Cartoon Network Schedules “The Powerpuff Girls” Series Premiere
[via press release – original release date uncertain]
Saving the World Before Bedtime, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS Kicks Off as Half-Hour Series on Cartoon Network
Premiere: Wednesday, November 18, 1998, 8 p.m. (ET, PT)
This fall, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup join Cartoon Network’s stable of the world’s most illustrious cartoon characters when THE POWERPUFF GIRLS (TV-Y7) launches as a weekly half-hour series on Wednesday, November 18, at 8 p.m. (ET, PT). Produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS is the fourth breakout series from Cartoon Network’s ongoing World Premiere Toons shorts program, which commissions individual seven-minute cartoons to find new characters and situations for future series development.
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS follows the adventures of three super-powered sisters—Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup—who frequently ask to be excused from school so they can save the world. Created accidentally through an experiment by the benevolent Professor Utonium of Townsville, USA, the sugar-coated superheroes are united in their life’s mission, which typically alternates between fighting crime and winning at hopscotch.
Created by Craig McCracken, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS is produced by the same animation team—McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky—behind the four-time Emmy-nominated series, Dexter’s Laboratory, Cartoon Network’s highest-rated show.
“THE POWERPUFF GIRLS consistently ranked in viewer polls as one of the most popular shorts within the World Premiere Toons project,” says Betty Cohen, president of Cartoon Network Worldwide. “This new series, then, represents another example of our commitment to produce the shows our viewers actually request. THE POWERPUFF GIRLS offers a great combination of action, adventure and comedy. And it stands out from most other cartoons on television because it appeals to both boys and girls. Make no mistake, though—these girls are tough, and they battle dangerous, outrageous villains. And their relationship with each other alternates between partnership and rivalry, to which most kids with siblings can fully relate.”
THE POWERPUFF GIRLS joins Cartoon Network’s 8 p.m. weeknight showcase of prime time original programming that includes Johnny Bravo on Mondays, Cow and Chicken on Tuesdays, and the What A Cartoon! Show on Thursdays, which features previously aired original shorts from the award-winning World Premiere Toons project. Friday nights are devoted to a two-hour block of encore presentations of each program, starting with Johnny Bravo at 8 p.m., Cow and Chicken at 8:30 p.m., THE POWERPUFF GIRLS at 9 p.m. and What A Cartoon! Show at 9:30 p.m. Dexter’s Laboratory, Cartoon Network’s first original series, currently runs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Cartoon Network, currently seen in 52.7 million U.S. homes, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s 24-hour, basic cable service offering the best in animated entertainment. Drawing from the world’s largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network also creates and showcases innovative original programming such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Cartoon Cartoons. Since its launch in 1992, Cartoon Network has remained one of basic cable’s fastest growing, highest-rated networks.
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons is one of the world’s foremost creators of animation, having produced more than 6,000 animated titles, starring such now-classic characters as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, Scooby-Doo, Quick Draw McGraw and Jonny Quest. The current television series from the renowned animation house includes: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Dexter’s Laboratory, Cow & Chicken, Cave Kids, Johnny Bravo and numerous shorts from the “What A Cartoon!” series on Cartoon Network. Founded in 1957 by the legendary Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, Hanna-Barbera became part of the Warner Bros. family with the October 1996 acquisition of Turner Broadcasting by Time Warner.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.