View source for Animated series

{{Refimprove|date=February 2024}}
{{short description|Set of animated works with a common series title}}
{{for|the technology|History of animation}}
An '''animated series''' is a set of [[animated]] television works with a common title, usually related to one another. These [[episode]]s should typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either a finite number of episodes like a [[miniseries]], a definite end, or be open-ended, without a predetermined number of episodes.<ref name="bigenc">{{Cite web|url=https://bigenc.ru/c/animatsionnyi-serial-25d17b|title=Анимационный сериал|last=Федюшин|first=Владислав Валерьевич|date=2023-10-06|website=Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия»|trans-work=Great Russian Encyclopedia Online|language=ru|trans-title=Animated series|access-date=2024-12-06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203160817/https://bigenc.ru/c/animatsionnyi-serial-25d17b|archive-date=2024-12-03}}</ref> They can be broadcast on television, shown in movie theatres, released on the internet<ref name="bigenc" /> or [[direct-to-video]]. Like other creative works, animated series can be of a wide variety of [[List of genres|genres]] and can also have different [[target audience]]s: both males and females, both [[Children's television series|children]] and [[adult animation|adults]].<ref name="bigenc" />

==Television<!--'Cartoon series' redirects here-->==
{{see also|Lists of animated television series}}
Animated [[Television show|television series]] are presented daily or on certain days of the week during a prescribed [[Broadcast programming#Time slot|time slot]], including for example [[saturday-morning cartoon]]s, [[List of American prime time animated television series|prime time cartoon]]s, [[late night anime]], and [[weekday cartoon]]s; series broadcast only on weekends.<ref name="bigenc" />

The duration of an episode also varies. Traditionally, they are produced as complete half-hour or nearly half-hour programs; however, many are presented as animated [[Short film|shorts]] of 10 — 11 minutes, which can be combined for filling a set time period in "segments", including several such shorts. When advertising is taken into account, the cartoon itself may be only 15 — 20 minutes of the half hour, although [[Netflix]] and many other streaming companies do not show commercials. There are also series with a very short episodes lasting approximately five minutes; they have recently become more common in [[anime|Japanese animation]].

If a local station of a television network broadcasts an animated series as a part of its own programming, the time-slot will vary by region.

All early animated television series, the first being ''[[Crusader Rabbit]]'' (1950 — 1959), are comic cartoon series. However, later series include sports<ref name="bigenc" /> (''[[Speed Racer]]'', ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'', ''[[Slam Dunk (manga)|Slam Dunk]]''), action (''[[Hajime no Ippo]]'',<ref name="bigenc" /> ''[[G.I. Joe]]''), science fiction (''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', ''[[Tenchi Muyo]]''), drama (''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''), adventure (''[[Dragon Ball (TV series)|Dragon Ball]]''), martial arts (''[[Baki the Grappler]]''), and other genres.<ref name="bigenc" />

The first [[animated sitcom]] was ''[[The Flintstones]]''<ref name="bigenc" /> (1960 — 1966),<ref name="bigencsitcom">{{Cite web|url=https://bigenc.ru/c/sitkom-4d1837|title=Ситком|last=Шпоть|first=Василиса Виталиевна|date=2023-10-18|website=Научно-образовательный портал «Большая российская энциклопедия»|trans-work=Great Russian Encyclopedia Online|language=ru|trans-title=Sitcom|access-date=2024-12-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207141937/https://bigenc.ru/c/sitkom-4d1837|archive-date=2024-12-07}}</ref> produced by [[Hanna-Barbera]]. It was followed by other sitcoms of this studio: ''[[Top Cat]]'' (1961 — 1962), ''[[Jonny Quest (TV series)|Jonny Quest]]'' (1964 — 1965), ''[[The Jetsons]]''<ref name="bigenc" /> (1962 — 1963, 1985, 1987) and ''[[Wait Till Your Father Gets Home]]'' (1972 — 1974), an adult-oriented animated series<ref name="bigencsitcom" /> in the style of ''[[All in the Family]]''. ''[[The Alvin Show]]'' from [[Ross Bagdasarian Sr.]] and ''[[Beany and Cecil]]'' from [[Bob Clampett]] are also sitcoms.<ref name="bigenc" />

===Broadcast network===
The 1980s and 1990s were a renaissance of the animated children and adult television series. Various broadcast networks and media companies began creating television channels and formats designed specifically for airing cartoon and anime series. Companies that already had these types of formats in place began to revamp their existing models during this time. Most of this animations were American-based or Japanese anime. Listed below are examples of television networks and channels that include animated programs.

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'''American'''
* [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
* [[Discovery Family]]
* [[Nickelodeon]]<ref name="bigenc" />
* [[Nick Jr. Channel]]
* [[TeenNick]]
* [[MTV]]
* [[Comedy Central]]
* [[Disney Channel]]<ref name="bigenc" />
* [[Disney XD]]
* [[Disney Jr.]]
* [[Universal Kids]]
* [[PBS Kids]]
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'''British'''
* [[CITV]]
* [[CBeebies]]
* [[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]]
* [[Pop (British and Irish TV channel)|Pop]]
* [[Tiny Pop]]
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'''Japanese'''
* [[TV Tokyo]]
* [[Kids Station]]
* [[Tokyo MX]]
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'''Canadian'''
* [[Treehouse TV]]
'''Australian'''
* [[ABC Kids (Australia)|ABC Kids]]
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Examples of animation-focused networks and channels are listed below; but some of them aired live-action programs occasionally.

