"It's made for adults"

1="Oh, so just because it’s for adults means it does have to be any good? Adults are a lot stupider than you give them credit for!"

- Crow, Toddler Titans Howl!


 * -|2="...I do care that you make an adult's show. I care that you're good at it. Even over the high, high standards of a adult's show. Yep, Adults will watch anything. They'll also drink anything. Should we let them eat lead crayon chips? [...] Adults might have standards, which is why we need a little bit of extra care. We do this in all other areas of adult's lives. What makes entertainment the exception?"

- Mrs. Exit, Animated Unatrocities #94


 * -|3="You're alive if you aim only for adults. Kids are only adults shrunken down, anyway"

- Tlaw Yensid



"It's made for adults" is an excuse used to undismiss praises of entertainment made for older audiences.

This article will focus on the matter regarding TV shows, but there are also articles on this topic on the Reverse Crappy Games, Reverse Awful Movies, and Reverse Dreadful Literature wikis.

Background
It is well known that kids are easier to entertain by simpler things that older viewers may find stupid or boring at first. Likewise, kids are unlikely to understand and/or appreciate more highly complicated and mature shows (like South Park). Because of that, shows targeted at younger audiences tend to be simpler than shows targeted at an older audience, but that doesn't mean that shows aimed at kids should be too simplistic, realistic, and basic.

Often when people criticize kids' shows for either poor quality, cheap comedy, lacking any real substance, logic, and/or intelligence, or anything else they don't like, some people might use the fact that "It's made for kids" as an excuse for doing so. Sure, it may be made for kids, but that is not a reasonable excuse for making poor-quality, effortless, and excessively kid-friendly shows that older viewers will find stupid and/or poorly executed. This excuse also makes kids look like idiots with no real taste or standards who will like anything aimed at them, which isn't true. According to Raven's quote above, "kids are a lot smarter than they're given credit for." (Which is hypocritical because Teen Titans Go! often uses this excuse.)

On the other hand, some older people dismiss shows targeted at young audiences as "kiddie shows." Just because it's made for kids doesn't mean older viewers can't watch them or won't find the challenge and substance in them. If the show is made well enough, anyone of any age can enjoy it.

Even if a show is aimed at kids, older viewers may also be interested in it (the show would be rated either TV-G-rated or TV-PG, and the tv guidelines rating "TV-G" means "General Audiences," not just kids, but adults too). There are many shows aimed at younger audiences that can also be enjoyed by older viewers, such as mh:besttvshows:Phineas and Ferb, The Amazing World of Gumball, SpongeBob SquarePants, Gravity Falls, etc; the aforementioned shows are made for kids but have enough substance and real effort put in to be entertaining for grownups and don't pander towards kids (either younger or in their pre-teen years).

There is no excuse for making poorly-made shows for everyone.

