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[via press release]

Kids’ WB! Unveils All-New Saturday Morning with Returning Favorites and Exciting New Series from Steven Spielberg and The Jim Henson Company for 1998-99 Season

January 12, 1998

Four all-new series, one from Steven Spielberg (tentatively titled “Steven Spielberg Presents the Further Adventures of Pinky & The Brain”), another from The Jim Henson Company (“BRATS of the Dark Nebula), a futuristic Batman (“Batman Tomorrow”), and the previously announced, historically hysterical “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!” will join new and favorite episodes of seven returning series for the fourth season of Kids’ WB! this fall.

The new schedule, coming on the heels of unprecedented ratings growth (+29% this season vs. last season with Kids 2-11), was announced today at the annual advertisers’ upfront presentation in New York by Jean MacCurdy, President, Warner Bros. Television Animation and President of Programming for Kids’ WB!, and Jamie Kellner, CEO of The WB Television Network.

The new programs are: “Steven Spielberg Presents the Further Adventures of Pinky & The Brain” (tentative title), an animated comedy from Steven Spielberg which takes a fresh approach to popular favorites as Pinky and The Brain move from ACME Labs to America’s suburbs when they are adopted by the extremely excitable Elmyra (from “Tiny Toon Adventures” fame); “BRATS of the Dark Nebula,” an amazing Sci-Fi adventure series from The Jim Henson Company, combining “got-to-see-it-to-believe-it” puppetry and computer-generated imagery, which follows the adventures of five orphans from different war-torn planets thrown together and forced to survive by their own wits in a galaxy under attack; “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!”, a fast-paced animated comedy that looks at world history through quick comedy sketches, informational bits and songs highlighting great moments from every era of history, interviews with historical figures and re-enactments of well-known and not-so-well-known stories from the past; and, an all-new futuristic chapter in the legend of the dark knight, “Batman Tomorrow,” brings the DC Comic superhero into the 21st Century.

Kids’ WB! brings back seven popular series: “Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures,” “Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs,” “Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky & The Brain,” “Batman,” “Superman,” “Men in Black: The Series” and “The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.”

“Our expanded nineteen hours of viewing time this season, a diverse slate and effective cross-promotion through four dayparts translated to our strongest season ever and set the stage for what promises to be the premiere children’s programming destination,” said Kellner. “With our distribution capabilities increasing this month and the addition of The WeB network this fall, our kids’ ratings outlook is extraordinary.”

“Kids’ WB!’s diversity in both genre and style has become extremely important as we’ve grown into a full-fledged children’s broadcast network,” said MacCurdy. “With the heart of our schedule action-adventure, bookended by comedy, we feel that we provide a programming menu that all young people can enjoy. It is our goal to continue creating fabulous stories chock full of action, fun, and comedy that are fresh and innovative to viewers year after year.”

The new saturday morning line-up includes four new series and four returning series, all of which will have all-new episodes.

The line-up begins with “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!” at 8:00 AM Saturdays (also airing at 3:00 PM Monday through Friday), an animated comedy-adventure series presenting historical subject matter in an original and hysterically amusing way. The series, from twelve-time Emmy Award-winner Tom Ruegger, Warner Bros. Television Animation’s creative genius behind “Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures,” “Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs” and many other Warner Bros. animated favorites, is designed to educate as well as entertain. The show takes a look at world history through quick comedy sketches, informational bits and songs which include great moments from every era of history, interviews with historical figures and re-enactments of well-known and not-so-well-known stories of the past. Joining animated versions of famous historical figures are a host of new cartoon creations who will take the audience on a tour through history. They are: Big Fat Baby, Father Time, Mr. Smartypants, Miss Information, Aka Pella and many others. “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!” is being produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation. (This six-times-weekly series will fulfill the mandatory FCC educational programming requirement.)

“Steven Spielberg Presents the Further Adventures of Pinky & The Brain” (tentative title), at 8:30 AM, reunites the talents of Steven Spielberg with Warner Bros. to create an animated comedy which takes a fresh approach to popular favorites as Pinky & The Brain move from ACME Labs to America’s suburbs when they are adopted by the extremely excitable Elmyra (from “Tiny Toon Adventures” fame). It’s a whole new world: a domestic domicile in which the gene-spliced mice actually may take over the world. This project is the fifth collaborative effort between Spielberg and Warner Bros. Television Animation (“Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures,” “Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs,” “Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky & The Brain” and “Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid!”) and will be spearheaded by Tom Ruegger and the same award-winning creative team that brought life to Spielberg’s other animated Warner Bros.’ productions. “Steven Spielberg Presents the Further Adventures of Pinky & The Brain” (tentative title), executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, is being produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation.

