Children's programming on CBS

In regard to children's programming, CBS has aired mostly animated series, such as the original versions of Scooby-Doo, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Garfield and Friends and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on CBS including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history.

History

Early years with Captain Kangaroo

From 1955 to 1984, live-action series Captain Kangaroo served as CBS' flagship children's program. For its first three months, the program aired only on weekday mornings; a Saturday morning edition was added in December 1955. During the 1964-65 season, the Saturday broadcast was temporarily replaced by Mr. Mayor, a children's program that served as a vehicle for Captain Kangaroo star Bob Keeshan; after returning in the fall of 1965, the Saturday edition of Captain Kangaroo was discontinued again in 1968, relegating it to weekdays only. Except for pre-emptions due to breaking news coverage, notably the network's three-day-long continuous coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and a few episodes that ran for 45 minutes, the program aired as an hour-long broadcast on weekday mornings until 1981. On September 9, 1968, the program began broadcasting in color.

Its audience of predominately children could never help the program compete in the ratings with entertainment/news shows such as NBC's Today, although Captain Kangaroo would become a three-time Emmy Award winner for "Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series" in 1979, 1983 and 1984. In the fall of 1981, as part of an expansion of the CBS Morning News, Captain Kangaroo was moved to the earlier time slot of 7:00 a.m. and reduced to half-hour – at which time, the program was retitled Wake Up with the Captain.

In the fall of 1982, Captain was relegated to a Saturday morning 7:00 a.m. (Eastern) time slot. The network offered a package of reruns to CBS-affiliated stations to air on Sunday mornings in place of the previous block of animated series reruns. Most CBS affiliates only cleared the Saturday morning broadcast of program afterward. Still a third of CBS' affiliated stations had stopped airing Captain Kangaroo entirely after 1982. The program was finally canceled altogether in late 1984, citing a lack of affiliate clearances. Alongside Captain Kangaroo, CBS aired various animated series aimed at kids during the 1960 and 1970s, such as the original version of Scooby-Doo and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

The In the News era (1971–1986)

From 1971 to 1986, CBS News produced a series of one-minute segments titled In the News, which aired between other Saturday morning programs. The "micro-series" (as it would be labelled today) had its genesis in a series of animated interstitials produced by CBS and Hanna Barbera Productions called In The Know, featuring the title characters from Josie and the Pussycats narrating educational news segments tailored for children. This was eventually metamorphized into a more live-action-oriented micro-series.

CBS Kid TV (1986–1992)

In 1986, the network began branding its Saturday morning block as CBS Kid TV, and incorporated additional programs over the next few years such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures, Back to the Future and Mother Goose and Grimm. The year prior to the block's debut, the network premiered its first in-house animated series since their original Terrytoons, CBS Storybreak; originally hosted by Bob Keeshan, the half-hour series – which featured animated adaptations of popular children's books – was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program" in 1986. Storybreak continued to air on the network in reruns until 1988, before returning in September 1993 with new hosted segments conducted by Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

One of the network's most popular children's programs around this time was Muppet Babies, an animated series which debuted in 1984 and ran for eight seasons. At the height of its popularity, CBS aired the program in two- or three-episode blocks. The program was briefly renamed Muppets, Babies & Monsters, too! during the show's second season, with the second half-hour of the block filled by Little Muppet Monsters, a new series which featured live-action puppets and cartoons starring the adult Muppet characters. The program lasted three weeks before its cancellation (leaving 15 already produced episodes unaired), replaced by an additional half-hour of Muppet Babies. Pee-wee's Playhouse, which debuted in 1986, also became a major hit for the network's Saturday morning lineup; known for its bizarre humor, reruns of the series were abruptly dropped by CBS in 1991 – less than a year after the series ended its five-year run – following star Paul Reubens' arrest after allegedly exposing himself in a Sarasota, Florida adult movie theatre.^[1]

One series that never made it to the Saturday morning lineup was Garbage Pail Kids, a series based on the trading card series of the same name by Topps Company. CBS heavily promoted the series in the run-up to the 1987-88 season, having ordered an entire season of episodes; however it was abruptly pulled a few days before its premiere (replaced with a third half-hour of Muppet Babies), following protests from Action for Children's Television, the National Coalition on Television Violence and the Christian Leaders for Responsible Television due to claims that the series ridiculed the handicapped, glorified violence, and served mainly as an program-length commercial for the cards. Some advertisers (such as Nabisco, McDonald's and Crayola) also pulled out of sponsoring the program, either due to pressure from speical interest groups, or because a preview tape of the show was not available in time for review. A few CBS stations (such as WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas; KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma and KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington) opted not to carry the program, notifying the network of their decision to pre-empt the program weeks in advance of the debut.^[2][3]

Another popular series was Garfield and Friends, based on the Garfield newspaper comics, which debuted on the network in 1988; the episodes featured a mix of longer-length animated segments and short segments known as "Quickies", featuring characters from the Garfield and U.S. Acres strips. Although the series had still been doing well in the ratings, Garfield and Friends ended in 1994 after seven seasons through a mutual agreement to cease production, after the show's production company nixed a proposal by CBS to reduce its production budget.