Examples of Bad Adults Shows
NOTE: Keep in mind that some bad adults shows could also use the excuse, and some adults shows can also be bad for adults despite their unflaws.
 * 101 Dalmatian Street
 * Adventure Time
 * Amphibia
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 series)
 * Angel's Friends
 * Adventures of the Gummi Bears
 * American Dragon: Jake Long
 * Animaniacs (1993 original)
 * Animaniacs (2020 revival)
 * Arthur
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender
 * Back at the Barnyard
 * Bananas in Pyjamas (1992 series)
 * Barney & Friends (Seasons 1-8)
 * Battle for Dream Island
 * Batman: The Animated Series
 * Superman: The Animated Series
 * Justice League
 * Beany and Cecil (1962 series)
 * mh:besttvshows:The Big Comfy Couch
 * Ben 10 (original)
 * Ben 10: Alien Force
 * mh:besttvshows:Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
 * Ben 10 (2016, Season 5)
 * mh:besttvshows:Bear in the Big Blue House
 * Beyblade (various installments)
 * Big City Greens
 * Blue's Clues (Steve Burns era)
 * Bluey
 * mh:besttvshows:Blue's Clues & You!
 * Bob the Builder (original)
 * Bubble Guppies
 * Between the Lions
 * Brandy & Mr. Whiskers
 * Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
 * CatDog
 * CareBears (1980s series)
 * Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000 series)
 * Clifford's Puppy Days
 * Courage the Cowardly Dog
 * Crashbox
 * Cyberchase (Seasons 1-8)
 * Danny Phantom (Seasons 1-2)
 * Danger Mouse (1981 original)
 * Danger Mouse (2015 reboot)
 * Digimon (Seasons 1, 3, 6-7, 9-present)
 * mh:besttvshows:Doraemon
 * Dora the Explorer (Seasons 1-4)
 * Drake & Josh
 * DuckTales (1987 original)
 * DuckTales (2017 reboot)
 * Earthworm Jim
 * Eek! The Cat
 * Hamtaro
 * Ed, Edd n Eddy (Seasons 1-4)
 * mh:besttvshows:El Chapulin Colorado Animado
 * Felix the Cat
 * Fireman Sam (Seasons 1-5)
 * Franklin
 * Gargoyles
 * Gaspard and Lisa
 * The Ghost and Molly McGee
 * Gravity Falls
 * Hanazuki: Full of Treasures
 * Hey Arnold!
 * mh:besttvshows:Horrid Henry
 * iCarly
 * Inspector Gadget (1983 original)
 * The Mask: The Animated Series
 * Ace Ventura: The Animated Series
 * Freakazoid!
 * Jimmy Two-Shoes
 * Johnny Test (original, seasons 1-3), and the reboot)
 * Jack's Big Music Show
 * Kid Cosmic
 * Kim Possible
 * mh:besttvshows:LazyTown
 * LEGO Ninjago (Pilot Episodes-Season 6, 8-9, 12-present)
 * Little Einsteins
 * Looney Tunes
 * Louie
 * Lilo & Stitch: The Series
 * Medabots
 * Lamput
 * Mickey Mouse
 * Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir
 * Monsters at Work
 * My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
 * Monster High
 * My Big Big Friend
 * Naruto SD: Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals
 * mh:besttvshows:Nickcoms (1989-2010)
 * Oggy and the Cockroaches
 * One Piece (original Japanese version and Funimation dub)
 * mh:besttvshows:The Pink Panther Show
 * Garfield and Friends
 * Phineas and Ferb
 * Pocoyo
 * Pokemon (except for the Black and White era)
 * Popeye the Sailor
