Teletoon at Night (branded as The Detour on Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a late-nightprogramming block that aired on Teletoon. It primarily carried adult animation and other programming targeting adult audiences.
Teletoon had carried programming targeting teen and adult audiences during the prime time and late night hours since its inception. The channel eventually established formal brands for such programming—The Detour on Teletoon and Teletoon Unleashed—in 2001 and 2002; by 2004, the "Unleashed" block was dropped.
Teletoon at Night was similar in format to the Adult Swim block of Cartoon Network, from which the block acquired most of its programming. A Canadian version of Adult Swim was launched as the late night block of the newly-launched Canadian Cartoon Network channel in 2012. The two blocks operated in parallel, with most Adult Swim original series eventually moving to the new channel, and Teletoon at Night focusing on other original and acquired adult animation series, as well as films.
On April 1, 2019, the block was permanently discontinued; it was succeeded by the newly-launched Adult Swim channel. The block's French counterpart, Télétoon la nuit, continues to air on Télétoon.[1]
History
Final Teletoon Detour logo, 2008 to September 1, 2009.
Since its launch in November of 1997, Teletoon had included a selection of adult-targeted programming during the nighttime hours. This initially included series such as Duckman, The Simpsons, Captain Star, Highlander: The Animated Series, Dilbert, & Pond Life, as well as animation documentaries and some uncensored anime films.
However, the root of what eventually became modern 'Teletoon at Night' lay in their revolutionary 2001 marketing strategy following the birth of the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network in the U.S, and the general boom in adult animation: These circumstances inspired the launch of the adult-oriented Teletoon Unleashed block in September 2001, followed by the unique, teenage-oriented Detour on Teletoon which launched in March 2002.
During this period, in order to specify the audience group each block sought to target, content classification was applied dichotomously. For example, regardless of the fact that only a minority (Quads, Spawn etc.) were explicit enough to require 'adults-only' designation, all programs on Teletoon Unleashed were classified with the 18+ rating. The Detour used this same technique with 14+.
The Unleashed branding was eventually dropped in March 2004, owing to lack of new content. This was due to most of the line-up only consisting of a single season of around 13 episodes - hence constant re-runs resulted in the brand becoming stale.
In late 2009, the block was rebranded as Teletoon at Night. While a selection of Adult Swim originals (ie. Robot Chicken) continued to be shown, the interest behind this neutrally-toned branding was in versatility - with the goal of appealing to wider majorities within the 18-34 group.
Accordingly, Teletoon at Night saw the return of the ever-popular Family Guy (dropped in 2006), as well as an original series The Dating Guy, & the acquisitions of King of the Hill & Archer.
With the launch of the Canadian version of Adult Swim (via the Canadian version of Cartoon Network) on July 4, 2012, most of the original programming from the American service eventually migrated to its Canadian counterpart.[5]
In the Summer of 2014, Saturday film telecasts were branded as the "Saturday Night Funhouse Double Feature".[6] Meanwhile, Teletoon acquired broadcast rights to The Awesomes, a Hulu original series.[7] In October 2014, Bento Box Entertainment, the studio that produces The Awesomes, announced they would be producing a new slate of shows for Teletoon at Night.[8] In the same month, Blue Ant Media, Mondo Media, and Corus announced that Teletoon at Night would air a new series featuring shorts from Bite on Mondo, a program in which content creators pitched ideas for several new TV series.[9] It was later revealed on Adult Swim's Facebook page that the new series, dubbed Night Sweats, would air on Adult Swim instead.
During the week of September 1, 2015, it was announced on air that, on that date, several of the block's shows would move to Adult Swim.[10][11][12] In a press release posted on September 3, 2015, it was announced that the block would now air Mondays through Thursdays starting at 10:00 p.m, with a film at 11:00p.m. Teletoon's Superfan Friday block expanded in Teletoon at Night's place.[10][13] It was later announced in December 2015 that, starting on January 4, 2016, Teletoon at Night would be adding more films to their schedule and their remaining shows moved over to Adult Swim.[14]
In February 2016, several TV series that were airing on Adult Swim began airing on Teletoon at Night.[citation needed] On February 24, 2016, it was announced in a press release that the seventh season of Archer would air on both blocks.[15] In the same month, Teletoon at Night's website revealed that its Fred at Night segment would be discontinued after six years, with the final installment airing on February 25, 2016.[14] On March 23, 2016, it was revealed that Archer's seventh season would instead air on Teletoon at Night, although the season premiere did air in simulcast on Adult Swim.[16]
On March 4, 2019, along with the announcement that Action would relaunch as a full-time Adult Swim channel on April 1, 2019, it was also announced that Teletoon at Night would be discontinued.[17] The block signed off for the final time on April 1, 2019, at 3:00a.m..
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