An in-depth Study on the Animation Industry - Philippine Institute for ...

one of the hottest programm<strong>in</strong>g trends for the com<strong>in</strong>g season. <strong>An</strong>d both cable and
broadcast have staked their claims <strong>in</strong> that genre for primetime, try<strong>in</strong>g to duplicate the
success of South Park and The Simpsons.
There is now a glut of primetime animation; and programmers risk turn<strong>in</strong>g off
viewers with this cartoon boom. It was only a few years back that audiences overdosed
on s<strong>in</strong>gles-<strong>in</strong>-the-city knockoffs of NBC's hit Friends, after all. "Adults will get tired of
animation], as they did with sitcoms and the flood of Friends imitators," said Tim Brooks,
USA Networks' senior vice president of research and co-author of The Complete
Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows. "It's a novelty now, but it will
wear out its welcome."
Certa<strong>in</strong>ly, animated series have never been guaranteed primetime hits. Directors
Steven Spielberg and Tim Button do not brag much about their Family Dog, which
flopped. Fish Police sunk. <strong>An</strong>d USA Network's Duckman had a modest four-year run,
but there were no big rat<strong>in</strong>gs. <strong>An</strong>imated shows need good writ<strong>in</strong>g and appeal<strong>in</strong>g
characters to succeed. Still, cable programmers have taken or are tak<strong>in</strong>g the plunge. In
addition to South Park, Comedy Central has the veteran series Dr. Katz, Professional
Therapist, and Bob and Margaret on its primetime roster. MTV then premiered
Downtown; while it already had Dana and the Claymation Celebrity Deathmatch on its
schedule. On the other hand, FX debuted The Dick and Paula Celebrity Special, from
Dr. Katz executive producer Tom Snyder.
Cartoon Network, with roughly one-third of its audience comprised of adults,
aired its orig<strong>in</strong>al animation <strong>in</strong> primetime, and bowed two new series: Mike, Lu & Og and
Courage the Cowardly Dog. Likewise, Nickelodeon decided to schedule its animated
series based on Bill Cosby's books, Little Bill, <strong>in</strong> primetime on Sundays. The show was
orig<strong>in</strong>ally created for Nick's preschool block, but network officials thought the show's
audience appeal had far wider audience appeal and it should air <strong>in</strong> primetime. Former
Nick chief Gerald<strong>in</strong>e Laybourne also launched her women's network, Oxygen, which is
develop<strong>in</strong>g the first orig<strong>in</strong>al animated primetime series that specifically targets women.
Fox Family Channel is <strong>in</strong> the process of develop<strong>in</strong>g several animated shows that could
land <strong>in</strong> primetime, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Rodney, based on comedian Rodney Dangerfield and a
show about pigs, Pigs Next Door.
That's only cable's contribution to the flood of primetime animation. There are
now a half-dozen animated primetime series on the broadcast networks. In addition to
The Simpsons, Fox has the hit K<strong>in</strong>g of the Hill, as well as The PJs, Futurama and
Family Guy. UPN boasts Dilbert. Meanwhile, the WB network will debut its animated
series, Mission Hill, from the former writer-producers of The Simpsons. The show, about
hip youths <strong>in</strong> an urban sett<strong>in</strong>g, will lead off The WB's Friday primetime l<strong>in</strong>eup.
Regardless, nearly everyone agrees that the broadcast networks have latched
onto animation because traditional, formulaic sitcoms have flopped miserably with
viewers, particularly the prized young male demographic. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to a Disney
Channel survey, a lot of adult men watch animation.
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