China, IL | |
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Genre |
Adult animation Animated sitcom Action Satire Surreal humor |
Created by | Brad Neely |
Written by | Brad Neely |
Directed by |
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Starring |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 30 (and 2 pilots) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Running time |
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Production company(s) |
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Release | |
Original network | Adult Swim |
Picture format | |
Original release |
Original pilot no. 1: May 25, 2008 Official: October 2, 2011 – June 14, 2015 |
External links | |
Website |
China, IL (meaning China, Illinois) is an American animated television series created by Brad Neely for the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network. The series takes place at The University of China, Illinois, dubbed the "Worst College in America" and located at the edge of town. The school's poor reputation is celebrated by the school's uncaring faculty and staff, constantly shown drinking while teaching and/or trying to avoid teaching altogether.
The series was originally conceived as a web series on Adult Swim's defunct comedy website, Super Deluxe, in 2008. Neely, who had done Baby Cakes and The Professor Brothers shorts for Super Deluxe in 2006, envisioned the characters in each series to coexist in the same universe. With the relationship in mind, he produced a four-part internet series entitled China, IL, which was published on Super Deluxe in 2008. An 11-minute television special combining the shorts, titled "China, IL: The Funeral", aired on Adult Swim on May 25, 2008. Neely stated that a major inspiration behind the premise of the series derives from his lack of college experiences and his Arkansan upbringing. Episodes are written among a writing staff of six to eight people; for voice-over work, the crew works on two or three hours of dialogue for a certain character, followed by storyboard meetings, dailies, and rough cuts, with Neely directing other actors who come in after him.
China, IL ended on June 14, 2015, with a total of 30 episodes, following the series finale "Magical Pet".
The series takes place at the "Worst College in America", located at the edge of town. The school's poor reputation is celebrated by the school's uncaring faculty and staff, constantly shown drinking while teaching and/or trying to avoid teaching altogether.
The series was conceived as a web series on Adult Swim's defunct comedy website, Super Deluxe, in 2008. Neely, who had produced Baby Cakes and The Professor Brothers shorts for Super Deluxe in 2006, envisioned the characters in each series to coexist in the same universe. With this relationship in mind, he produced a four-part online series entitled China, IL, hand-drawn by him in his apartment in Austin, Texas. The series was published onto Super Deluxe in 2008. Intended for online consumption, he considered the web series independent from China, IL, due to the differences in format and structure that he stated he feels his work should be dictated by.