‘Robot Chicken’ And ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Mark 20th Anniversaries With New Production Announcements
Two diverse, beloved animation series — at Adult Swim and Nickelodeon — are celebrating 20th anniversaries with new productions.
Adult Swim announced today that it will present The Robot Chicken Self-Discovery Special at some point this summer, to commemorate the show’s 20th anniversary, which is today. The stop-motion special will parody Warner Bros. Discovery Network reality shows from Discovery, Food Network, and TLC, starring the Robot Chicken Nerd (a scraggly, 20-something virgin voiced by Seth Green) on a journey of self-discovery via participation in television series that poses the question (per the press release), “Will he find a 90 Day Fiancé – or end up Shark Week chum?”
The new production marks the culmination of two decades of Robot Chicken’s anarchic, stop-motion parodies that have, so far, received six Emmy awards from 23 nominations. Green and Matthew Senreich continue to create and produce the series, which they write, voice and direct. Their co-head writers and fellow executive producers are Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner are also executive producers at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
Green and Senreich commented in a press release:
20 years ago, we set out to make the kind of funny and unexpected show that we’d want to watch. And somehow, we’re still here, making sketch comedy with toys and making each other laugh. As always, the fans are the true wind beneath our wings, and this new special is going to soar really high. And then maybe from that height, poop on your head. But we all know that’s good luck, so consider this payback for your support.
As part of the Robot Chicken anniversary, Adult Swim will air episodes from the series’ 11 seasons for five nights a week through the month of February, with double episodes Monday to Thursday at 12:30am ET/PT. Robot Chicken specials will air Sundays at 1:00am ET/PT. The series is also currently available to stream on Max.
Nickelodeon, meanwhile, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its mythological adventure series Avatar: The Last Airbender with the announcement of a new, 26-episode, 2d-animated series, Avatar: Seven Havens. Voice cast and the new series’ premiere date have yet to be announced.
The original Avatar animated series, created by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, ran for three seasons beginning February 21, 2005, and went on to receive broad acclaim, including a 2007 Primetime Emmy, a 2008 Peabody Award, numerous Annie Awards, and a 2007 Genesis Award.
Avatar: Seven Havens is set after the events of the series’ second animated adventure The Legend of Korra, and returns to the ancient Asian realm where spirits and mortals co-exist, and young telekinetically-gifted ‘Avatars’ manipulate elements of earth, fire, water, and air. Seven Havens follows a so-far-unnamed ‘Earthbender’ whose circumstances are different than earlier Avatars:
A young Earthbender discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra – but in this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity’s destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse.
DiMartino and Konietzko commented on the new series and their creation’s longevity:
When we created the original series, we never imagined we’d still be expanding the world decades later. This new incarnation of the Avatarverse is full of fantasy, mystery, and a whole new cast of amazing characters. Get ready to take another epic and emotional adventure!
The new series is in production under the Avatar Studios banner at Nickelodeon Animation in Burbank. DiMartino and Konietzko serve as co-creators and executive producers. Ethan Spaulding is executive producer and Sehaj Sethi is co-executive producer.
As part of its Avatar anniversary celebration, Nickelodeon is planning additional spin-offs and festivities. These include an upcoming ten-episode series of 2d-animated Avatar: Chibi Minis based on “classic scenes from Avatar: The Last Airbender and humorous spin-off comics”; as well as podcasts, books, games, music soundtrack releases, a concert tour, toys, games, and San Diego Comic-Con events.
The previously announced Untitled Animated Aang Avatar film debuts theatrically on January 30, 2026, featuring a voice cast that includes Dave Bautista, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza and introducing Eric Nam.