Posted in: Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, HBO, TV | Tagged: cartoon network, cartoon network studios, warner bros discovery, wbd

Warner Bros. Discovery Restructuring Bad Sign for Cartoon Network?

By now, news of Warner Bros. Discovery's deep cuts, layoffs & restructuring has hit the entertainment industry. Along with Warner Bros. Television seeing a 26% cut in personnel across scripted, unscripted & animation (and restructuring within the latter two), the digital short-form programming division Stage 13 and the 40-plus-year-old Warner Bros. Television Workshop were also shuttered. And then earlier today, reports surfaced that WBD Streaming Marketing will also get hit with some cuts today. Less than a day later, a deep dive into yesterday's details regarding Animation is leading many to worry about the long-term future of Cartoon Network (and, by extension, Adult Swim).

Yesterday's announcement confirmed that Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios would be combining its creative and programming teams (with Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe kept separate), with all three studios run by Sam Register. In addition, the kids & family series development team will be led by Audrey Diehl, with adult animation development led by Peter Girardi and animated long-form series development led by Sammy Perlmutter (Bobbie Page will lead the main production, with Ed Adams continuing as EVP & GM). And at first reporting, WBD said that a number of projects remain "in active production and development" and that production output is "relatively unchanged" despite the restructuring. that sounds great, right? One big potential problem…

Remember when David Zaslav first began introducing himself to the world and sharing his "big picture" plans for WBD? One of the things he mentioned was how the company needed to take much more advantage of its IPs (intellectual properties) across various media. And that's what has a lot of folks nervous because Cartoon Network Studios has a well-earned reputation for original animated programming (Steven Universe, Infinity Train, etc.), while Warner Bros. Animation tends to lean towards existing WBD properties (Harley Quinn, Teen Titans GO!, etc.). So if both WBA and CNS are competing for the same resources, the fear is that the decision will always go to the project that ticks the most marketability boxes, with an animated series with a unique vision already at a disadvantage knowing they may be competing with "Batman" or "Harry Potter." Essentially, we would have a Cartoon Network that would focus more on familiarity over originality. And it's a concern that is starting to pick up steam on social media, with Cartoon Brew offering a take on the matter that's getting much-deserved attention.

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