Kids’ WB Announces Production on Four Returning Series
[via press release]
Warner Bros. Animation, Kids’ WB! On The CW Announce Production On Four Returning Series For Fall 2007 Season
(February 8, 2007 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Animation has begun production on new seasons of four returning series, all for air on Kids’ WB! on The CW, the No.1 rated Saturday morning kids broadcast slate, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Animation President Sander Schwartz and Kids’ WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen.
Kids’ WB! gave the green light to second seasons of Warner Bros. Animation’s “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!” the top-rated Saturday morning animated broadcast series, and the popular “Tom and Jerry Tales.” Also returning for its second season is “Legion of Super Heroes,” recently named Wizard magazine’s “Best Animated Series” of 2006. In addition, three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner “The Batman” has begun production on its fourth season.
“We’re proud to bring back together four talented creative teams to produce our returning shows and we look forward to taking those series’ loyal audiences on a great ride this coming season,” Schwartz said.
“Our partnership with Warner Bros. Animation has helped Kids’ WB! remain the top-rated Saturday morning broadcast lineup for kids, and these four outstanding series have captured the audience’s imagination and the critics’ fancy with equal aplomb,” McGowen said.
Season to date for the 2006-2007 campaign, Kids’ WB! has six of the top 10 rated shows among broadcast networks on Saturday mornings in the Kids 2-11, Boys 2-11, Kids 6-11 and Boys 9-14 demographics.
In its maiden season, “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!” has consistently been rated No. 1 among Saturday morning kids broadcast series in the coveted Kids 2-11 demographic. The latest incarnation of the original “Scooby-Doo” characters has our canine hero and his pal Shaggy living in the mansion of Shaggy’s mysteriously missing Uncle Albert. Within the mansion, the unorthodox boy-and-his-dog duo discover a secret lab filled with gadgets – including a transforming Mystery Machine and Scooby Snacks that give Scooby surprising powers. Shaggy and Scooby set out to find Albert and keep the secret technology away from the comically evil Dr. Phineus Phibes.
“Tom and Jerry Tales” resumes its eternal cat-and-mouse antics in one of the top-rated Saturday morning kids broadcast series of the 2006-2007 season. Specifically, “Tom and Jerry Tales” ranked No. 1 against broadcast competition in the Boys 6-11 demographic, and second only to “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!” among all Kids 2-11. Departing the traditional home environment, Tom and Jerry travel the globe in search of all-new mischief, pummeling each other with their ongoing slapstick gags in new geographic locales and culturally diverse settings. Combining a faintly modern spin with a nod to the retro, this cat and mouse comedy team scrambles, slides and slams onto the screen, creating over-the-top, laugh-out-loud mayhem and memories.
“The Batman,” which is nominated for a 2006-2007 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Special Class Animation Program category, will focus its new season on the introduction of Batman’s Justice League peers. Expect amped-up action and heightened stakes as Superman, Aquaman, The Flash and several others work in concert with Batman – and even more of his amazing technological wonders – to defend Gotham from a seemingly never-ending roster of super villains.
The second season of “Legion of Super Heroes” finds the group fulfilling their collective destiny, each member elevating his skills to new levels … just in time to face even greater challenges. A daunting new villain – a destroyer of galaxies from the rich annals of DC Comics – puts the Legion into action alongside new team members. Superman returns from the 21st century with greater development of both his physical prowess and far better utilization of his powers to help the Legion toward victory in the 31st century and beyond. Moreover, the Legion finds a surprising, new ally from across the space-time continuum to assist in its efforts to rid the universe of this powerful foe.
All four returning series are produced by Warner Bros. Animation with Sander Schwartz as executive producer. “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!” returns its creative team of Producer Eric Radomski, Associate Producer Michelle Pniewski and Story Editor Ray De Laurentis. Frank Molieri is producer, Bobbie Page is line producer and Richard Pursel & Christopher Painter are story editors of “Tom and Jerry Tales.” In his second season as producer of “Legion of Super Heroes,” James Tucker is joined by Associate Producer Amy McKenna and Story Editor Michael Jelenic. Alan Burnett and Michael Goguen serve as supervising producers and Kim Smith is producer for “The Batman.”
A leader in children’s programming, Kids’ WB! continues to be a unique destination for kids. Kids’ WB!, now airing on The CW Network, has been the broadcast home for such cornerstone hits as the blockbusters “Pokémon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” Emmy® Award-winners “Xiaolin Showdown” and “The Batman,” culturally diverse series “Jackie Chan Adventures” and “¡Mucha Lucha! Gigante,” and breakout hits “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!” and “Legion of Super Heroes,” among other favorites. Kids and their parents can find more information about Kids’ WB! programming online at www.KidsWB.com.
Warner Bros. Animation has been producing award-winning original animation since 1930, when it released its first cartoon, “Sinking in the Bathtub.” Since then, Warner Bros. Animation’s characters have set the standard for innovative, quality animation. Producing for network and cable television, online, home entertainment and feature films both domestically and internationally, Warner Bros. Animation is highly respected for its creative and technical excellence, as well as maintaining the studio’s rich cartoon heritage. Warner Bros. Animation also oversees the creative use of, and production of animated programming based on classic animated characters from the Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics libraries. Warner Bros. Animation is one of the most honored animation studios in history, garnering a grand total of six Academy Awards®, 34 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, a Humanitas Award, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).