| Robot Chicken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Voices of |
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| Opening theme | "Robot Chicken" byLes Claypool |
| Ending theme | "The Gonk", a capella cover by the cast (original byHerbert Chappell) |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 220 (and 12 specials)(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time |
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| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Adult Swim |
| Release | February 20, 2005 (2005-02-20) – present |
Robot Chicken is an Americanadultstop-motion animatedsketch comedy television series created bySeth Green andMatthew Senreich forCartoon Network's nighttime programming blockAdult Swim. The twelve-minute show consists of short unrelated sketches usually satirizingpop culture characters or celebrities. Toys are employed as the players, animated viastop motion and supplemented byclaymation. The voice cast changes every episode, and features manycelebrity cameos. The writers, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices.Robot Chicken has won twoAnnie Awards and sixEmmy Awards.
Following the eleventh season's conclusion, the series switched formats, moving away from 20-episode full seasons and towards doing quarterly specials, the first of which was released on July 20, 2025.
Robot Chicken was conceptually preceded byTwisted ToyFare Theatre, a humorous photocomic strip appearing inToyFare.[2] WhenMatthew Senreich, an editor forToyFare, learned thatSeth Green had madeaction figures of his castmates fromBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Senreich contacted Green and asked to photograph them.[3] Months later, Green asked Senreich to collaborate on an animated short forLate Night with Conan O'Brien, featuring toy versions of himself and O'Brien.[3] This led to the 12-episodestop-motion seriesSweet J Presents on theSony website Screenblast.com in 2001.[3] Conan O'Brien is voiced byFamily Guy creatorSeth MacFarlane in the firstSweet J Presents episode ("Conan's Big Fun").[3][4]
Continuing the concept of the web series, the show creators pitchedRobot Chicken as a television series, the name being inspired by a dish on the menu at aWest HollywoodChinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined (other ideas for the series' name includedJunk in the Trunk,The Deep End, andToyz in the Attic; some of these would be reworked into episode titles for thefirst season).[5] Some television networks and sketch shows rejected the series, includingComedy Central,MADtv,Saturday Night Live, and evenCartoon Network. However, someone at that network passed the pitch along to its nighttime programming block,Adult Swim, around the same time that Seth MacFarlane told Green and Senreich to pitch the show to the channel.[citation needed] On February 20, 2005, the series premiered on Adult Swim.
The show was created, written, and produced by Green and Senreich and produced byShadowMachine Films (Seasons 1–5) and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios in association withStoop!d Monkey,Williams Street,Sony Pictures Digital (Seasons 1–5) andSony Pictures Television (Seasons 6–10).
The program aireda 30-minute episode dedicated toStar Wars that premiered June 17, 2007, in the U.S., featuring the voices ofStar Wars notablesGeorge Lucas,Mark Hamill,Billy Dee Williams, andAhmed Best.[6] TheStar Wars episode was nominated for a 2008Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).
The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007, to October 5, 2008.[3] After an eight-month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on September 7, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes.[3] The series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended on December 6, 2009.[3] In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total).[7] The fifth season premiered on December 12, 2010.[3] The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012.[3] In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season ofRobot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012.[8] The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. The eight season premiered on October 25, 2015.[9] The ninth season premiered on December 10, 2017.[10] Season 10 premiered on September 29, 2019, containing the 200th episode.[11] Season 11 premiered on September 6, 2021.[12][13]
Following the 2020 cancellation ofThe Venture Bros.,Robot Chicken became Adult Swim's longest-running series, until it was surpassed byAqua Teen Hunger Force after its renewal in 2023.[citation needed]
In July 2024, having released no new episodes since April 2022, Green announced in a live-streamed interview that, while a new full season ofRobot Chicken would likely not be ready in time for the following year, a new half-hourRobot Chicken special is slated for release sometime in 2025.[14] In a September 2024 interview, Green announced thatRobot Chicken will be moving away from 20-episode seasons and towards doing more of "aSouth Park special model."[15]The Robot Chicken Self-Discovery Special was released on July 20, 2025 in honor of the series' 20th anniversary.[16][17][18]
Robot Chicken employs stop-motion animation of toys, primarilyaction figures, as well asclaymation and sometimes other objects, such as socks, paper bags, and popsicle sticks.[5] Custom action figures made in the likeness of celebrities are used to portray them.
With the exception of select specials (starting with the Season 7 episode "Bitch Pudding Special"), each episode is composed of short unrelated sketches varying from a few seconds to a few minutes long. Between each sketch is a moment ofstatic, resembling the act ofchannel surfing on ananalog TV.
The show mockspopular culture, referencing toys, movies, television, games, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows likeSaturday Night Live.[19]
A recurring motif involves fantastical characters being placed in mundane or adult situations (such as an elderlyStretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant,Optimus Prime performing aprostate cancerPSA, andGodzilla experiencingsexual dysfunction).
