Get Jiro, the animated series based on the late Anthony Bourdain's dystopian sushi-chef graphic novels, premieres tonight — Saturday, October 3, 2026, at midnight ET/PT — on Adult Swim's Toonami anime block, and streams the next day on HBO Max. Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios adapt the New York Times bestselling comic that imagined a Los Angeles where chefs rule the city and culinary etiquette can get you killed.
What Is Get Jiro About?
Get Jiro transports viewers to a post-apocalyptic, near-future Los Angeles where culinary culture reigns supreme and the world's most powerful figures are chefs. In this society, food is both currency and a demarcation of class — restaurants function like criminal territories, reservations are fought over, and bad dining behavior can carry fatal consequences.
At the center is Jiro, a mysterious sushi chef played by Brian Tee (Chicago Med), who sets out on a violent quest for vengeance. True to the source material, Jiro is a traditionalist with a rigid culinary code — and, per the trailer, a deep hatred of soy sauce.
Get Jiro Cast, Creators and Premiere Details
The series comes from Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios, developed by Alessandro Tanaka and Brian Gatewood (co-writers of A24's Sharper). Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends) directs. It adapts the graphic novels Bourdain wrote with Joel Rose, with artwork by Langdon Foss and Alé Garza, published through DC's Vertigo imprint — the first volume debuted in 2012.
- Premiere: Saturday, October 3, 2026, at midnight ET/PT on Adult Swim's Toonami block
- Streaming: HBO Max the following day
- Voice cast: Brian Tee as Jiro, Titus Welliver (Bosch: Legacy), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Justin Kirk (Weeds)
- Executive producers: Alessandro Tanaka, Brian Gatewood, Jordan Blum, Sam Register
Why the Get Jiro Premiere Matters
An official red-band trailer released ahead of launch suggests the show is leaning into — not softening — the comic's deliberately excessive violence. Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen called it a "wildly original, cinematic series," adding that the network was already a fan of the graphic novels: "Like everything Bourdain did, this story starts with food and then generously reaches out into all directions to cover culture, obsession, and what makes humanity problematic, but in the end, inspiring."
"In this society where food is both currency and a demarcation of class, the mysterious sushi chef Jiro sets out on a quest for vengeance." — Get Jiro official logline
Bourdain never treated food as just something on a plate, and Get Jiro pushes that instinct to comic-book extremes: culinary prestige becomes political power, and diners willing to chase status navigate a world where eating the wrong way can have unpleasant results. It is, in other words, unmistakably Bourdain — now animated, at midnight, on the anime block.
The Takeaway
If you watched Bourdain for how he used food to explore bigger ideas about culture and power, Get Jiro is that philosophy weaponized into a revenge anime. Tonight's Toonami premiere — and tomorrow's HBO Max drop — is one of the season's most distinctive animation debuts.
Watch: the official red-band trailer for Adult Swim's Get Jiro (age-restricted; via Adult Swim's YouTube channel) for a bloody first look at the vengeful sushi chef's world.