The Venture Bros. was undoubtedly one of the true bosses of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block. A show dedicated to the excitement and mythos of those 1960’s Jonny Quest Hanna-Barbera action shows, mixed with a ton of satire and pop-culture references, and a level of world-building not seen on television animated circles. Wild adventures, crazy villains, quirky characters that don’t have reasonable explanations for their quirks but we love them anyway … yeah, that’s The Venture Bros. in a nutshell.
But here’s the thing. The last episode of The Venture Bros. aired in 2018. It’s one of the only animated programs that still uses hand-drawn cel animation, which means the show has a gap between seasons of – well – years. And in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, word came that The Venture Bros. had been cancelled by Cartoon Network.
Not happy.
Then, this morning, I saw this little clip. Holy shit. It’s a minute of footage from an upcoming – dare I say it – new episode of The Venture Bros. Apparently it’s from what may be a new episode or full-length feature titled “Radiant is the Blood of the Bamboo Heart.” Here’s the clip.
Wow. Lot to unpack there.
For those who aren’t cognizant of the Venture universe, I’ll try to give you the 50-cent tour.
Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture used to go on many world adventures with his father, similar to the way Jonny Quest went on adventures with his father, Dr. Benton Quest. But now Rusty Venture is grown up, and has two sons of his own (Hank and Dean), as well as a bloodthirsty bodyguard, Brock Sampson (the “Race Bannon” of the group). Over time, the Ventures interact with various bad guys and villains, including The Monarch (a villain with a weird butterfly motif) and his sidekick, Dr. Girlfriend (she looks like Jackie Kennedy and sounds like she smokes five packs of Marlboros a day). New characters are introduced throughout the series, and they stay on as important cogs in the overarching storyline. Heck, even the Jonny Quest characters make an appearance or two (except Jonny Quest is now a meth-addicted basket case known as “Action Jonny”).
Do I have any idea when this episode will air? No. Do I have any idea if this is just one filmed episode or the start of a 7th season of Venture Bros. goodness? No.
Do I care? No. I get new Venture Bros. content. Maybe even a way to wrap up this series into a nice big fluffy bow.
And I’m totally good with that.
GO TEAM VENTURE!!
Chuck The Writer 
Great show, though I lost Cartoon Network when I ditched cable.
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