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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.8 - NOVEMBER 2000

Primetime Animation Fills Growing Niche TV by Gerard Raiti God, the Devil, and Bob cancelled after NBC aired four episodes. Sammy and Clerks cancelled after two episodes. I refuse to mention Stressed Eric! Does anyone else see a trend out there? If so, then cross off "Television Executive" from your list of would-be professions. Stressed Eric stressed NBC executives! © NBC, Inc. All rights reserved. My fellow Americans, the state of primetime animation is not good. The four aforementioned shows represent the best primetime animation that ABC and NBC have produced since 1998. This is a tragedy disenchanting to fans of animation, none of whom like to see animation repeatedly sullied across the broadcast world. Nevertheless, the last few years have seen a formidable renaissance in primetime animation heralding back to the glory days of the 1960s with The Flintstones and The Jetsons. In 1989 as The Cosby Show was winding down, Matt Groening and FOX ushered in a brilliant, new epoch of comedy with The Simpsons. Currently, it is the longest running sitcom on U.S. television and has been a defining phenomenon in the world of entertainment. Since this once poorly animated sitcom on Thursday nights has impacted the world in such a profound way as "D'Oh!" many have tried relentlessly to duplicate its success. The Powerpuff Girls is just one of Cartoon Network's well performing shows. © Cartoon Network. Consequently, there is currently more primetime animation than ever before, which is both extremely exciting and dangerous based on how the networks treat it. Between Futurama, The Powerpuff Girls, King of the Hill, Daria and Dilbert to name just a few, there is a plethora of different animated styles designed to satisfy everyone. Nevertheless, not all animated series perform like The Simpsons, just as all live-action series do not perform like Seinfeld. Many shows are simply bad. But while primetime animation has failed on ABC and NBC, FOX, The WB and Cartoon Network have had repeated success. (CBS has wisely chosen not to partake in the primetime animation melee and focus instead on the highly lucrative reality TV market.) In addition, Cartoon Network astonishingly posted the highest primetime ratings of any cable network during its most recent quarter. Therefore, primetime animation can be successful on non-major networks. This is the trend that can be successfully mimicked and is proven. Daria continues a steady performance for MTV. © MTV Networks. A Discrepancy Between Majors and Minors Regardless whether a television show is animated or not, its success is dependent upon two variables: the show's quality, and the timeslot and level of promotion the show receives. Network executives are responsible for both since they select which shows are picked up and how the network will promote them. According to Linda Simensky, Vice President of Original Animation at Cartoon Network: "Networks are not taking into account that animated shows are different than live-action ones... [Primetime] animation needs to be developed and produced differently. The networks are not seeing that." Brad Turrell, Executive Vice President of Network Communications at The WB, shares Simensky's views and acknowledges other causes for inconsistencies in primetime animation: "Primetime animation is very difficult to do these days. It's always been difficult to do. The Simpsons is an anomaly.... It will go down as one of the greatest shows in the history of television. Some people have it even higher than that on the list. It raises the bar to a very high level. All the shows that have followed have been judged against The Simpsons. I think primetime animation is hindered because The Simpsons is so clever and well defined. Nothing can quite live up to it. That's not to say that primetime [animation] will not work."

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