Cartoon Network Show Canceled After More Than a Decade on TV

Squidbillies is airing its final season on Adult Swim right now. The long-lived animated sitcom premiered way back in 2005, and has been a staple of Cartoon Network’s late-night block for over a decade and a half. Sadly, last month Adult Swim announced that Season 13 would be its last ride.

Squidbillies Season 13 will consist of just 10 episodes, and will close out the story of these endangered land-dwelling squids once and for all. The new season is the first without voice actor Unkown Hinson, who played Early Cuyler up until he was fired for making racist and misogynistic comments on Facebook last year. Early has been re-cast as Tracy Morgan, who is helping to send the series off in style. Squidbillies airs on Sunday nights at midnight ET on Adult Swim, and the past 12 seasons are streaming now on HBO Max.

Squidbillies Season 13 bring back Rusty Cuyler (Daniel McDevitt) and Granny Cuyler (Dana Snyder). For those catching up, Unknown Hinson was fired from the series in 2020 for his misogynistic and racist public comments about Dolly Parton and the Black Lives Matter movement. In the press release, Adult Swim teased a big name taking over the role of Early, but fans did not find out until the Nov. 7 premiere that it was Morgan.

Squidbillies is an absurd, violent cartoon about a family of squids named the Cuylers, and their escapades in their local community in the American southeast. More often than not it includes property destruction, violence and death. However, because the family are “Appalachian Mud Squids,” they are protected from persecution or harm by the federal endangered species list.

The show has always deconstructed American stereotypes and steered right into controversial topics – particularly when it comes to southern culture. Presumably, the final season will be no exception — including the issues that led to the firing of Hinson. The voice actor made a Facebook post saying that being fired from Squidbillies had ruined his life, though it has since been deleted.

Hinson got into hot water by commenting on Dolly Parton’s public support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Facebook. He called the acclaimed singer a few misogynistic slurs, and then accused “liberals” in general of “forsaking [sic] your own race, culture, and heritage.” Hinson’s career as a singer-songwriter has also been heavily impacted, and many Squidbillies fans online posted their satisfaction that he was fired.

Still, some have doubts about how Season 13 will manage this casting change. Squidbillies Season 13 premiered on Sunday, Nov. 7 and new episodes air every Sunday at midnight ET on Adult Swim. The previous seasons are streaming now on HBO Max.