Comics Continuum reports that new episodes of Justice League Unlimited will not air until SUMMER! Currently, the show is only four episodes into the new season, although the “season” consists of dumping the four episodes into two broadcast dates in September and then taking all Justice League episodes off the broadcast schedule.
This follows on the heels of Cartoon Network cancelling Teen Titans at the end of the current fifth season, leaving the “Brotherhood of Evil” plotline unresolved.
Animated series don’t seem to last much beyond five seasons. Usually, that’s because five seasons generates 100+ episodes of a show which can then be syndicated ad nauseum, but it’s worth pointing out that these Cartoon Network shows are often producing only 13 episodes a season. At that rate, you’d think they could produce the show for ten years.
I don’t have any stats on how these shows perform. Maybe that’s because Cartoon Network keeps bumping the shows around and then yanking them altogether, which doesn’t seem like the way to build an audience. One wonders whether they’ve hired away the Fox Network programmers who thought 6:00PM after football was the best place to put “Futurama” and “The Tick” would be a good challenger against Must-See TV “Friends”.
Honestly, I don’t know what is up with Cartoon Network. They used to be all about Scooby Doo and Yogi Bear. Now, it’s 90% annoying anime with nonsensical names and 10% live action movies. Yeah, you heard me right, they’re showing 1989’s PG-13 “Batman” movie on Cartoon Network because Batman’s a cartoon character, though the movie isn’t animated. That’s about as incomprehensible as the anime. And don’t get me started about Adult Swim canceling “Home Movies” while green-lighting cheap nonsense like “Squidbillies” and “10 oz. Mouse.”
3 responses to “What is going on with Cartoon Network?”
My cable company doesn’t carry CN, its only got about 25 stations, but its only $20, so I haven’t seen this decline in the last 3 years. I’ve been watching TT and JLA/U. Kind of sucks that they are getting yanked all around like that.
…And just when I was really started to take an interest again, this happens.
I was always bummed that I couldn’t watch the original Batman animated series because it was on weekdays. So I bought the companion comic which was VERY well written and drawn.
Now we have the season box sets. Excellent.
I think I now have no alternative, but to buy the box sets for both Titans and Justice League. I’m already planning on buying The Flash.
I have enough box sets to start my own home programming schedule. I really don’t need to search and search and wait for Justice League to come back.
You would thin that someone at Cartoon Network would look at The Simpsons and at least say something like, “Huh! Would you look at that! That show’s been on FOREVER!”
This is insane! What are the blockheads over at Cartoon Network smoking? This network has steadily gone downhill the last few years with it’s steady influx of anime and crap like Ed, Edd, & Eddie played every ten minutes. I swear I am ready to cancel or downgrade my cable service to the bare minimum.
The Justice League, I think, was really starting to hit their stride story wise. The end of last season was amazing with their continued storyline of Cadmus. (Also, that episode with the fight between Shazam and Superman was the best!) The writers of this season did a very good job of fleshing out the expanded roster. Their work with The Question, in particular, turned someone that I always considered a joke, into a complex and well-developed character. I really hate to see this great series treated so badly by the people at CN.