From 1990-1995 a series of bumpers featuring characters from the cartoon Fido Dido ran heavily in between shows.

CBS Toontastic/CBS Kidz (1992–1997)

In September 1992, the block was rebranded CBS Toontastic; additional live-action and animated programs began aired on the block around this time such as Beakman's World, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask: The Animated Series and Tales from the Cryptkeeper. The block was later renamed CBS Kidz in 1995.

During the early and mid-1990s, through a partnership between the network and The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Television Animation provided much of CBS's animated programming (in addition, Disney partnered with CBS for some of its holiday specials such as Happy New Year, America and The All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade). The partnership led to, among other shows, several adaptations of recent Disney films (such as The Little Mermaid, Timon & Pumbaa and Aladdin) appearing on CBS's Saturday morning lineup. These series also aired concurrently on the syndicated animation block The Disney Afternoon. The partnership ended in 1996, following the completion of Disney's purchase of ABC and its corporate parent Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., around which time that all Disney-produced programs still airing on CBS at the time left the network.

Action Zone (1994–1997)

In an effort to compete with other action series at the time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was revamped into a more action-oriented series, and along with new shows WildC.A.T.s and Skeleton Warriors was grouped into a new sub-block, "Action Zone", which premiered in September 1994; the sub-block featured a fly-though robotic style pre-opening that eventually segued into the show's opening title sequence. WildC.A.T.s. and Skeleton Warriors were cancelled around a year later, at which time the sub-block was discontinued (although Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was allowed to retain the "Action Zone" brand until that series ended its run two years later).

Think CBS Kids and deal with Nelvana/CBS Kidshow (1997–2000)

In 1997, taking advantage of the tightened Children's Television Act regulations mandated by the Federal Communications Commission that required broadcasters to carry three hours of educational programming each week, CBS launched an all-"educational/informational" Saturday morning lineup for the 1997-98 season, known as Think CBS Kids. The block – comprised entirely of live-action series (marking the first time that CBS did not feature animated series within its children's program lineup) – included the youth-oriented game show Wheel 2000 (a spin-off of the syndicated Wheel of Fortune, which would ironically become a CBS-owned property through the company's 2000 acquisition of King World Productions), which aired simultaneously on the Game Show Network. Other programs included a magazine series based on Sports Illustrated for Kids, the long-running Beakman's World, and notably, "Weird Al" Yankovic's first regular television show, The Weird Al Show. In the News was also briefly revived as part of the Think CBS Kids block, hosted by CBS Radio News Washington correspondent Dan Raviv (in place of original narrators Christopher Glenn and Gary Shepard).

At this time, CBS reduced its Saturday morning children's program lineup to three hours, with the launch of the hour-long CBS News Saturday Morning (which eventually evolved into the Saturday edition of The Early Show). Since 1997, like other networks, the scheduling of CBS's children's programming has varied depending on the CBS station (for example, then-affiliate KTVT in Fort Worth, Texas – now owned-and-operated by CBS – aired the Think CBS Kids block from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays and 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. on Sundays from 1997 to 1998). Think CBS Kids as a whole suffered from low ratings, resulting in the network canceling most of the shows after four months and replacing them with reruns of CBS Storybreak and Tales from the Cryptkeeper (which formerly aired as part of the predecessor CBS Kidz block), alongside first-run episodes of Beakman's World and Wheel 2000. The block was also cut to three hours as a result of a short-lived expansion of CBS News Saturday Morning into a two-hour broadcast.

In 1998, CBS began contracting other companies to provide programming material for the network's Saturday morning schedule. The first of these special blocks was the CBS Kidshow (using the tagline, "The CBS Kidshow: Get in the Act."), which debuted in September of that year and featured programming from the Canadian animation studio Nelvana^[4] (such as Anatole, Mythic Warriors, Birdz, Rescue Heroes and Flying Rhino Junior High).^[5] In January 1999, Franklin and Rupert swapped networks, with the former moving from the CBS lineup to Nickelodeon's preschool block Nick Jr., while the latter moved from Nick Jr. to CBS.^[6]

Nick Jr. on CBS/Nick on CBS (2000–2006)

After CBS's programming agreement with Nelvana ended in 2000, the network subsequently entered into a deal with Nickelodeon (which became a sister property to CBS, as a result of one-time CBS subsidiary-turned-media conglomerate Viacom's merger with the network) to air programming from the Nick Jr. block under the banner Nick Jr. on CBS.^[4] The block debuted on September 16, 2000, hosted by Face, the animated host/mascot originated on the flagship Nick Jr. block. The lineup was rebranded as simply Nick on CBS on September 14, 2002, as the block incorporated live-action and animated Nickelodeon series aimed at older children in addition to the Nick Jr. series. The older-skewing Nickelodeon series were removed from the block in 2005, refocusing the block back exclusively toward preschooler-oriented series; the block also began incorporating interstitial hosted segments featuring Piper O'Possum.

