Corcoran takes pains to distinguish his programming from his competitors. “We’re designed for an older audience. We’re not going out to compete against Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. We have a variety of programming blocks, from giant robots in the daytime to `Action Zone,’ which I describe as `hot chicks with guns.’

“`Super Happy Funtime’ is our late-night block, with shows that focus on satire and sexy storylines. There’s some stuff in there along the lines of South Park. These shows fall more into the TV-14 or -MA category: they’re aimed at an 18-30 audience and they definitely don’t fit into our afterschool block.”

Like Cartoon Network, Anime has pre-teen and teen viewers as well as a college-age and adult audience, and thus has to carefully target its programming. “We’ve clearly labeled our programming. If anything, we’ve gone overboard — we not only rate for appropriate age, we’ve voluntarily made our own icons that are a lot more specific about what you might find in our programming, whether it’s `samurai violence’ or `decapitations.’”

Looking to make headway with older audiences, Anime Network presents shows like Spriggan, in its “Action Zone” block. © MCMXCVIII Hiroshi Takashige-Ryoji Minagawa/Shogakukan — Bandai Visual — TBS — TOHO English Language Version © 2001.

While Corcoran muses that the channel hasn’t necessarily “hit the ceiling” in terms of what might make it on the air, he takes pains to point out that his definition of adult animation specifically excludes ultra-kinky “hentai”(tentacle sex, anyone?) anime popular in certain circles. “We’re already working against the perception out there that anime equals triple-X programming. We like to say that we’re not Disney, leave your kids at home. But by the same token, we’re good solid entertainment.”

For the moment, it appears that the niche-targeted cable channels will hold onto their edge when it comes to edgy adult animation. In spite of all the viewer fragmentation that has taken place in recent years, broadcasters still need to appeal to wider audiences, creating a built-in limit on how far they can push the fabled envelope that the Comedy Centrals and Adult Swims of the world don’t have to deal with. But for cable and broadcast channel alike, coming up with the next big animated hit is always a crapshoot.

Comedy Central’s Zoe Friedman could be speaking for the entire industry and not just her own channel when she observes that, “South Park is a hard act to follow.”

Joe Strike is a NYC-based writer/producer with a background in TV promotion and a lifelong interest in animation. He is writing a children’s novel.