Michael Ouweleen has been named the president of Adult Swim.
He will remain in his current role as interim head of the Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics Division until this summer. Earlier this month, Warner Bros. named Freeform president Tom Ascheim to that role, which he will begin in July. Ouweleen will report to Ascheim.
At Adult Swim, Ouweleen will be responsible for all aspects of content planning, development, windowing, marketing and creative for Adult Swim and its properties globally across all company-owned platforms and third-party partners. Ouweleen was one of the original creative voices for Adult Swim when it first launched as a late-night programming block on Cartoon Network in 2001.
While serving as creative director for the Adult Swim block, Ouweleen also co-created, co-executive produced and co-wrote one of its first shows, “Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law.” He will continue to serve as executive producer on the the “Harvey Birdman” spinoff, “Birdgirl.”
“It’s fitting that Michael has been named head of Adult Swim as he was one of the platform’s founders,” said Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff. “He’s got animated blood running through his veins, and his humor and comedic sensibilities are a big part of Adult Swim’s success. This promotion is most deserved and will help us strategically grow this crucial part of our young adult business.”