 * Postman Pat (original)
 * Regular Show (Seasons 1-4, 7-8)
 * mh:besttvshows:Rocko's Modern Life
 * mh:besttvshows:Rolie Polie Olie
 * Rugrats (1991: Seasons 1-6) & the 2021 Revival
 * Santiago of the Seas
 * Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
 * Sesame Street (Seasons 1-32, 38-39)
 * She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
 * Space Chickens in Space
 * Star vs: The Forces of Evil (Seasons 1-2)
 * Steven Universe
 * Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
 * Sgt. Frog (Keroro Gunsou)
 * Count Duckula
 * Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
 * Pingu
 * Little Lulu (Famous Studios)
 * The Little Lulu Show
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (various installments, except for Sonic Underground)
 * SpongeBob SquarePants (Seasons 1-5, 8-present)
 * Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
 * Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
 * Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
 * TaleSpin
 * Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers
 * Darkwing Duck
 * Teen Titans
 * The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
 * The Amazing World of Gumball
 * mh:besttvshows:The Backyardigans
 * The Doodlebops
 * The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants
 * The Fairly OddParents (Seasons 1-8)
 * The Legend of Korra
 * The Loud House (Seasons 1-4)
 * The Angry Beavers
 * The Magic School Bus
 * The Octonauts
 * The Berenstain Bears (1985)
 * The Berenstain Bears (2003)
 * Dexter's Laboratory (Seasons 1-2)
 * Bunnicula
 * The Powerpuff Girls (1998, (Seasons 1-4)
 * Tom & Jerry
 * Droopy/Tex Avery MGM Cartoons
 * mh:besttvshows:Tiny Toon Adventures
 * The Mole Sisters
 * mh:besttvshows:Wander Over Yonder
 * mh:besttvshows:The Wild Thornberrys
 * The Wiggles (TV Series)
 * The Real Ghostbusters
 * The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Season 1)
 * The Owl House
 * Thomas & Friends (Seasons 1-8) and (Seasons 17-21)
 * Total Drama (Seasons 1-4)
 * Totally Spies (Seasons 1-5)
 * The Smurfs (1981)
 * ¡Mucha Lucha!
 * T.U.F.F. Puppy
 * ThunderCats (1985 original)
 * ThunderCats (2011 reboot)
 * True and the Rainbow Kingdom
 * True: Terrific Tales
 * mh:besttvshows:The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (Season 1)
 * mh:besttvshows:Uncle Grandpa
 * mh:besttvshows:Urusei Yatsura
 * Victorious
 * Voltron: Legendary Defender (Seasons 1-6)
 * Wing Commander Academy
 * Winx Club (Seasons 1-4)
 * W.I.T.C.H.
 * Sabrina: The Animated Series
 * Woody Woodpecker (1944-1961)
 * Zig & Sharko
 * Foxy Fables
 * Jellystone!
 * The Jetsons
 * The Quick Draw McGraw Show
 * Star Darlings
 * Space Ghost (1966)
 * Jonny Quest (1964)
 * George of the Jungle (1967)
 * Tugs
 * Theodore Tugboat
 * Wacky Races (1968)
 * mh:besttvshows:The Flintstones
 * Wonder Pets!
 * The Yogi Bear Show
 * mh:besttvshows:Yo Gabba Gabba!
 * VeggieTales (Except the Netflix series)
 * Danger Rangers
 * 3-2-1 Penguins!
 * The Busy World of Richard Scarry