All of the programs that aired as part of the block met the FCC's educational programming requirements, despite some tenuousness to some of the claims of educational content in some programs. It was for this reason that the block did not include some of Nickelodeon's most popular programs (most notably SpongeBob SquarePants), even during the more open-formatted Nick on CBS*Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–1997)

• Aladdin (1994–1996)
• All Grown Up! (2004–2005)
• The All-New Popeye Hour (1978–1983)
• The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)
• Annual Peabody Awards (2005-2010)
• The Archie Show (1968–1969)
• Archie's TV Funnies (1971–1973)
• Ark II (1976–1979)
• As Told by Ginger (2002–2004)
• Back to the Future: The Animated Series (1991–1993)
• The Backyardigans (2005–2006)
• Bailey Kipper's P.O.V (1996–1997)
• Beakman's World (1993–1998; originated on TLC in 1992, moved to CBS for its second season)^[7][8]
• Beethoven (1994–1995)
• The Berenstain Bears (1985–1987)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990; moved to Fox Kids for its second season)^[9][10]
• Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1997; reruns of PBS series)
• Birdz (1998)
• The Biskitts (1983–1984)^[11]
• BlackStar (1981–1982; reruns, 1983–1984)
• Blue's Clues (2000–2006)
• Bob the Builder (2001–2002)
• Boohbah (2003-2006)
• The Brothers García (2004–2005)
• Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour (1968–1971; 1975–1978; 1978–1985)
• Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993–1994)
• Cake (2007–2009)
• CBS Storybreak (1985–1990)
• The California Raisins (1989–1990)
• Captain Midnight (1954–1956)
• Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot (2007–2009)
• ChalkZone (2003–2005)
• The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983–1986)
• Clue Club (1976–1977)
• C.O.P.S. (1988–1989)
• Dance Revolution (2006–2007)
• Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–1971)
• Dennis the Menace (1986–1988; originally aired in syndication, moved to CBS for its second season)
• Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–1991)
• Dino Squad (2007–2009)
• Dora the Explorer (2000–2006)
• Drak Pack (1980)
• Dumb Bunnies (1998–1999)
• Dungeons & Dragons (1983–1985)^[12]
• Far Out Space Nuts (1975–1976)
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984)
• Fievel's American Tails (1992–1993)
• The Flintstones (1986–1996)
• Flip (1988–1990)
• Flying Rhino Junior High (1998–2000)
• Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles (1967–1968)
• Franklin (1998–1999, 2000–2002)
• Galaxy High (1986–1987; reruns, 1987–1988)
• Garfield and Friends (September 17, 1988–October 1995)
• The Get Along Gang (1984–1985)
• The Ghost Busters (1975–1976)
• Gilligan's Planet (1982–1983)
• Go, Diego, Go! (2006)
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2003-2008)
• Harlem Globetrotters (1970–1971; co-produced by CBS and Hanna-Barbera)
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987–1988)
• Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971–1974)
• The Herculoids (1967)
• Hey Arnold! (2002–2005)
• Hey Vern, It's Ernest! (1988–1989)
• Horseland (2007–2009)
• Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985–1987)
• Ice Bea Cold (2003-2009)
• Jason of Star Command (1978–1981)
• Jay Jay the Jet Plane
• Jeannie (1973–1975)
• The Jetsons (1986–1995)
• Josie and the Pussycats (1970–1971)
• Kipper (2000–2001)
• LazyTown (2005–2006)
• Little Bear (2000–2001)
• Little Bill (2000–2006)
• The Little Mermaid (1992–1995)
• Little Party 8teen (2005-2015)
• Long Waith & Short Jackson (1977–1983, now aired on CBS Network Southest Asia and ABC in 2009)
• Madeline (2006–2007)
• Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000–2001)
• Maisy (2000–2001)
• Marsupilami (1993–1994)
• Maszey Carnival (2001-2006)
• Meatballs & Spaghetti (1982–1983)
• Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends (2005–2006)
• The Monkees (1969–1972; repeats of NBC series, with new songs)
• Mother Goose and Grimm (1991–1992)
• Muppet Babies (1984–1992)
• Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend (1998–2000)
• The New Adventures of Batman (1977)
• The New Adventures of Superman (1966–1970)^[13]
• The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997)
• The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–1974)
• New Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999–2000)
• Oswald (2001–2002)
• The Oz Kids (1996–1999; originated on ABC in 1994, moved to CBS for second season)
• Pandamonium (1982–1983)
• Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974–1975)
• Peanut & June (2002-2009)
• The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1969–1972, 1992–1995)
• Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–1991)
• Pelswick (2002)
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–1971)
• Pole Position (1984)
• Popeye and Son (1988)
• Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996)
• Pryor's Place (1984–1985)^[14]
• Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–1990)
• Raw Toonage (1992–1993)
• Richie Rich (1992–1997)
• Riders in the Sky (1990–1992)
• Rescue Heroes (1999–2000)
• Rugrats (2002–2003)
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1970–1974)
• Santo Bugito (1995–1996)
• Saturday Supercade (1983–1985)
• Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1972, 1974–1976)
• Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House (1996–1997)
• Sesame Street (1963-2019)
• Shazam! (1974–1977)
• Shazam!/Isis Hour
• The Skatebirds (1977–1978)
• Space Academy (1977–1979)
• Space Ghost and Dino Boy (1966–1968)
• Strawberry Shortcake (2007–2009)
• Sushi Pack (2007–2009)
• Sylvester & Tweety (1976–1977)
• Sylvester & Tweety, Daffy & Speedy (1981–1982)
• Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1982, 1984)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990–1996; originated in syndication in 1988, moved to CBS for its second season)^[15]
• Teen Wolf (1986–1987)
• Teletubbies(1997-2001)
• Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966)
• Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1997)^[16]
• Tom and Jerry (1965–1972)
• Trollz (2007–2010)
• The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–1997)
• Underdog (last few seasons)
• The U.S. of Archie (1974–1976)
• Valley of the Dinosaurs (1974–1976)
• Wacky Races (1968–1970)
• The Weird Al Show (1997)
• Wheel of Fortune 2000 (1999–2000)
• Where's Waldo? (1991–1992)
• The Wild Thornberrys (2002–2004)
• The Wuzzles (1985)

