Saturday morning, the CW is debuting a new slate of programming, "One Magnificent Morning," aimed at teenagers and their parents — and in the process killing off a 50-year-old American institution, the Saturday morning cartoon. Last Saturday was the final hurrah for Vortexx, a bloc of children-focused animated and live action TV, with cartoons like The Spectacular Spider-Man and Dragon Ball Z.
The CW was the last broadcast network with children's programming on Saturday mornings, ToonZone says. CBS killed of its Saturday morning kids shows last year and ABC pulled the plug in 2011. NBC switched its Saturday morning lineup back in 1992. So what killed the Saturday morning cartoon? "It's obvious what happened," Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse's Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, tells WTOP: "Cable TV."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
7 drinks for every winter need possibleThe Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter, is dead at 88Speed Read The musician wrote hit songs for Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash before starring in Hollywood movies
-
Shannen Doherty, star of '90210,' dies at 53Speed Read The 'Charmed' actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015
