Cartoon Network Studios is not shutting down, says Warner Bros.

On Wednesday, Warner Bros. TV Group laid off 82 staff members across its scripted, unscripted and animation departments, a Warner Bros. representative confirmed to Polygon. The company will keep 43 positions currently vacant. His three brand labels – Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe – will remain distinct, but the WBA and CNS development and production teams will be combined into his one division. increase.

according to deadlineWarner Bros. stepped back the first decision to Closing Warner Bros. Television Workshopdesigned to nurture new talent and provide a pipeline that many in the animation industry have cited as invaluable in helping marginalized creators enter the competitive arena. The workshop will be moved to Discovery’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Unit.

These changes at Cartoon Network Studios come at a time when some of its cartoons are already hard to track and watch. The cut also came shortly after Discovery acquired Warner Media from AT&T. HBO Max and Discovery Plus are set to become one streaming service in 2023. After taking over in April, CEO David Zaslav, who previously ran Discovery, promised to cut his $3 billion from the company and took an aggressive approach to get there.

Zaslav has delivered on his promises primarily in the field of genre entertainment. In August, Discovery laid off his 14% of his HBO Max staff, bat girl movie. Later that month, the beloved cartoon was removed from his HBO Max, blinding the creator of the cartoon.dozens Sesame street Episodes have been removed from streaming platforms, and other shows, including fan favorites, have been removed entirely OK KO! – Let’s Be Heroeseven as infinity trainran for four seasons and is no longer on Cartoon Network. (Fortunately, you can still find it on other streaming services.) summer camp island When Victor and Valentino Even if you can’t find them on HBO’s streaming service, they air on Cartoon Network.

according to varietyafter the merger of WNA and CNS, “the output will remain the same” — but the reaction from animation industry residents and pundits was less than optimistic. The studio declared “gone”, inspired Backlash from Cartoon Network staffPolygon spoke to a Warner Bros. rep who said CNS isn’t dead and has many projects still in development. The real question is how this joint division sets its priorities, which more or less depends on what audiences are actually watching and what the company sees as profitable.

For the most part, if you dig into each animation studio’s back catalog, the differences between the two grow over the years. Many of us who grew up watching Cartoon Network’s various cartoon blocks are easily identifiable, even before consolidations and layoffs. It’s hard to see how these two studios will come together. Especially after so many talented employees have lost their jobs due to these layoffs.

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) created some true gems, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. tom and jerry, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, flintstone, scooby dooand of course, Looney TunesOver the years, however, the WBA has stayed true to this familiar formula, more or less rehashing and rehashing its classic IP to air on Cartoon Network. I was watching versions of Doo, Looney Tunes, and Tom and Jerry. As an adult, I can still watch these same characters, not just in reruns.

While the Warner Bros. Animation imprint feels like an icon of the past, Cartoon Network Studios has produced some important and groundbreaking shows. course of the time I was standing test Temporal. Yes, especially from Cartoon Network’s incredibly popular reboot of his late ’90s to his early 2000s series. powerpuff girls And numerous iterations of Ben 10. But the all girl action team (powerpuff girlsof course), to a show that takes its cues from anime samurai jackNot to mention Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. This introduced cartoons to many children in the United States and was aired before it captivated Western audiences. Pokemon Many years.

Image: Cartoon Network

CNS was also one of the few major animation studios to spotlight queer characters, especially gay romance, in the 2010s, laying the groundwork for other animated shows. adventure timedebuted in 2010 and ran for 10 seasons, but only recently has it been able to pay off the “bubble” romance that sparked between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. The two met flirtatiously on 2011’s “Go With Me.”After Princess Bubblegum sleep in marceline shirtand the show’s 2018 finale seals the deal with a kiss. steven universe With a cast of non-binary Crystal Gems, a plethora of gay characters, and an amazing wedding episode, it has become one of the most beloved and influential modern queer anime.

The steady stream of LGBTQ+ anime TV now found across streaming services is thanks to these Cartoon Network studio giants. Warner Bros. ‘ Own velma is a lesbian! This is Hayley Kiyoko (“lesbian jesusportrayed her in made-for-TV movies that aired in 2009 and 2010.

CNS is still alive after this merger, but layoffs still have very real consequences.according to Daily Beast, Many of the HBO Max executives fired in August were people of color. A former Warner Bros. employee told The Daily Beast at the time that this was due to an ideological shift, with content being aimed at a less diverse and more “Central American” audience. Did. Today, we’re seeing a change in animation studios known for their forward-thinking programming. How the WBA and CNS work together is an open question. It’s also unclear whether haunting, borderline comics will continue to be a priority for a conglomerate with a philosophy grounded in real-life entertainment.