Saturday morning preview specials

• 1969 – CBS Funtastic Preview (hosted by Family Affair stars Sebastian Cabot, Johnny Whitaker and Anissa Jones)
• 1974 – Socko Saturday (hosted by the cast of The Hudson Brothers)
• 1975 – Dyn-o-mite Saturday (hosted by Good Times stars BernNadette Stanis, Jimmie Walker and Ralph Carter)
• 1976 – Hey, Hey, Hey! It's the CBS Saturday Preview Special (hosted by Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids)
• 1977 – Wacko Saturday Preview (hosted by the cast of Wacko)
• 1983 – Preview Special (hosted by Scott Baio; featuring the Krofft Puppets, and Sorrell Booke and James Best, the latter two as their respective Dukes of Hazzard characters Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane)
• 1984 – Saturday's The Place (hosted by Joyce DeWitt; featuring Howie Mandel and Ted Knight)
• 1985 – All-Star Saturday Spectacular (hosted by Roddy Piper)

era.

• Annual Peabody Awards

On December 31, 2005, Viacom was split into two separate companies under the shared control of National Amusements (owned by Sumner Redstone), with CBS and all related broadcasting, television production and distribution properties as well as some non-production entities becoming part of the standalone company CBS Corporation, while Nickelodeon became part of a restructured Viacom. Nick Jr. on CBS/Nick on CBS ended on September 9, 2006.

KOL Secret Slumber Party (2006–2007)

On January 19, 2006, less than a month after the Viacom-CBS split was finalized, CBS announced that it would enter into a three-year programming partnership with DIC Entertainment (which included the distribution of select tape delayed Formula One auto races) to produce a new children's program block featuring new and recent series from its program library.^{[17][18][19][20]}

After the announcement of the CBS/DIC partnership, the latter originally announced the block was to be branded the Secret Saturday Morning Slumber Party (or Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party); the block was later renamed as the KOL Secret Slumber Party after DIC Entertainment, which produced all of the children's programming for the block, partnered with AOL to co-produce the block's first-run programs through its KOL subsidiary. AOL managed the programming block's website, and produced public service announcements which aired both on television and online.^[21] This alliance, along with the fact that some CBS stations chose to tape delay some of the programs to air on Sunday mornings, led to the block's name change.

The KOL Secret Slumber Party premiered on September 16, 2006, with two first-run programs (Cake and Dance Revolution), one that originally aired as a syndicated program in 2005 (Horseland) and three pre-2006 shows (Liberty's Kids, Trollz and Sabrina: The Animated Series) in the block's inaugural lineup. The block's de facto hosts (and in turn, from whom the Secret Slumber Party name was partly derived from) were the Slumber Party Girls, a teen pop group signed with Geffen Records (composed of Cassie Scerbo, Mallory Low, Karla Deras, Carolina Carattini and Caroline Scott), who appeared during commercial break bumpers and interstitial segments seen before the start and the final segment of each program as well as serving as the musical performers for one of the series featured in the block, Dance Revolution.

