FOX Cartoons refers to animated television series presented by the American TV network Fox Broadcasting Company. During the more than twenty-year existence of the Network, there have been many successful prime time animated series and Fox cartoons. The first and most famous of these, The Simpsons, was the first such series since the end of The Flintstones in the 1960s.
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When the upstart young Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) network was formed in 1986 by Rupert Murdoch, early shows tended to attract low viewership, with the exception of some early ratings successes such as Married… with Children and 21 Jump Street. The animation industry had experienced a decline in the 1980s.
In 1987, The Tracey Ullman Show premiered with mild success. During this time, a series of short cartoons originally intended to be bumpers gained a following with young and old audiences, and Fox ordered thirteen episodes of a new animated television series based on these, titled The Simpsons.
When The Simpsons premiered in December 1989, the series was instantly popular. Merchandise featuring the show’s breakout character Bart Simpson has accumulated over 1 billion dollars in sales. The Simpsons was the first successful primetime animated series since The Flintstones, paving the way for other animated series on major broadcast networks. As of 2010, The Simpsons is still in production, with over 450 episodes, and the twenty-second season premiering in the fall of 2010.
In September 1992, Batman: The Animated Series made its debut, and from December 1992 to March 1993, it aired in primetime while also airing on Fox Kids for several more years.
Also in September 1992, Eek! The Cat premiered on Fox Kids. In 1994, it was renamed to Eek! Stavaganza. Eek! ended in 1997. The only episode of the series to air in primetime was a Christmas special in 1993.[1]
A few Tiny Toon Adventures specials were also aired in primetime during that show's run on Fox Kids.[1]
In 1994, X-Men: The Animated Series had a brief primetime run as the first two episodes of season 3 aired in primetime on Friday nights in July and August 1994 for two consecutive weeks.[2] The last episode of season 3 (along with an episode of Spider-Man) would premiere in primetime in June 1995.[3]
Also, in 1994, The Tick, an animated superhero/satirical Children's show based on the comic of the same name aired on Fox Kids. A repeat of the show's Christmas episode aired in primetime in 1996.
A boom in new adult-oriented animated programming began thereafter, with Nickelodeon’s Ren and Stimpy in 1991, MTV’s Beavis and Butt-head beginning in 1992, and Simpsons producers Al Jean's and Mike Reiss’ own series, The Critic, in 1994. The Critic ran for one season (13 episodes) on its original network, ABC (in 1994); from there, it moved to FOX, where it ran for another season of 10 episodes (1995). The Critic can be described as a minor success, with DVD sales and late-night showings on cable networks (such as Comedy Central) making it a cult hit. It received critical acclaim, being the only television series to ever be reviewed on Siskel and Ebert, in which it received "Two Thumbs Up".
Two episodes of Life With Louie aired in primetime[4][5] before it debuted on Fox Kids. It was created by Louie Anderson.[6] It ended in 1998.
Mike Judge left Beavis and Butt-head in the mid-1990s to begin a new project with Simpsons writer Greg Daniels. King of the Hill premiered in January 1997, and was a huge success for the network. In August 1997, South Park debuted on the cable network Comedy Central, and with its subversive humor and numerous obscenities, it became controversial in a way similar to The Simpsons seven years earlier.
Created by comedian Eddie Murphy, the series The PJs debuted in January 1999. The show was a minor success similar to The Critic, but the show’s high budget caused it to be moved to The WB in 2001, where it lasted one season.
Seth MacFarlane's animated series Family Guy premiered after the 1999 Super Bowl. The show was cancelled in 2000, but fan petitions convinced Fox to renew it for a third season. After its third season ended in 2002, the network cancelled the series again and reruns soon began airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
Ratings for the series increased soon thereafter, and DVD sales skyrocketed. Family Guy was revived and began airing again on Fox in May 2005. Family Guy has remained a large success for the network. MacFarlane's follow-up series, American Dad!, began in February 2005, and despite low ratings, the series has been renewed for multiple seasons on the network.
Futurama, the follow-up series from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, began in March 1999, and was later cancelled (with its last episode aired on 10 August 2003) thanks to scheduling changes (the same fate met previously by Family Guy during its original run). In a similar move to Family Guy, high DVD sales and ratings led to four separate DVD movies released from 2007 to 2009, all later broadcast on Comedy Central. Futurama was brought back in 2009, but would be shown on Comedy Central, with new episodes starting in 2010.
FOX canceled King of the Hill in late 2008. Meanwhile, The Cleveland Show, another endeavor from Seth MacFarlane, premiered on the network in fall 2009. It stars Family Guy character Cleveland Brown.
Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and former Simpsons executive producer Josh Weinstein developed an American version of Sit Down, Shut Up, which premiered in April 2009.
FOX cartoon series have been the subject of controversy; most notably, The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy, for their approach to comedy and for the coarse language and jokes that some have said are too raunchy for network TV. These shows have been some of the most risqué material aired on FOX. Fox has also been accused by some groups of corrupting children with cartoons ostensibly for teens and adults. In Venezuela, The Simpsons and "Family Guy" has been taken off the air due to its content. In Russia, Family Guy and The Simpsons were subject to lawsuits regarding their content, although in Russia other animated series like South Park were more controversial.
FOX has in the past been known to "sacrifice" a show less favored by certain network executives by placing it in the 7:00pm (Eastern/Pacific) time slot on Sundays which is often overrun by NFL games or postgame shows. The frequent preemptions and variable scheduling usually lead to low ratings which gives network executives a pretext for cancellation. This happened to Family Guy (although it was revived in 2005 after DVD sales proved successful) and Futurama among other shows. This expensive practice may have now ended as during the 2006 NFL season Fox scheduled the 7:00pm hour for football overrun and the post-game show. However, the overrun on time is very common when NASCAR season begins, and is once again made higher priority then said show in the 7:00pm timeslot. Sit Down, Shut Up, on the other hand, continued airing new episodes not on Sunday nights anymore, but on Saturday nights.
Many of the Fox cartoons have had movies made of the TV series.
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