At 9:00 AM, an all-new futuristic chapter in the legend of the dark knight, “Batman Tomorrow,” will make its home on Kids’ WB!, putting the world-renowned DC Comic’s superhero smack into the 21st Century. This high-tech superhero will have a red-winged supersuit (complete with jet-gliding capabilities) and embody a boldness and determination that belie his years. Mentored by Bruce Wayne, alter-ego of the legendary Batman himself, The Tomorrow Knight (as he’s known among Gotham’s vast population) will strive to protect the sleekly futuristic Gotham City. The series will be created by the same ingenious team that shepherded the original contemporary “Batman” animated series (a four-time Emmy Award-winner) as well as the current “Superman” animated series. “Batman Tomorrow” is being produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation.

“Men in Black: The Series,” which returns to Kids’ WB! after a spectacular first season, will air with all-new episodes at 9:30 AM Saturday mornings. The series continues to entertain the notion that aliens live among us, and we don’t even know it. These foreign beings have been around for so long that the government secretly formed a team of men, the MiB, whose sole purpose is to ensure that they follow our rules and regulations. In other words they protect us, from the aliens that we don’t know exist. “Men in Black: The Series,” executive produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Richard Raynis, is produced and animated by Columbia TriStar Television.

At 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM, all-new episodes of “Batman” and “Superman” will air, respectively. “Batman” a richly produced film noir style animated adventure series, follows the high adventures and gripping drama of the famous Dynamic Duo who tirelessly protect Gotham City from evil villains. “Superman,” the art deco-esque animated series, chronicles the adventures of America’s legendary superhero as he battles villainy in his continuous quest for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” These extraordinarily powerful franchises will continue to air weekday afternoons. “Batman” and “Superman” are produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation and both scored the highest ratings of the season for Kids’ WB! (garnering a 2.9 rating/11 share with Kids 2-11).

From The Jim Henson Company comes “BRATS of the Dark Nebula” at 11:00 AM, a totally new “edge-of-your-seat” Sci-Fi action-adventure, combining “got-to-see-it-to-believe-it” puppetry and computer-generated imagery, which follows the adventures of five orphans, “BRATS” (whose families have mysteriously disappeared), from different war-torn planets thrown together and forced to survive by their wits in a galaxy under attack. Traveling in intergalactic spaceships and equipped with exotic technologies, this motley tribe searches the stars for any surviving family members while battling the evil and mysterious “Shock” warriors, invaders who are out to destroy them. The series utilizes innovative puppetry to bring life to the dynamic characters and combines it with state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery to create rich alien environments and exciting action scenes. “BRATS of the Dark Nebula,” produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with Wandering Monkey Entertainment and Decode Entertainment Inc., is being executive produced by Brian Henson (“Muppets Tonight,” “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,” “Dinosaurs” and “Gulliver’s Travels”) and Dan Clark (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”).

“The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries,” at 11:30 AM, returns with all-new episodes of the hilarious half-hour starring legendary favorites Granny, Sylvester and Tweety as they unravel exciting and adventurous mysteries all over the world in two animated shorts per episode. “The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries” is produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Monday through Friday features one new series plus five popular returning series: airing at 7:00 AM is the seven-time Emmy Award-winning “Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures,” which features an engaging cast of teenage characters with the same irascibility and irreverence of their classic forbears; at 7:30 AM is the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning “Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs,” featuring the studios most famous contemporary “toon-stars” — the Warner brothers Yakko, Wakko and their sister Dot; airing at 3:00 PM (also airing at 8:00 AM Saturdays) is the historically hysterical “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!”; the Emmy Award-winning “Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky & The Brain,” in which the two famous laboratory mice (Pinky & The Brain) might actually take over the world, airs at 3:30 PM; and, the “Batman” series airs at 4:00 PM followed by “Superman” animated series at 4:30 PM.

KIDS’ WB! FALL 1998-99 SCHEDULE

Weekday morning’s:
7:00 AM “Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures”
7:30 AM “Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs” (1)

Weekday afternoon’s:
3:00 PM “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!” (new)
3:30 PM “Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky & The Brain” (1)
4:00 PM “Batman” (1)
4:30 PM “Superman” (1)

Saturday morning:
8:00 AM “Warner Bros.’ Histeria!” (new)
8:30 AM “Steven Spielberg Presents the Further Adventures
of Pinky & The Brain” (tentative title) (new)
9:00 AM “Batman Tomorrow” (new)
9:30 AM “Men in Black: The Series” (1)
10:00 AM “Batman” (1)
10:30 AM “Superman” (1)
11:00 AM “BRATS of the Dark Nebula” (new)
11:30 AM “The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries”
(1) New Time Slot