Warner Bros. Discovery is planning on bringing more animation to audiences with a focus on every age and every genre. There’s no limit to what creators can do with animation and audiences have long made it known they’ll stand by their favorite series.
“There’s something secret about animation that allows it to last longer, travel more, and mean more to people – for them to wear it as their identity a little easier – than other production methods,” said Michael Ouweleen, President of Adult Swim.
At the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market, executives from Warner Bros. Animation, Adult Swim, and Max discussed what’s coming up for animation fans. Warner Bros. Discovery is striving to bring something for everyone, covering superheroes, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, and dramas, as well as mixing and matching some genres for new series.
“Adult animation is in a renaissance and I think, burgeoning. But animation has the ability to speak to multiple people at once, so hopefully, we’ll continue that. Our mission is to keep advancing what the medium is doing. The challenge of that is making it a success,” said Outweleen.
The Harley Quinn spin-off series Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is in development, along with a family comedy Keeping Up with the Jones’, Get Jiro!, Anything Factory, Uptown Bodega, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, and DC’s Creature Commandos. Velma is coming back for a second season and Primal was renewed for a third. Clone High is scheduled for another season starting in 2024. More upcoming series had some sneak peeks at the festival such as Smiling Friends and Common Side Effects.
Earlier this year, Adult Swim announced it would be expanding by starting an hour earlier and dusting off some of the classic cartoons that made it a beloved network. Some returning series include Ed, Edd n Eddy, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Courage the Cowardly Dog. The network within a network is showing some early success with up to an 87 percent increase in viewers.
As Warner Bros. Discovery adds more emphasis on animation, the company is aiming to increase audiences across all channels and streaming services.