KEWLopolis (2007–2009)

In the summer of 2007, KOL withdrew its sponsorship from the network's Saturday morning block. CBS and DIC subsequently announced a new partnership with American Greetings Corporation to relaunch the block on September 21 of that year as KEWLopolis, which would be targeted at young female children and serve as a tie-in with the monthly teen magazine KEWL (which was established in part by DiC in May 2007, and is no longer in publication).^[22] Complimenting CBS's 2007 lineup – which included KOL Secret Slumber Party holdovers Cake and Horseland – were newly added series Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot, Strawberry Shortcake and Sushi Pack. The block came under the purview of Cookie Jar Group, after DIC was acquired by the Toronto-based company on July 23, 2008.^[23][24] On February 24, 2009, it was announced that CBS renewed its contract with Cookie Jar for three additional seasons, running through 2012.^[25][26]

Cookie Jar TV (2009–2013)

On September 19, 2009, the block was rebranded again, this time to Cookie Jar TV.^[27] With the exception of Strawberry Shortcake, most of the programs previously featured on the predecessor KEWLopolis and KOL Secret Slumber Party were dropped upon the block's relaunch on September 19, 2009.^[28][29] The Cookie Jar TV brand remained in place for the block even after that company's acquisition by DHX Media in October 2012.

CBS Dream Team (2013–present)

On July 24, 2013, CBS announced that it had entered into a programming agreement with Litton Entertainment (which already programmed a Saturday morning block syndicated to ABC's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates, and subsequently began producing a similarly formatted block for CBS sister network The CW in October 2014) to launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action lifestyle, wildlife and documentary series aimed at teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16. The new Litton-produced block, the CBS Dream Team, debuted on September 28, 2013,^[30] marking the return to an exclusively live-action Saturday morning block to the network since the discontinuance of Think CBS Kids in September 1998. The block's lineup consisted mainly of newer series, with the cooking series Recipe Rehab migrating to the Dream Team from the ABC-syndicated Litton's Weekend Adventure block.^[31]

Programming

List of notable children's programs broadcast by CBS

Note: Shows in bold are in-house productions from CBS, whose distribution rights are now held by CBS Television Distribution.