Robot Chicken features a rotating ensemble cast of recurring performers and cameos. Its most frequent performers include Seth Green, Matthew Senreich,Breckin Meyer,Tom Root, andDan Milano.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 20 | February 20, 2005 (2005-02-20) | July 17, 2005 (2005-07-17) | |
| 2 | 20 | April 2, 2006 (2006-04-02) | November 19, 2006 (2006-11-19) | |
| 3 | 20 | August 12, 2007 (2007-08-12) | October 5, 2008 (2008-10-05) | |
| 4 | 20 | December 7, 2008 (2008-12-07) | December 6, 2009 (2009-12-06) | |
| 5 | 20 | December 12, 2010 (2010-12-12) | January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15) | |
| 6 | 20 | September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17) | February 17, 2013 (2013-02-17) | |
| 7 | 20 | April 13, 2014 (2014-04-13) | December 7, 2014 (2014-12-07) | |
| 8 | 20 | October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25) | May 15, 2016 (2016-05-15) | |
| 9 | 20 | December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10) | July 22, 2018 (2018-07-22) | |
| 10 | 20 | September 30, 2019 (2019-09-30) | July 27, 2020 (2020-07-27) | |
| 11 | 20 | September 7, 2021 (2021-09-07) | April 11, 2022 (2022-04-11) | |
AllRobot Chicken episodes from seasons 1–11 are available onMax. The show is streamed censored on the service untilseason 5[clarification needed].
The show aired onTBS for a short time in October 2014.
Robot Chicken has partnered with various brands to produce television advertisements, includingKFC in 2015,[20]Burger King in 2017,[21] and most recently,Kellogg'sPop-Tarts in 2023.[22]
| DVD title | Release date | Ep # | Discs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| The Complete First Season | March 28, 2006 | September 29, 2008 | April 4, 2007 | 1–20 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 1 in production order. While it contains many sketches that were edited from the TV airings, several of the originalSony Screenblast webtoons, and the words "Jesus" and "Christ" as an oath unbleeped (though "fuck" and "shit" are still censored out), the episodes are not all uncut. One particular segment that featured theTeen Titans meetingBeavis and Butt-Head was omitted from the DVD because of legal problems. TheVoltron/You Got Served sketch shown on the DVD has a replacement song because of legal issues over the song that was used on the TV version. At a performance ofFamily Guy Live in Chicago, during the Q&A session that ends each performance, Seth Green was asked how they came up with the nameRobot Chicken. He explained that the title of each episode was a name Adult Swim rejected for the name of the show. A Region 2 version of the set was released in the UK on September 29, 2008.[23] Three edited shorts fromSweet J Presents were included on theRobot Chicken Season 1 DVD boxset.[4] | |||||
| The Complete Second Season | September 4, 2007 | September 28, 2009 | November 11, 2007 | 21–40 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 2 in production order and uncensored, with the words "fuck" and "shit" uncensored (except for one instance in the episode "Easter Basket" in theLego sketch). It is currently available for download oniTunes (though the episode "Veggies for Sloth" is absent because of copyright issues involving the "Archie's Final Destination" segment).[24] Seth Green stated atComic-Con 2006 that the second DVD set will contain the "Beavis and Butt-Head Join Teen Titans" sketch, which had been removed from the first DVD set because of copyright issues. However, the sketch is absent from the DVD (although it is available on iTunes). Bonus features include theChristmas special. A secret Nerf gun fight can be found on the disc 1 extras menu and pushing "up" over the extras and set-up items on the menu reveals more special features. | |||||
| Star Wars Special | July 22, 2008 | August 11, 2008 | August 6, 2008 | 1 | 1 |
| This single DVD features theStar Wars special in its TV-edited version (i.e. with bleeps in place of profane words) and several extras about the crew and their work on the special, including a photo gallery, alternate audio, and aneaster egg demonstrating the crew's difficulty in composing a proper musical score for the sketch "Empire on Ice". It also features various audio commentaries, featuring members of the cast and crew. | |||||
| The Complete Third Season | October 7, 2008 | January 25, 2010 | December 3, 2008 | 41–60 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 3 in production order. This DVD is uncensored, except for visual censorship of the "Cat in the Hat" sketch from episode 7 on Disc 1. It also intentionally censored in episode 5 in the "Law and Order: KFC" sketch. This DVD has special features such as deleted scenes and animatics. It also includes commentary for all of the episodes and has "Chicken Nuggets" commentary for episodes 1 and 3–5. The bonus features also include a gag reel and audio takes. | |||||
| Star Wars Episode II | July 21, 2009 | July 27, 2009 | August 5, 2009 | 1 | 1 |
| This single DVD features the mainStar Wars special extras, including normalRobot Chicken episodes and common DVD extras; "The Making Of"; and deleted scenes. | |||||
