's arc alone justifies the show's existence. The Siege of Mandalore episodes are as good as anything in the franchise.
About Star Wars: The Clone Wars
An animated series set during the Clone Wars era of the Star Wars saga, following Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and new character Ahsoka Tano.
- Debut
- 2008
BB Tier: Beloved and dependable
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
A warehouse full of discarded imaginary friends is a genuinely sweet concept, and Bloo's friendship with Mac carries the show through its weaker episodes. Craig McCracken's follow-up to Powerpuff never quite hit those same heights but it's consistently charming. Cheese alone is worth the watch.
About Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
A boy named Mac keeps his imaginary friend Bloo from being adopted out by moving him into a foster home for abandoned imaginary friends. Created by Craig McCracken.
- Debut
- 2004
Johnny Bravo
A himbo Elvis impersonator getting rejected by every woman he hits on sounds thin, but the writing kept finding new angles on the joke for years. Guest stars and parody episodes kept it fresh longer than it had any right to be. The voice work carries a lot of flatter episodes.
About Johnny Bravo
A comedy series following a vain, muscle-bound man who constantly fails to impress women. Known for its Elvis-inspired style and parody episodes.
- Debut
- 1997
We Bare Bears
Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear trying to fit into human society is a low-key, genuinely tender premise compared to most of the network's louder shows. Ice Bear's deadpan third-person bit never stops being funny. Quietly one of the better character studies on this list.
About We Bare Bears
Three bear brothers, Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear, try to fit into human society in the San Francisco Bay Area. Created by Daniel Chong.
- Debut
- 2015
Cow and Chicken
Deeply gross, deeply weird, and that was the entire appeal. The Red Guy remains one of the most bizarre recurring villains in the network's history. Not every joke lands today but the sheer commitment to absurdity still stands out.
About Cow and Chicken
A surreal sibling-comedy about a cow and her chicken brother, created by David Feiss. Known for its grotesque humor and the recurring villain Red Guy.
- Debut
- 1997
Ben 10
A kid with a watch that turns him into aliens is about as close to a perfect toy-friendly premise as Cartoon Network ever made, and it backed that up with genuinely fun monster-of-the-week plotting. Heatblast and Four Arms became playground conversation instantly. The franchise's longevity speaks for itself.
About Ben 10
A boy named Ben Tennyson discovers a watch-like device, the Omnitrix, that lets him transform into various aliens. Launched a long-running franchise.
- Debut
- 2005
Clarence
A kid who's somehow endlessly, aggressively optimistic in a cast full of more jaded characters makes for some surprisingly sweet episodes. It never got the same acclaim as Adventure Time or Gumball but built a loyal fanbase anyway. Underrated as a slice-of-life kids show.
About Clarence
An endlessly optimistic kid navigates elementary school and friendships alongside his more cynical friends. Created by Skyler Page, later developed further by other writers
- Debut
- 2014
Craig of the Creek
Treats a suburban creek like an entire fantasy world full of factions, legends and rival kid-gangs, and it's smarter about childhood imagination than almost anything else on this list. Genuinely diverse cast without making a big deal of it. One of the more consistently well-reviewed recent entries.
About Craig of the Creek
A kid named Craig explores the elaborate, imaginative world of kids and factions along a local creek. Created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin.
- Debut
- 2018
Infinity Train
An anthology about a mysterious train with an infinite number of strange, metaphor-heavy cars is more ambitious than almost anything else Cartoon Network aired, and it shows in how differently each season looks and feels. Got shuffled around scheduling and streaming before being cancelled, which didn't help it find its full audience. Deserved a bigger platform than it got.
About Infinity Train
An anthology series about passengers trapped on a mysterious train made of endless, surreal cars, each forcing them to confront personal issues. Created by Owen Dennis.
- Debut
- 2019
CC Tier: Fun but flawed or forgettable
Chowder
A chef's apprentice in a candy-colored town is a fun enough premise, and the character designs (all that fabric texture) are genuinely distinctive. The humor leans more juvenile than some of its contemporaries. Fun in small doses rather than a binge.
About Chowder
A young apprentice chef works under a demanding chef in the candy-colored town of Marzipan City. Created by C.H. Greenblatt.
- Debut
- 2007
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
Weirder and darker than its candy-colored surface suggests, with a genuinely strange whaling-village setting. Never quite found the audience Chowder did despite coming from some of the same creative circles. Worth a look for the art style alone.
About The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
A boy raised by a talking whale searches for the mythical land of Candied Island alongside a gruff candyman, Captain K'nuckles. Created by Thurop Van Orman.
- Debut
- 2008
Camp Lazlo
A summer camp show that leaned hard into gentle, low-stakes comedy at a time when the network was getting louder and weirder around it. Lazlo's relentless positivity makes him an easy character to like even when the plots are thin. Solid, rarely spectacular.
About Camp Lazlo
A gentle comedy about the mischief and friendships of campers at Camp Kidney, led by the optimistic monkey Lazlo. Created by Joe Murray.
- Debut
- 2005
Uncle Grandpa
Either you find the anything-goes, reality-bending chaos charming or you find it exhausting, and fans are genuinely split on this one. Everybody's uncle and grandpa at once is a fun enough gimmick for a few episodes at a time. The crossover specials were a highlight.
