Warner Bros. Television Studios,[3] operating under the name Warner Bros. Television (abbreviated as WBTV; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division), is an American televisionproduction and distribution studio and the flagship studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros., a flagship studio of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched on March 21, 1955 by William T. Orr, it serves as a television production arm of DC Comics productions by DC Studios and, alongside Paramount Global's CBS Studios, The CW, the latter that launched in 2006 and WBD has a 12.5% ownership stake. It also serves as the distribution arm of WBD units HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.
As of 2015, it is one of the world's two largest television production companies measured by revenue and library along with Sony Pictures Television.[4][5]
As of May 2024, WBTV is producing nearly 40 scripted series for WBD’s Max, external streaming platforms, cable, and the five U.S. broadcast networks.
The division was started on March 21, 1955,[1] with its first head being Jack L. Warner's son-in-law William T. Orr. ABC had approached Warner Bros. initially with the idea of purchasing the studio's film library (WB eventually sold the rights to the negatives of pre-1950 films and pre-1948 cartoons and shorts to Associated Artists Productions, or a.a.p., in 1956[6][7]). WB formally entered television production with the premiere of its self-titled anthology series Warner Bros. Presents on ABC. The one-hour weekly show featured rotating episodes of television series based on the WB films Casablanca and Kings Row, as well as an original series titled Cheyenne with Clint Walker. The first one-hour television western, Cheyenne became a big hit for the network and the studio with the added advantage of featuring promotions for upcoming Warner Bros. cinema releases in the show's last ten minutes. One such segment for Rebel Without a Cause featured Gig Young notably talking about road safety with James Dean.
With only Cheyenne being a success, WB ended the ten-minute promotions of new films and replaced Warner Bros. Presents with an anthology series titled Conflict. It was felt that "Conflict" was what the previous series lacked. Conflict showed the pilots for Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip.[citation needed]
All shows were made in the manner of WB's B pictures in the 1930s and 1940s;[8] fast-paced, much stock footage from other films, stock music from the Warners music library and contracted stars working long hours for comparatively small salaries with restrictions on their career.
During the 1960 Writers Guild of America strike, WB reused many plots from its films and other television shows under the nom de plume of "W. Hermanos".[9] This was another example of imitating Warner Bros.' B Pictures who would remake an "A" film and switch the setting.[10]
Two of the most popular stars, James Garner and Clint Walker, quit over their conditions. Garner never returned to the Warners fold during this period, instead moving forward into a major theatrical film career. Successful Warners television stars found themselves in leading roles of many of the studio's theatrical films with no increase in salary. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was simultaneously the lead of 77 Sunset Strip briefly overlapping with a recurring role as "Dandy Jim Buckley" on Maverick, and also headlined several films until exhaustion forced the studio to give him a rest. Many other actors under contract to Warners at the time, who despite their work conditions, did see their stars rise over time, albeit for most only briefly, included Jack Kelly, Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, Ty Hardin, Wayde Preston, John Russell, Donald May, Rex Reason, Richard Long, Van Williams, Roger Smith, Mike Road, Anthony Eisley, Robert Conrad, Robert McQueeney, Dorothy Provine, Diane McBain and Connie Stevens. Edd Byrnes and Troy Donahue would become teen heartthrobs. Another contract player, Englishman Roger Moore (Maverick and The Alaskans), was growing displeased with Warner as his contract was expiring and would relocate to Europe from Hollywood, becoming an international star on television, and eventually, in theatrical films, playing James Bond among other roles. Warners also contracted established stars such as Ray Danton, Peter Breck, Jeanne Cooper and Grant Williams. These stars often appeared as guest stars, sometimes reprising their series role in another TV series.
It was during this period that series, particularly Westerns like Cheyenne and Maverick, and the crime dramas like 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye and Surfside 6 featured catchy theme songs that became just as much a part of the American pop culture landscape as the shows themselves. Depending on the particular series (in this case, the Westerns), William Lava or David Buttolph would compose the music, with lyrics by Stan Jones or Paul Francis Webster, among others. For the crime shows, it was up to the songwriting team of Jerry Livingston and Mack David, who also scored the themes for the sitcom Room for One More, and The Bugs Bunny Show.
In 1960, WBTV turned its attentions to younger audiences as they brought Bugs Bunny and the other WB cartoon characters to prime time, with The Bugs Bunny Show, which featured cartoons released after July 31, 1948 (which had not been sold to Associated Artists Productions), combined with newly animated introductory material. Also, that year saw the debut of The Roaring Twenties, which was thought to be a more benign alternative to Desilu's The Untouchables. Whether or not that was actually the case, it was, in fact, much less successful.