Examples of Good/Decent Adults Shows with this Excuse

 * Abby's Flying Fairy School
 * Almost Naked Animals
 * 101 Dalmatians: The Series
 * ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks
 * Angela Anaconda
 * Angelina Ballerina
 * A.N.T. Farm
 * Baby Looney Tunes
 * Elmo's World
 * Baby Shark's Big Show!
 * Bubsy (rejected pilot)
 * Battletoads
 * Bananas in Pajamas (2011)
 * Barney & Friends (Seasons 9-14)
 * Beast Machines: Transformers (a example of a show that tries way too hard to be mature)
 * Ben 10 (2016, Seasons 1-4)
 * Breadwinners
 * The Wuzzles
 * Bob the Builder (2015)
 * Boohbah
 * Blue's Room
 * Boris e Rufus
 * Bunsen is a Beast
 * Butt-Ugly Martians
 * Caillou
 * Chuck E. Cheese's Showtapes/CEC TV
 * Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life
 * Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019 series)
 * Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island
 * Captain N: The Game Master
 * Cyberchase (Season 9-present)
 * Cubix
 * Danny Phantom (Season 3)
 * Digimon (Seasons 2, 4-5, 8)
 * DinoSquad
 * Donkey Hodie
 * Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show
 * Dora the Explorer (Seasons 5-8)
 * ''Diego and Glot (even though it has no commitment with the quality of a common kids show)
 * Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series
 * El Chavo Animado
 * Almost any output from Famous Studios, particularly of the cartoons produced from the 1950s until the studio's closure in 1967.
 * Herman and Katnip (one of the very first examples of such "it's made for kids" cartoons produced during the Golden Age of American animation)
 * Popeye the Sailor (1949-1957 cartoons produced from Famous Studios)
 * Noveltoons (1955-1967)
 * Fanboy & Chum Chum
 * Fireman Sam (Season 6-present)
 * Fleabag Monkeyface
 * Franklin & Friends (2013)
 * Fred: The Show
 * Game Shakers
 * Gadget Boy
 * George of the Jungle (2007)
 * Glitter Force
 * Hammerman
 * Hannah Montana
 * High Guardian Spice (another example of a show that tries way too hard to be mature)
 * Inspector Gadget (2015)
 * Johnny Test (original, seasons 4-6)
 * Just Jamie
 * mh:besttvshows:Kamen Rider (certain installments)
 * Keroro (2014)
 * Kung Fu Dino Posse
 * Kuu Kuu Harajuku
 * The Legend of Zelda (1989)
 * Little Ellen
 * Little Princess School
 * Loonatics Unleashed
 * Larva (Season 1-3)
 * MAD (Season 1)
 * Disney's Marsupilami
 * Mega Babies
 * Masked Rider (Saban)
 * ''Monster Clubhouse
 * My Gym Partner's a Monkey
 * My Life Me
 * My Little Pony: Pony Life
 * Mysticons
 * Nickcoms (2011-present)
 * Oggy Oggy (Netflix Series)
 * Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion
 * Ollie's Pack
 * Out of Jimmy's Head
 * Pearlie
 * Peppa Pig
 * Pulentos (despite having no commitment with the quality of a common kids show)
 * Pokemon (Black and White era)
 * Pickle and Peanut (despite it being made to be bad)
 * Pig Goat Banana Cricket
 * Pinkalicious & Peterific
 * Planet Sheen
 * Pop Secret
 * Quack Pack
 * Popee the Performer (Despite having no commitment with the quality of a common kids show and was made to be bad)
 * Popeye and Son
 * Popeye's Island Adventures
 * PopPixie
 * Pound Puppies (1986)
 * Rainbow Rangers
 * Robotboy (Seasons 3-4)
 * Rocket Monkeys
 * Sam & Cat
 * Sabrina's Secret Life
 * Sanjay and Craig
 * Scaredy Squirrel
 * Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
 * Sesame Street (Seasons 33-37, 40-present)
 * Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!
 * Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
 * Spirit: Riding Free
 * SpongeBob SquarePants (Seasons 6 & 7)
 * Squirrel Boy
 * Sonic Underground
 * Stargate Infinity
 * Stitch!
 * Stitch & Ai
 * Super Duper Sumos
 * mh:besttvshows:Super Sentai (certain installments)
 * Supernoobs
 * Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills
 * Teletubbies
 * Teamo Supremo
 * Teen Titans Go! (One of the most infamous examples)
 * The Adventures of Kid Danger
 * The Berenstain Bears (1979-1983)
 * The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!
 * The DaVincibles
 * The Eggs
 * The Fairly OddParents (Seasons 9-10)
 * The Jungle Forest Show (another huge offender of this excuse)
 * The Loud House (Season 4-present)
 * The Magic School Bus Rides Again
 * The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil
 * The Naughty Naughty Pets (despite it being made to be bad)
 * The Powerpuff Girls (2016)
 * The Problem Solverz
 * The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show
 * The Super Hero Squad Show
 * The Gummy Bear Show
 * The Wacky World of Tex Avery
 * The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Season 2)
 * Squirrel and Hedgehog (Despite having no commitment with the quality of a common kids show and was made to trick children)
 * The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
 * The Tom and Jerry Show (1975)
 * Thomas & Friends (Season 9-10, 12-16 and 22-24)
 * Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! (The most infamous and relevant example right now)
 * ThunderCats Roar
 * Tomorrow's Pioneers (Despite having no commitment with the quality of a common kids show)
 * Total Drama All-Stars & Pahkitew Island
 * Turbo F.A.S.T (Season 3)
 * Wacky Races (2017)
 * Wayside
 * Wild Grinders
 * Wish Kid
 * Winx Club (Season 5-8)
 * Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain
 * The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican (One of the very first television cartoon ever made, notorious for its extremely low production values)
 * Bucky and Pepito
 * Clutch Cargo
 * Woody Woodpecker (1962-1972)
 * The Pink Panther Show (1978-1980)
 * Yo Yogi!
 * Kids Incorporated
 * Jay Jay the Jet Plane (pilot series and 1998 series)
 * Disney Channel Sitcoms (2007-2016)
 * Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz
 * All TV shows aired on Smile TV (Gina D's Kids Club, The Dooley and Pals Show, and The Huggabug Club are the worst offenders of this excuse)