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–1997)
• Aladdin (1994–1996)
• All Grown Up! (2004–2005)
• The All-New Popeye Hour (1978–1983)
• ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks (2015-2018)
• The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)
• Annual Peabody Awards (2005-2010)
• The Archie Show (1968–1969)
• Archie's TV Funnies (1971–1973)
• Ark II (1976–1979)
• As Told by Ginger (2002–2004)
• Back to the Future: The Animated Series (1991–1993)
• The Backyardigans (2005–2006)
• Bailey Kipper's P.O.V (1996–1997)
• Beakman's World (1993–1998; originated on TLC in 1992, moved to CBS for its second season)^[7][8]
• Beethoven (1994–1995)
• The Berenstain Bears (1985–1987)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990; moved to Fox Kids for its second season)^[32][33]
• Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1997; reruns of PBS series)
• Birdz (1998)
• The Biskitts (1983–1984)^[34]
• BlackStar (1981–1982; reruns, 1983–1984)
• Blue's Clues (2000–2006)
• Bob the Builder (2001–2002)
• Boohbah(2003-2006)
• The Brothers García (2004–2005) ³
• Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour (1968–1971; 1975–1978; 1978–1985)
• Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993–1994)
• Cake (2007–2009)
• CBS Storybreak (1985–1990)
• The California Raisins (1989–1990)
• Captain Midnight (1954–1956)
• Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot (2007–2009)
• ChalkZone (2003–2005)
• The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983–1986)
• Clue Club (1976–1977)
• C.O.P.S. (1988–1989)
• Dance Revolution (2006–2007)
• Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–1971)
• Dennis the Menace (1986–1988; originally aired in syndication, moved to CBS for its second season)
• Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–1991)
• Dino Squad (2007–2009)
• Dora the Explorer (2000–2006)
• Drak Pack (1980)
• Dumb Bunnies (1998–1999)
• Dungeons & Dragons (1983–1985)^[35]
• Extreme Dinosaurs(1997)
• Far Out Space Nuts (1975–1976)
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984)
• Fievel's American Tails (1992–1993)
• The Flintstones (1986–1996)
• Flip (1988–1990)
• Flying Rhino Junior High (1998–2000)
• Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles (1967–1968)
• Franklin (1998–1999, 2000–2002)
• Galaxy High (1986–1987; reruns, 1987–1988)
• Garfield and Friends (September 17, 1988–October 1995)
• The Get Along Gang (1984–1985)
• The Ghost Busters (1975–1976)
• Gilligan's Planet (1982–1983)
• Go, Diego, Go! (2006)
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2003-2008)
• Harlem Globetrotters (1970–1971; co-produced by CBS and Hanna-Barbera)
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987–1988)
• Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971–1974)
• The Herculoids (1967)
• Hey Arnold! (2002–2005)
• Hey Vern, It's Ernest! (1988–1989)
• Horseland (2007–2009)
• Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985–1987)
• Ice Bea Cold (2003-2009)
• Jason of Star Command (1978–1981)
• Jay Jay the Jet Plane
• Jeannie (1973–1975)
• The Jetsons (1986–1995)
• Josie and the Pussycats (1970–1971)
• Kipper (2000–2001)
• Kuai Ke (1985-1992)
• LazyTown (2005–2006)
• Little Bear (2000–2001)
• Little Bill (2000–2006)
• The Little Mermaid (1992–1995)
• Little Party 8teen (2005-2015)
• Long Waith & Short Jackson (1977–1983, now aired on CBS Network Southest Asia and ABC in 2009)
• Madeline (2006–2007)
• Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000–2001)
• Maisy (2000–2001)
• Marsupilami (1993–1994)
• Maszey Carnival (2001-2006)
• Meatballs & Spaghetti (1982–1983)
• Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends (2005–2006)
• The Monkees (1969–1972; repeats of NBC series, with new songs)
• Mother Goose and Grimm (1991–1992)
• Muppet Babies (1984–1992)
• Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend (1998–2000)
• The New Adventures of Batman (1977)
• The New Adventures of Superman (1966–1970)^[36]
• The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997)
• The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–1974)
• New Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999–2000)
• Oswald (2001–2002)
• The Oz Kids (1996–1999; originated on ABC in 1994, moved to CBS for second season)
• Pandamonium (1982–1983)
• Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974–1975)
• Peanut & June (2002-2009)
• The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1969–1972, 1992–1995)
• Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–1991)
• Pelswick (2002)
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–1971)
• Pole Position (1984)
• Popeye and Son (1988)
• Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996)
• Pryor's Place (1984–1985)^[37]
• Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–1990)
• Raw Toonage (1992–1993)
• Richie Rich (1992–1997)
• Riders in the Sky (1990–1992)
• Rescue Heroes (1999–2000)
• Rugrats (2002–2003)
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1970–1974)
• Santo Bugito (1995–1996)
• Saturday Supercade (1983–1985)
• Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1972, 1974–1976)
• Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House (1996–1997)
• Sesame Street (1963-2019)
• Shazam! (1974–1977)
• Shazam!/Isis Hour
• The Skatebirds (1977–1978)
• Space Academy (1977–1979)
• Space Ghost and Dino Boy (1966–1968)
• Strawberry Shortcake (2007–2009)
• Sushi Pack (2007–2009)
• Sylvester & Tweety (1976–1977)
• Sylvester & Tweety, Daffy & Speedy (1981–1982)
• Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1982, 1984)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990–1996; originated in syndication in 1988, moved to CBS for its second season)^[15]
• Teen Wolf (1986–1987)
• Teletubbies(1997-2001)
• Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966)
• Timon & Pumbaa (1995–1997)^[16]
• Tom and Jerry (1965–1972)
• Trollz (2007–2010)
• The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–1997)
• Underdog (last few seasons)
• The U.S. of Archie (1974–1976)
• Valley of the Dinosaurs (1974–1976)
• Wacky Races (1968–1970)
• The Weird Al Show (1997)
• Wheel of Fortune 2000 (1999–2000)
• Where's Waldo? (1991–1992)
• The Wild Thornberrys (2002–2004)
• The Wuzzles (1985)

Saturday morning preview specials

• 1969 – CBS Funtastic Preview (hosted by Family Affair stars Sebastian Cabot, Johnny Whitaker and Anissa Jones)
• 1974 – Socko Saturday (hosted by the cast of The Hudson Brothers)
• 1975 – Dyn-o-mite Saturday (hosted by Good Times stars BernNadette Stanis, Jimmie Walker and Ralph Carter)
• 1976 – Hey, Hey, Hey! It's the CBS Saturday Preview Special (hosted by Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids)
• 1977 – Wacko Saturday Preview (hosted by the cast of Wacko)
• 1983 – Preview Special (hosted by Scott Baio; featuring the Krofft Puppets, and Sorrell Booke and James Best, the latter two as their respective Dukes of Hazzard characters Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane)
• 1984 – Saturday's The Place (hosted by Joyce DeWitt; featuring Howie Mandel and Ted Knight)
• 1985 – All-Star Saturday Spectacular (hosted by Roddy Piper)