WBTV expanded on its existing genre of Westerns and crime dramas, and in January 1962, produced its first sitcom, Room For One More. Based on the memoirs of Anna Rose, which in 1952 WB made into a movie starring Cary Grant and his then-wife Betsy Drake (the only movie that they worked together in) about a married couple with two children of their own who went on to adopt at least two more. The TV series starred Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay as George and Anna Rose. Acting legend Mickey Rooney's son Tim, and Ahna Capri, who would continue to do episodic TV roles and feature films (arguably, her best-known movie was Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee) were cast as the Rose's natural children. The show only lasted for half a season. In the fall of that year, a WWII drama The Gallant Men debuted, but lasted for only one season.
WBTV exclusively produced shows for the ABC network until 1962, when GE True premiered on CBS.
In 1964, WBTV once again tried to turn a classic film comedy of its own into a sitcom, with No Time for Sergeants. Both the sitcom and the 1958 movie were based on the 1955 Broadway play, which starred Andy Griffith (TV's The United States Steel Hour also adapted the stage play for TV in 1956). The sitcom starred Sammy Jackson as Will Stockdale, a naive Georgia farm boy drafted into the military. 1965 saw the debut of F Troop, a Western spoof taking place at a U.S. Army post after the Civil War. Despite lasting only two seasons, it is still considered a classic of its type. Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, and Ken Berry led an ensemble cast featuring military misfits, and an Indian tribe, who, among other things, forgot how to do a rain dance.
The streak of identifiable series subsided in 1963 with a halt of using stock company contract players and Jack Webb taking over WBTV and not being particularly successful. However, many series were still filmed at Warner Bros. such as F Troop and The F.B.I.[12]
In 1975, the stars of Lynda Carter, Warner Bros. and DC Comics produced the television series Wonder Woman. National was purchased by Kinney National Company in 1967 and remained the part of the company until Kinney bought Warner Bros. in 1969. Also that year, the company secured a deal with Bill Carruthers and his production company to develop its game shows and other videotaped programming.[16]
On March 25, 1986, Ted Turner and his Turner Broadcasting System purchased Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) from Kirk Kerkorian for $1.5 billion, and renamed MGM Entertainment Company, Inc.[21][22][23] Turner immediately sold MGM's United Artists subsidiary back to Kerkorian for roughly $480 million.[22][23] However, Turner was unable to find financing for the rest of the deal because of concerns in the financial community over the debt-load of his companies; thus, on August 26, 1986, Turner was forced to sell MGM's production and distribution assets to UA for $300 million.[22][23][24][25] The MGM lot and lab facilities were sold to Lorimar-Telepictures.[24] Turner kept the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library, along with the Associated Artists Productions library, and the RKO Pictures films that United Artists had previously purchased.[24] Warner Bros. Television has produced new productions based on Turner Entertainment's properties.
On June 1, 1986, Alan Shayne has left as president of the studio after 10 years, to start out a new production company, Alan Shayne Productions, which will be affiliated in association with the studio, in order to develop four made-for-TV movies and miniseries projects, which was developed for the 1987–88 season.[26]
In 1994, writers-producers of Friends, Kevin Bright, Martha Kauffman and David Crane, and associated with the studio since 1992 had struck its exclusive deal with the studio.[31] In 1996, Warner Bros. Television collaborated with Universal Television to develop the series Spy Game for ABC, with Universal alumnus Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert of Renaissance Pictures, and Warner alumnus John McNamara producing the series, but it did not last long, as it only lasted one season on the air.[32]
In 2001, Warner Bros. Television fully took over distribution of Hanna-Barbera related properties produced by Warner Bros. Animation such as Scooby-Doo, producing a steady stream of Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films and two new series, What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2006) and Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! (2006–2008). In 2006, Warner Bros. Television made some of its vast library of programs available for free viewing on the Internet (through sister company AOL's IN2TV service), with Welcome Back, Kotter as its marquee offering. Some of these programs have not been seen publicly since their last syndicated release in the 1980s.
Alternate logo of Warner Bros. Television without banner, used for corporate purposes
In 2020, Warner Bros. Television was renamed Warner Bros. Television Studios as part of WarnerMedia's restructuring of its television divisions.[citation needed][36] The Warner Bros. Television name continues to be used on-screen, as well as the company's trade name.
On November 30, 2022, WBTV head Channing Dungey announced that they were in talks with Amazon to make animated DC content for its streaming service Amazon Prime Video.[37]
Divisions
In addition to the main Warner Bros. Television Studios label, the company also owns and operates the following production companies in the United States:
On August 10, 2020, Warner Bros. Television Group separated the Warner Horizon label into two standalone companies maintaining individualized production focuses:
Warner Horizon Scripted Television—which combined its operations with those of Warner Bros. Television through the Warner Horizon split-up[38]—focuses on production of scripted comedic and dramatic programs for cable networks and subscription-based streaming platforms.