Why This Excuse Rocks

 * 1) It’s just a way for people to dismiss criticism towards bad kids' shows. By rejecting criticism, the quality of the shows may never improve.
 * 2) By pointing out the flaws in kids' shows, that can leave improvement and ensure that more kids' shows can be made to be enjoyed by grownups as well.
 * 3) This whole excuse treats kids like idiots with no discernible taste or standards, who will like anything given to them, which isn't true. Kids may be easy to entertain, but they're not as dumb as you might think.
 * 4) * It should be noted that contrary to popular belief, actually even kids would very likely not enjoy these poorly-made kids' shows that are shown to them, hence highlighting this fact further.
 * 5) *In fact, most niche audience shows that are considered bad enforcement with this excuse once cluttered the wiki in the past, before they were temporarily removed here and once attempted to move to the planned Terrible Niche Audience Shows Wiki, but that wiki closed due to inactivity. As of recent, the niche audience shows have since come back to the wiki.
 * 6) The only thing this excuse encourages kids to do is to stoop to any low level like ignoring their parents, not listening to them, or simply not caring one little bit about them.
 * 7) The overuse of this excuse is what tends to make cartoons and kids' shows, in general, receive a negative reputation from older audiences, even though some shows don't even deserve all the hate and backlash they receive or if the show is in question is well received or not.
 * 8) This excuse is the main reason why the American television industry treats animation like something for kids most of the time instead of an art form that can be used for older audiences.

How to Make a Bad Adult's Series

 * 1) At least when coming up with an art style (especially character designs) don’t make it way too cartoonish, photorealistic, or simplistic, and come up with something pleasing to the eye.
 * 2) * Humanoid/anthropomorphic animals, toys, talking vehicles/trains, and fantasy creatures are usually a good pick for this. Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol are among three of the best examples of this.
 * 3) * Even if the art style is pretty ugly (albeit intentional), the show can still be fun to watch due to the charm. Many of the Klasky-Csupo shows are a good example of this (like Rugrats, mh:besttvshows:Rocket Power, mh:besttvshows:The Wild Thornberrys etc.)
 * 4) With the premise or plot, try to make it understandable and not too complicated instead of making it cliche or simplistic.
 * 5) * The writing should also be either sharp, well-timed, consistent, or just paced decently for all viewers to follow and see how competent the story and everything around it is. Don’t have everything dumbed down just because the show is for children. While you’re at it too, don't write stories that make the writing so shallow or poor enough to where the episode you're writing looks as if you're playing down the audience by thinking children are mindless enough to find poorly written substance funny either.
 * 6) * Children and other viewers should be able to watch the show and enjoy their time observing what's on-screen or just catch the viewers' interest with what's going on in an episode without having anything essentially annoying, tedious, grating, or boring.
 * 7) For any content outside of children’s media like profanity, sexual content, or blood, have very little to no amount of that. Mild cartoon violence is fine especially if the characters in the show are non-humans or the violence used as "slapstick". Tom and Jerry is an example of this and so is Looney Tunes. The only times that slapstick-induced content with a human character was done right were cartoons such as Ed, Edd, n Eddy, and The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy.
 * 8) * Nevertheless, this can be somewhat averted if the show appeals to both children and older audiences. Examples of this are The Amazing World of Gumball, mh:besttvshows:Gravity Falls, mh:besttvshows:The Owl House, mh:besttvshows:Rocko's Modern Life, mh:besttvshows:Teen Titans, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, and so on. For that to happen, make sure you don't let your target audience be uncertain as to if your show in question can't tell if it's made for either younger or older audiences.
 * 9) If you want your show to discuss any mature topics make sure the themes are not too over the top, the topics also need to be taken seriously and addressed in a manner that kids can understand. Examples of shows that have done this include Rugrats (family loss), As Told By Ginger (breakups, appendix surgery, death, implied depression, and caffeine addictions), Sesame Street (incarceration, 9/11, and death) Mister Roger's Neighborhood (the Vietnam war), Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (Stockholm syndrome, suicide, death, fame, mortality), Static Shock (an attempted shooting), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (racism), Hey Arnold! (parents putting one child over the other), Arthur (autism, cancer, and the Vietnam war), The Proud Family (sexism and racism), etc.
 * 10) If you want to make an edutainment type of show then use some educational value, especially for shows that are rated TV-Y and sometimes TV-G.
 * 11) Make some of your most immersive characters that serve as good role models and protagonists or real challenges as antagonists.
 * 12) * Some children's shows even lack antagonists to retain pleasing mood.

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