'Animaniacs' Revived at Hulu With 2-Season Order
The streamer is teaming with Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation to revive the animated series with Steven Spielberg on board to exec produce.
Twenty years after it wrapped its run on The WB Network, Hulu, Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television are reviving Peabody Award-winning animated comedy Animaniacs with a two-season, straight-to-series order at Hulu.
Under the deal, the streamer has also landed the library rights to Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, the subsequent Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain and the complete Tiny Toon Adventures collection. Those episodes are available to stream now, with the new Animaniacs set to begin rolling out in 2020 in what Hulu is billing as its first original series made specifically for families.
Steven Spielberg will executive produce alongside Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register, Amblin Television co-presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Fan-favorite characters like Pinky and the Brain will also return alongside the Warner brothers Yakko and Wakko and sister Dot.
"We cannot wait to work with Steven Spielberg and the entire Amblin and Warner Bros. teams to bring more sketches, catchphrases, songs and laughs from the Animaniacs to kids and adults everywhere,” Craig Erwich, senior vp content at Hulu, said Thursday in a statement. “Now one of the most beloved, inventive and funny animated franchises in history, Animaniacs and its cast of witty characters can live on, on Hulu. This marks yet another big move for us as we continue our efforts to be the No. 1 streaming destination for premium animated content."
Animaniacs debuted in 1993 and went on to win eight Daytime Emmys. The series launched a number of spinoffs and wrapped its run in 1998. The revival joins a Hulu kids-focused library that also includes Teen Titans Go, Curious George, The Powerpuff Girls, Doozers, Adventure Time, Doc McStuffins, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more.
"I am so pleased and proud that Animaniacs will have a home at Hulu,” said Spielberg. “Together with Warner Bros., we look to bring new audiences and longtime fans into this wild world of Yakko, Wakko and Dot. I am also excited that the full library of Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures episodes are included in the deal.”
Reboots and revivals continue to remain in high demand as broadcasters and streaming platforms alike look for proven titles with an ability to cut through a crowded landscape that is approaching 500 scripted originals. Key to the reboots is having the original producers involved, which is the case with Spielberg, Warner Animation and Amblin for Animaniacs.