Warner Horizon Unscripted Television—which was folded into Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television under the realignment[39]—focuses on production of reality television programs, documentaries and other alternative programming formats for broadcast and cable networks, and subscription-based streaming platforms.
Formed in 2014, Blue Ribbon Content (BRC) is Warner Bros. Television Studios' digital series production unit. The company takes its name from the "Blue Ribbon” reissues of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes animation shorts.
Telepictures is an American production company. It was bought by Warner Communications in 1988 and remains a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios to this day. Programs produced by Telepictures include The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as Extra, Judge Mathis, The People's Court, The Real, in addition to the NBC primetime series Ellen's Game of Games and Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways (both produced in association with Warner Horizon Unscripted Television). Telepictures is also producing the upcoming Elizabeth Smart-led series Smart Justice for Lifetime and the new HBO Max competition series Ellen's Next Great Designer. Telepictures also formerly produced TMZ on TV, which it sold to Fox Entertainment in 2021.
Cartoon Network Studios is an American production company and the main animation studio for Cartoon Network and its associated channels. It started operating in 1994 as a division of Hanna-Barbera until 2001 when the latter absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation. Located in Burbank, California, the studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and shorts for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Cartoonito and HBO Max. The company has only produced one theatrically released film, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, distributed by its sister company, Warner Bros. Pictures; its commercial failure prompted the company to stop theatrical releases of its films, though Regular Show: The Movie was released to theaters at a limited capacity. The studio also produces live-action series for Adult Swim and formerly Cartoon Network under various pseudonyms.
Warner Bros. Animation Inc.[40] is an American animation studio closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, the studio which produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon shorts from 1933 to 1963, and from 1967 to 1969. Warner reestablished its animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes–related works, and Turner Broadcasting System (who bought MGM/UA which owned pre-1950 Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts) merged with Time Warner (later called WarnerMedia) in 1996.[41] It replaces Warner Bros. Cartoons and Warner Bros. Feature Animation; since March 2001, it also replaces Hanna-Barbera as well.
Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics (KYAC; often known as Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics), formerly known as Warner Bros. Global Kids and Young Adults, was a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It was established on March 4, 2019, as part of a major reorganization of Warner Bros.' now-defunct parent company, WarnerMedia.
On April 7, 2020, Tom Ascheim was named president of the division, now renamed Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim, and adding Turner Classic Movies to his oversight.[46]
On May 11, 2022, Tom Ascheim exited as President of KYAC due to Warner Bros. Discovery's leadership restructuring the organization and eliminating his role. The studios were moved under Warner Bros. Television while Kathleen Finch's U.S. Networks Group assumed oversight over the linear networks, effectively dissolving the unit.[47]
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (formerly Warner Bros. Television Distribution) is the television distribution and broadcast syndication arm of Warner Bros. Television Studios.
Established in 1971,[48] the arm was originally known as Warner Bros. Television Distribution before taking on its current name in 1988 with the acquisition of Lorimar-Telepictures. In 1991, Keith Samples, who was employee of the studio left Warner Bros., of which the employment staff inherited from Lorimar, who had joined it in 1985, to start out a TV syndication company Rysher Entertainment.[49]
The Spanish subsidiary was acquired as part of the Eyeworks takeover in 2014.[55] Eyeworks España was renamed Warner Bros. International Television Production España in December 2015.[55][56]
Established as Shed Productions in 1998, the company was acquired by Time Warner in 2010, before being rebranded as Warner Bros. Television Productions UK in 2015.
^Baughman, James L.The Republic of Mass Culture" Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America since 1941 JHU Press 2006 p.88
^Weaver, Tom I Talked With a ZombieRobert Colbert Interview 2008 McFarland p.54
^Davis, Ronald L. Just Making Movies: Company Directors on the Studio SystemVincent Sherman interview 2005 University Press of Mississippi pp.86–87
^Evans, Robert The Kid Stays in the Picture 1994 Phoenix Books p.81
^Woolley, Lynn, Malsbar, Robert, Strange Jr, Robert G Warner Bros. Television: Every Show of the Fifties and Sixties Episode-By-Episode McFarland Company (1985)
^ abcParsons, Patrick R. (2008). Skies: A History of Cable Television. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN978-1592132874.
^ abcFabrikant, Geraldine (June 7, 1986). "Turner To Sell Mgm Assets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
.svg)
![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
