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Are you wondering What happened to Cartoon Network? Cartoon Network isn’t closing down, despite the recent social media controversy regarding the renowned TV channel. They are joining forces with Warner Bros. Discovery in their animation division. It’s still a significant issue, even though it’s not as big of a story as Cartoon Network’s demise.
Cartoon Network responded, shocked to learn they were dying, to memes that put their lifespan as 1992–2022, which appeared when Twitter began exaggerating the situation. However, Cartoon Network put an end to those ferocious allegations after sending out a few swift tweets of their own.
Warner Brothers With the animation station, Discovery continues to make some debatable decisions. Under David Zaslav’s new leadership, the corporation is undergoing significant restructuring, and Cartoon Network was not spared the accountant’s scissors. The company that creates cartoons for children and adults will go through some significant changes due to significant layoffs and a shifting animation department.
Cartoon Network’s production methods may change as a result of Warner Bros. Discovery’s influence, which could lead to a decrease in the amount of original content the channel produces. But there is good news: Cartoon Network is still alive. Nevertheless, their merger with Warner Bros. Discovery will result in significant future changes.
History of Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network Studios, the channel’s animation studio, and production arm was established in October 1994, despite the fact that Cartoon Network (formerly known as The Cartoon Network) made its debut in October 1992.
Ted Turner, the creator of CNN, is a significant figure in the histories of both. In 1992, the ruthless tycoon appointed Betty Cohen the first president of Cartoon Network, a position she held until 2001. Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls were early successes for Cartoon Network; the latter was eventually brought to life as an animated feature film.
Other notable projects from Cartoon Network Studios include Samurai Jack, Black Dynamite, Johnny Bravo, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Adventure Time, and many (so many) more (including those for the affiliated Adult Swim brand and programming block). The Toonami block, which is frequently credited with introducing many American viewers to Japanese animation, furthers the legacy of CN.
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What happened to Cartoon Network: Structural changes
Leading trades such as Variety and Deadline revealed reports outlining layoffs and consolidation initiatives within the Warner Bros. Television framework in October 2022, following months of related news from the larger TV industry.
According to the former, 82 employees were let go this week, with the number dispersed throughout numerous business units. In addition, according to the same claim, Warner Bros. Television decided not to fill 43 open positions, bringing the total number of posts eliminated from a team that was reportedly close to 500 to 125.
While neither of these studies pronounced the network (or Cartoon Network Studios itself) dead, Cartoon Network was caught up in the consolidation portion of them.
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What actually happened?
Some people leaped to the conclusion that Cartoon Network Studios will cease to exist as soon as the consolidation portion of the most recent WB news was revealed.
Many fans started to share their emotions from the perspective that Cartoon Network was on its figurative deathbed as such opinion began to circulate in the days after the news. Soon after, another group of CN fans began to discuss the specifics of the most recent network-related news while expressing displeasure at the rapid spread of “RIP” assertions that seemed to be final.
Nuance was rapidly lost in the succeeding Cartoon Network conversation, as is frequently the case.
A “new streamlined structure” was being implemented, according to a memo from Warner Bros. TV chairwoman and CEO Channing Dungey that Variety’s Michael Schneider obtained. As a result of this organizational structure, future work for the development team and “main production teams” will be split between Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.
Sam Register, the current president of Cartoon Network Studios, who also oversees Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, will continue in that role as each organization works on upcoming prospective projects.
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Cartoon Network Will Still Create Content
Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will continue to produce animation for their respective networks’ Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and HBO Max, respectively. There was an existing collaboration between the two businesses since they shared the same programming, casting, legal, and artist relations teams.
However, the two creative companies will now work together to create programming for their own channels. In other words, the real Cartoon Network or WB platforms won’t change. They will depend on the same animation company to meet their needs.
Does the Merger Mean More Reboots?
Despite the overwhelming response from fans, Cartoon Network assures them that there won’t be much of a change. However, it has been noticed that David Zaslav’s approach to the content his companies have been producing in recent years has changed.
Zaslav is a savvy businessperson who is aware of current media trends. It is generally safer to watch older intellectual assets that have been rebooted than original content. He intends to follow these tendencies in all material respects. People are concerned that this could be the major development that transforms the way they currently watch television.
The primary focus of Cartoon Network is the creation of original television programs. Examples include Over the Garden Wall, Stephen Universe, and Adventure Time. And Warner Bros. Animation often keeps producing television programs that remain in the DC and Mortal Kombat universes. Warner Bros. Animation won’t likely undergo much change, although Cartoon Network material might be different for viewers.
It’s quite probable that Cartoon Network Studios would focus more on reboots and remakes of classic shows and produce fewer original productions. For instance, a brand-new Powerpuff Girls reboot is being planned. The key is that these animation studios will switch to producing more well-known TV series. It might not be all that horrible.
Conclusion – What happened to Cartoon Network
So, above is What happened to Cartoon Network. Recent years have demonstrated that audiences like programs that evoke nostalgia and offer fresh takes on classic programs they grew to adore as children. When producing television for an existing audience, Zaslav is taking a calculated risk from a financial perspective.
As a result, Cartoon Network is driven to capitalize on the nostalgia for the 1990s that many millennial viewers crave, but it also raises the possibility of less inventive programming. Zaslav is not an artist, hence he would not make this decision.
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