Animated primetime holiday specials

CBS was the original broadcast network home of the animated primetime holiday specials based on the Peanuts comic strip, beginning with A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965. Over 30 holiday Peanuts specials (each for a specific holiday such as Halloween) were broadcast on CBS from that time until 2000, when the broadcast rights were acquired by ABC. CBS also aired several prime time animated specials based on the works of Dr. Seuss, beginning with How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966, as well as several specials based on the Garfield comic strip during the 1980s (which led to Garfield getting his own Saturday morning cartoon on the network, Garfield and Friends, in 1988). Two stop motion animated specials by the Rankin/Bass studio, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty The Snowman have been annual holiday staples on CBS respectively since 1972 (eight years after the special originally debuted on NBC) and 1969 (when it first debuted on CBS). As of 2015, Rudolph and Frosty are the only two pre-1990 animated specials that continue to air on CBS on an annual basis; the broadcast rights to the Peanuts specials and How The Grinch Stole Christmas are now held by ABC, while that network's cable sister ABC Family owns the rights to the Garfield specials.

All of these animated specials, from 1973 to 1992, began with a fondly remembered seven-second animated opening sequence, in which the words "A CBS Special Presentation" were displayed in a colorful ITC Avant Garde typeface. The word "SPECIAL", in all caps and repeated multiple times in multiple colors, slowly zoomed out from the frame in a spinning counterclockwise motion against a black background, and rapidly zoomed back into frame as a single word, in white, at the end; the sequence was accompanied by a jazzy though majestic up-tempo fanfare with dramatic horns and percussion (believed to be edited incidental music from the CBS crime drama Hawaii Five-O, titled "Call to Danger" on the Capitol Records soundtrack LP). This opening sequence – presumably designed by, or under the supervision of, longtime CBS creative director Lou Dorfsman (who oversaw print and on-air graphics for CBS for nearly 30 years, replacing William Golden following his death in 1959) – also appeared immediately before other CBS specials of the period (such as the annual presentations of the Miss USA pageant and the Kennedy Center Honors).

See also

• Lists of United States network television schedules – includes articles on Saturday morning children's programming schedules among the major networks
• Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company
• Children's programming on NBC

References

External links

• Saturday Morning Cartoons on CBS - Google Image Search
  • Google Video Search
• The CBS Children's Film Festival 1967 (start page; listings through 1984) (fan site). Archived from the original on April 24, 2012.

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Children's programming on CBS By decade 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Individual blocks CBS Kidshow Nickelodeon on CBS (programs) Cookie Jar TV (programs) CBS Dream Team Related topics List of programs Saturday-morning cartoon (preview specials) Owned & operated studios Terrytoons

Children's programming on CBS in the 1960s First-run animated series Mighty Mouse Playhouse (1955–67) Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–66) Linus the Lionhearted The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show Tom and Jerry (1965–72) The Mighty Heroes The Underdog Show (last few seasons) Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles (1966–68) Space Ghost and Dino Boy (1966–68) The New Adventures of Superman (1966–70) The Lone Ranger The Road Runner Show (1968–71; 1975–78; 1978–85) The Beagles The Herculoids (1967–68) Shazzan Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor (1967–69) The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure Go Go Gophers Wacky Races (1968–70) The Archie Show (1968–69) The Batman/Superman Hour Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–71) The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–71) Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–72, 1974–76) First-run live-action series Captain Kangaroo (1955–84) The Magic Land of Allakazam CBS Children's Film Festival Rebroadcasts Sky King The Roy Rogers Show My Friend Flicka The Alvin Show The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin The Quick Draw McGraw Show The Jetsons The Adventures of Lassie Jonny Quest The Monkees (1969–72) Schedules 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 Related programming and topics Animation in the United States in the television era

Children's programming on CBS in the 1970s First-run animated series Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–71) The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–71) Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–72) Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971–74) Groovie Goolies (1970–71) Josie and the Pussycats (1970–71) Harlem Globetrotters (1970–71) Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971–74) The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–72) Archie's TV Funnies (1971–73) The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–74) The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972) The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–74) Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–84) My Favorite Martians (1973–75) Bailey's Comets (1973–75) Jeannie (1973–75) Speed Buggy (1973–75) Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974–75) Valley of the Dinosaurs (1974–76) The U.S. of Archie (1974–76) Clue Club (1976–77) Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–77) The New Adventures of Batman (1977–78) What's New Mr. Magoo? (1977) The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (1977–78) The Robonic Stooges (1977–78) The All-New Popeye Hour (1978–83) Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–80) The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle (1979–81) First-run live-action series Captain Kangaroo (1955–84) In the News (1971–86) You Are There (1971–72) CBS Children's Film Festival (1971–78; 1982–84) Shazam! (1974–77) The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine (1974–75) The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show (1974–75) The Secrets of Isis (1975–77) Far Out Space Nuts (1975–76) The Ghost Busters (1975) Ark II (1976) Way Out Games (1976–77) The Skatebirds (1977–78) Space Academy (1977–79) Wacko (1977) 30 Minutes (1978–82) Jason of Star Command (1978–81) Rebroadcasts The Jetsons The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour (1968–71; 1975–78; 1978–85) The Monkees (1969–72) Wacky Races (1968–70) The New Adventures of Superman Jonny Quest Sylvester and Tweety (1976–77) Schedules 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 Related programming and topics Animation in the United States in the television era

Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s First-run animated series The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle (1979–81) The All-New Popeye Hour (1978–83) Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–84) Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–80) The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (1980–82) Drak Pack (1980) The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (1980–82) The Kwicky Koala Show (1981) Trollkins (1981–82) Blackstar (1981–82) Gilligan's Planet (1982–83) Pandamonium (1982–83) Meatballs & Spaghetti (1982–83) The Dukes (1983) The Biskitts (1983–84) Saturday Supercade (1983–86) Dungeons & Dragons (1983–85) The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983–86) The Get Along Gang (1984–85) Muppet Babies (1984–91) Pole Position (1984) Inspector Gadget (1985–86) The Berenstain Bears (1985–87) The Wuzzles (1985) Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985–87) Wildfire (1986) Galaxy High (1986–87) Teen Wolf (1986–87) Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987–88) Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (1987–88) Popeye and Son (1987–88) Dennis the Menace (1986–88) The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–90) Superman (1988) Garfield and Friends (1988–95) Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–91) The California Raisin Show (1989–90) Rude Dog & the Dweebs (1989–90) First-run live-action series Captain Kangaroo (1955–84) In the News (1971–86) 30 Minutes (1978–82) CBS Saturday Film Festival (1971–78; 1982–84) Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983) Pryor's Place (1984–85) Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters (1985) CBS Storybreak (1985–87) Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–91) Hey Vern, It's Ernest! (1988–89) Rebroadcasts The Bugs Bunny Show/Road Runner Show (1968–71; 1975–78; 1978–85) Shazam! Speed Buggy He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Shirt Tales Land of the Lost The Transformers Kidd Video Schedules 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 Related topics Garbage Pail Kids The Young Astronauts Animation in the United States in the television era Modern animation in the United States

Children's programming on CBS in the 1990s First-run animated series Dink, the Little Dinosaur (1989–91) Muppet Babies (1984–92) The California Raisin Show (1989–90) Garfield and Friends (1988–95) Rude Dog & the Dweebs (1989–90) The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy (1988–91) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990–97) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990–91) Mother Goose and Grimm (1991–93) Back to the Future (1991–93) Where's Waldo? (1991–92) Fievel's American Tails (1992–93) The Little Mermaid (1992–95) Raw Toonage (1992–93) Marsupilami (1993–94) Hello Kitty and Friends (1993–94) All-New Dennis the Menace (1993–94) Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993–94) Conan and the Young Warriors (1994) Beethoven (1994–95) Aladdin (1994–96) Mega Man (1994–95) Skeleton Warriors (1994–95) Wild C.A.T.s (1994–95) Street Sharks (1994–95) The Adventures of Hyperman (1995–96) Timon & Pumbaa (1995–97) Santo Bugito (1995–96) The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995–97) The Neverending Story (1995–96) The Mask (1995–97) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1995–97) The Oz Kids (1996–97) Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1996–97) Anatole (1998–2000) Dumb Bunnies (1998–99) Flying Rhino Junior High (1998–2000) Birdz (1998–99) Mythic Warriors (1998–2000) New Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999–2000) Blaster's Universe (1999–2000) Rescue Heroes (1999–2000) First-run live-action series Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–91) The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys (1992) Beakman's World (1993–98) Fudge (1995) Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. (1996–97) Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House (1996–97) The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997) Wheel 2000 (1997–98) The Weird Al Show (1997) The Sports Illustrated for Kids Show (1997) In the News (1997–98) Rebroadcasts Inspector Gadget (1991–92) Cyber C.O.P.S. (1993) CBS Storybreak (1993–94) Schedules 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 Related topics Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) Modern animation in the United States

UPN Kids Original animated series Bureau of Alien Detectors (1996–1997) Jumanji (1996–1999) The Mouse and the Monster (1996–1997) Space Strikers (1995–1996) Live-action series Beetleborgs (1998–1999) Breaker High (1997–1998) Ghostwriter (1997) Sweet Valley High (1997–1998) Japanese anime series Eagle Riders (1996–1997) Teknoman (1995–1996) Marvel animated series Fantastic Four (1998–1999) The Incredible Hulk (1996–1999) Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1998–1999) Spider-Man (1998–1999) X-Men (1998–1999) Other animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1996–1999) DuckTales (1995–1998) Related topics Disney's One Too Sunday morning cartoon Weekday cartoon Modern animation in the United States Children's programming on UPN