Rumors have been swirling this week about the future of Adult Swim’s founder Mike Lazzo retiring leaving Keith Crofford to assume as his replacement. We’ve been working on this story for a while and now can divulge some additional details.

I first heard from multiple inside sources over the summer about all of the shake-ups happening internally as a result of the AT&T buy of Turner Broadcasting with this being one of them. Turns out, it’s been known for quite a while now that 2019 was going to be the final run of the network’s figurative founder and producer of such stalwarts as Rick and Morty, Mr. Pickles, and more as the longtime executive looks to quietly retire. Keith Crofford will take over for EVP of Adult Swim with Jason DeMarco (Toonami) staying on to report.

Mike was a part of a bit of controversy having clashed with numerous one-time Adult Swim favorites like Brett Gelman, David Cross, and H. Jon Benjamin. Mike’s name soon became synonymous with social media when he was asked why Adult Swim doesn’t source for more original content from women producers. Suzanna Makkos has since been hired by Warner Media to take on much of the responsibilities that Mike Lazzo was taking on anyway.

While it’s been a rocky last couple of years for Mike Lazzo, his influence on adult animation is undeniable. For over 20 years he’s been at the forefront of building off the success brought to the network by way of Family Guy and anime in the early 2000s by shepherding a who’s who of original content that will be long-lasting.