About Uncle Grandpa
A reality-bending character who is everybody's uncle and grandpa helps kids around the world with surreal, chaotic adventures. Created by Peter Browngardt.
- Debut
- 2013
Teen Titans Go!
The most divisive show on this list, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. Fans of the original Teen Titans still haven't forgiven it for swapping drama for slapstick, but taken on its own goofy, short-form terms it's found a real audience of younger kids who never watched the original.
About Teen Titans Go!
A comedic, short-form reboot of Teen Titans focused on slapstick and the characters' everyday lives rather than action-drama plots.
- Debut
- 2013
Sym-Bionic Titan
Genndy Tartakovsky's giant robot show had genuinely great action and a solid alien-invasion premise, but it got cancelled after one season before it could fully pay off its story. Underseen rather than bad. Worth tracking down for the animation alone.
About Sym-Bionic Titan
An alien princess, her bodyguard and a human teen combine forces and robotics to fight an invading army. Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, cancelled after one season.
- Debut
- 2010
DD Tier: Missed more than it hit
Mike, Lu & Og
A fish-out-of-water setup on a tiny island got a loyal small following but never broke through the way its Cartoon Cartoon siblings did. Pleasant enough, just thin compared to its contemporaries. Mostly remembered by people who happened to catch it at the right age.
About Mike, Lu & Og
An American girl stranded on a small Pacific island navigates life with her island friends Lu and Og. Part of the Cartoon Cartoons lineup.
- Debut
- 1999
Sheep in the Big City
A genuinely strange, fourth-wall-breaking satire that was clearly aimed over kids' heads half the time. Its irreverence earned it a cult reputation, but as a kids' show it often felt like it was talking past its own audience. More interesting as a curiosity than as a rewatch.
About Sheep in the Big City
A sheep on the run from secret military forces hides out in a big city, in a surreal, fourth-wall-breaking satire. Created by Mo Willems.
- Debut
- 2000
FF Tier: Didn't land
Robotboy
A British co-production that came and went without leaving much of a mark. The premise, a robot superhero who turns timid when scared, had potential that the writing rarely cashed in on. Forgettable even by the standards of the network's lower tier.
About Robotboy
A British-French animated series about a robot designed for combat who is timid and prefers to be treated like a normal boy. Co-produced for Cartoon Network.
- Debut
- 2005
How we ranked them
We weighed cultural impact, how well the show holds up on rewatch, creative ambition (world-building, animation, emotional range) and just how often people still talk about it. Shows that defined the network or pushed the medium forward rank highest. Solid, beloved comfort-watches land in the middle. Anything that felt like filler or didn't connect with audiences sits lower, regardless of how long it ran.
Think we got it wrong?
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the best Cartoon Network show of all time?
Consensus points to Adventure Time and Steven Universe as the two most acclaimed, with Samurai Jack and The Powerpuff Girls close behind for sheer influence on the network's style.
Why is Teen Titans Go! so divisive?
It replaced the original Teen Titans' action-drama tone with slapstick, short-form comedy. Fans of the original felt betrayed, while younger viewers who grew up on Go! often genuinely love it.
What was the first Cartoon Cartoon?
Dexter's Laboratory is widely credited as the show that kicked off the Cartoon Cartoons era of original Cartoon Network productions in the mid-90s.
Is Over the Garden Wall a full series or a miniseries?
It's a miniseries, originally airing as ten short episodes over one week, which is part of why it feels so tightly constructed compared to ongoing series.
Why did Infinity Train get cancelled?
Scheduling instability and a shift of episodes to HBO Max hurt its visibility before Cartoon Network ultimately cancelled it, despite strong critical reception for its anthology format.
More rankings
Image credits
- Adventure TimeCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Steven UniverseCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Samurai JackLogo: Adult Swim, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- The Powerpuff GirlsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Courage the Cowardly DogLogo: Cartoon Network, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Ed, Edd n EddyCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Dexter's LaboratoryLogo: Cartoon Network, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Codename: Kids Next DoorCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Over the Garden WallCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Regular ShowCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & MandyCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The Amazing World of GumballCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Teen TitansPhoto: DC Comics, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Space Ghost Coast to CoastLogo: Turner Broadcasting System, Cartoon Network, Hanna Barbera, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Star Wars: The Clone WarsPhoto: Originally created by Lucasfilm Ltd. employees; converted to SVG by Nayayen; modified by Mr. Starfleet Command, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Foster's Home for Imaginary FriendsLogo: Cartoon Network, A Time Warner Company., Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Johnny BravoLogo: Duque Santiago, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- We Bare BearsLogo: Cartoon Network, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Cow and ChickenLogo: SANCAN112, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Ben 10Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- ClarenceCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Craig of the CreekCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Infinity TrainCover: Wikipedia · Source
- ChowderCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The Marvelous Misadventures of FlapjackCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Camp LazloCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Uncle GrandpaLogo: Turner Broadcasting System, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Teen Titans Go!Logo: Turner Broadcasting System, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Sym-Bionic TitanCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Mike, Lu & OgCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Sheep in the Big CityLogo: Sheep in the Big City, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- RobotboyCover: Wikipedia · Source