| The Complete Fourth Season | December 15, 2009 | August 30, 2010 | December 2, 2009 | 61–80 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 4 in production order. The special features include "Chicken Nuggets", a San Diego Comic-Con '08 panel, "Day in the Life", aNew York Comic-Con '09 panel, video blogs, "Australia Visit", alternate audio, deleted scenes, deleted animations, and commentary on all 20 episodes. | |||||
| Star Wars Episode III | July 12, 2011 | July 4, 2011 | August 3, 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| Interview with George Lucas, "Chicken Nuggets" (sketch by sketch video commentary), Behind the Scenes, Voice Recording Featurette,Star Wars Celebration V Robot Chicken Panel,Skywalker Ranch Premiere Trip, Writer's Room Featurette, Deleted Animatics w/video intros, Audio Commentaries. | |||||
| The Complete Fifth Season | October 25, 2011 | TBA | November 30, 2011 | 81–100 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 5 in production order. Nine of the episodes were previously unaired before the DVD release. The set includes commentary on all episodes, "Chicken Nuggets" on a few episodes and a featurette on episode 100. Deleted scenes and deleted animations are also included. Among the deleted scenes are the sketches "Beavis and Butt-Head Join Teen Titans" (deleted from Season 1 due to copyright issues) and the "Archie's Final Destination" sketch (deleted from Season 2 sets). | |||||
| DC Comics Special | July 9, 2013 | TBA | September 18, 2013 | 1 | 1 |
| The Making of the RCDC Special, RCDC'sAquaman Origin Story, Chicken Nuggets, Writers' Commentary, Actors' Commentary,DC Entertainment Tour, Stoopid Alter Egos, Outtakes, Cut Sketches, 5.2 Questions. | |||||
| DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise | October 14, 2014 | TBA | February 18, 2015 | 1 | 1 |
| The second set of specials parodying DC Superheroes. Special features include the making ofRCDC2VIP, "Bad Hair, Musical Numbers and Sequels", "The Ones That Got Away", "20 Questions", "Chicken Nuggets", cut animatics, cut sketches, actors' commentary and writers' commentary. | |||||
| The Complete Sixth Season | October 8, 2013 | TBA | November 20, 2013 | 101–120 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 6 in production order. Special features include commentary on every episode, deleted animatics, featurettes, deleted scenes, channel flips and "Chicken Nuggets". | |||||
| Christmas Specials | November 18, 2014 | TBA | TBA | 6 | 1 |
| This DVD contains 6Christmas-themed episodes: "Robot Chicken's Christmas Special", "Robot Chicken's Half-Assed Christmas Special", "Dear Consumer (Robot Chicken's Full-Assed Christmas Special)", "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", "Robot Chicken's ATM Christmas Special" and "Born Again Virgin Christmas Special". Special features include commentaries, deleted scenes, deleted animatics and "long-forgotten" promos. | |||||
| Star Wars Trilogy | TBA | December 4, 2015 | February 4, 2015 | 3 | 3 |
| The Complete Seventh Season | July 21, 2015 | December 11, 2020 | September 16, 2015 | 121–140 | 2 |
| This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 7 in production order. Special features include commentary on every episode, featurettes and cut sketches. | |||||
| Robot Chicken DC Comics Special (collection) | March 2018 | December 2, 2016 | June 20, 2018 | 3 | 3 |
| The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking | March 27, 2018 | TBA | August 15, 2018 | 1 | 1 |
| Inside the Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking, Cut Sketches, Commentary, Sketches to Die For, Bawkward, Behind the Screams. | |||||
| The Complete Eighth Season | TBA | March 26, 2021 | April 17, 2019 | 141–160 | 2 |
| The Complete Ninth Season | TBA | March 15, 2019 | May 22, 2019 | 161–180 | 2 |
| The Complete Series[25] | October 21, 2025 | TBA | TBA | 1–228 | TBA |
Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all threeStar Wars specials on DVD in the United Kingdom.[26] A box set including the first three seasons and a box set including all threeStar Wars specials have also been released.[27]Madman Entertainment has released the first nine seasons ofRobot Chicken and specials on DVD in Australia and New Zealand.
Adult Swim releasedRobot Chicken: The Complete Series for digital purchase on iTunes andVudu in July 2023.[28] A physicalRobot Chicken: The Complete Series DVD has also been announced, which was originally announced to be released on October 7, 2025, but later changed to October 21.[25][29]
The series airs in theUnited Kingdom andIreland as part ofE4'sAdult Swim block, inCanada onAdult Swim (previouslyTeletoon'sTeletoon at Night block from 2006 to 2019) and also inQuebec onTélétoon'sTélétoon la nuit block, inAustralia onThe Comedy Channel'sAdult Swim block, inRussia on2x2's Adult Swim block, inGermany onWarnerTV Comedy's Adult Swim block (previouslyTNT Serie's Adult Swim block from 2009 to 2017), and inLatin America on theI.Sat Adult Swim block (after the Adult Swim block was canceled fromCartoon Network Latin America in 2008).
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote| Seasons | |
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| Star Wars specials | |
| DC Comics specials | |
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