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'''American'''
* [[Cartoon Network]]<ref name="bigenc" />
** [[Cartoonito (American programming block)|Cartoonito]]
** [[Adult Swim]]
* [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]]
* [[Nicktoons (American TV channel)|Nicktoons]]
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'''South Korean'''
* [[Tooniverse]]
* [[Aniplus]]
* {{ill|AniBox|ko|애니박스}}
* {{ill|Anione|ko|애니원}}
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'''Canadian'''
* [[Teletoon]]
* [[YTV (Canadian TV channel)|YTV]]
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'''Japanese'''
* [[AT-X (TV network)|AT-X]]
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During the 1990s, more mature content than those of traditional cartoon series began to appear more widely, extending beyond a primary audience of children. These cartoon series included ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[South Park]]'', ''[[Family Guy]]'',<ref name="bigencsitcom" /> ''[[Futurama]]'',<ref name="bigenc" /> ''[[The Ren & Stimpy Show]]'', ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]'', ''[[King of the Hill]]'', and ''[[Duckman]]''. Canadian computer-animated series ''[[ReBoot]]'', which began as a child-friendly show, shifted its target group to ages 12 and up, resulting in a darker and more mature storyline.<ref name="animag">Hetherington, Janet L. "As Mainframe's technology reaches adolescence, there's a 'ReBoot' Renaissance". ''[[Animation Magazine]]'' #59. Vol. 11, Issue #8, September 1997.</ref>

==Film theatrical==
{{see also|List of animated short series}}
Animated film theatrical series include all early animated series: ''Animated Weekly'' (1913),<ref name="oejcohlarnaud">{{cite journal|last=Bastide|first=Bernard|year=2007|title=Des cabarets de Montmartre aux studios de Fort Lee: Émile Cohl et Étienne Arnaud, une amitié fertile|url=https://journals.openedition.org/1895/2473|journal=OpenEdition Journals|volume=53|language=fr|publisher=1895. Mille huit cent quatre-vingt-quinze|pages=194–209|doi=10.4000/1895.2473|access-date=2024-07-08|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215094019/https://journals.openedition.org/1895/2473|archive-date=2024-12-15}}</ref> ''The Newlyweds'' (1913 — 1915),<ref name="encanim38">{{cite book|last=Lenburg|first=Jeff|year=2009|title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/mode/2up|edition=3rd|location=New York, NY|publisher=Facts On File|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/page/38/mode/2up 38]|isbn=978-0-8160-6599-8|access-date=2024-08-24}}</ref> ''Travelaughs'' (1913, 1915 — 1918, 1921 — 1923),<ref name="encanim48">{{cite book|last=Lenburg|first=Jeff|year=2009|title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/mode/2up|edition=3rd|location=New York, NY|publisher=Facts On File|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/page/48/mode/2up 48]|isbn=978-0-8160-6599-8|access-date=2024-08-24}}</ref> ''[[Old Doc Yak#In other media|Doc Yak]]'' (1913 — 1915),<ref name="encanim23">{{cite book|last=Lenburg|first=Jeff|year=2009|title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/mode/2up|edition=3rd|location=New York, NY|publisher=Facts On File|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/page/22/mode/2up 23]|isbn=978-0-8160-6599-8|access-date=2024-08-24}}</ref> ''[[Colonel Heeza Liar]]'' (1913 — 1917, 1922 — 1924),<ref name="encanim22">{{cite book|last=Lenburg|first=Jeff|year=2009|title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/mode/2up|edition=3rd|location=New York, NY|publisher=Facts On File|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000lenb/page/22/mode/2up 22]—23|isbn=978-0-8160-6599-8|access-date=2024-08-24}}</ref> ''{{ill|Kapten Grogg|sv}}'' (1916 — 1922),<ref name="animation">{{cite book|last=Giannalberto|first=Bendazzi|year=2015|title=Animation|volume=1|location=Burlington, MA|publisher=Focal Press|page=67|isbn=9781138854529}}</ref> ''Les Aventures des Pieds Nickelés'' (1917 — 1918),<ref name="oejnickeles">{{cite journal|last=Loné|first=Éric|year=2007|title=Les Aventures des Pieds Nickelés|url=https://journals.openedition.org/1895/2593|journal=OpenEdition Journals|volume=53|language=fr|publisher=1895. Mille huit cent quatre-vingt-quinze|pages=324–325|doi=10.4000/1895.2593|access-date=2024-07-09|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215093424/https://journals.openedition.org/1895/2593|archive-date=2024-12-15}}</ref> the ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoon short films released in movie theatres from 1940 to 1967, and many others.<ref name="bigenc" />

==Direct-to-video==
{{see also|List of animated direct-to-video series}}
[[Direct-to-video]] animated series include most Japanese [[original video animation]]s (OVAs). The first OVA series (and also the first overall OVA) was ''[[Dallos]]'' (1983 — 1985). Almost all [[hentai]] (pornographic) [[anime]] series are released as OVAs.

==Web series==
Animated web series are designed and produced for [[streaming provider|streaming services]]. Examples include ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'' (1999 — 2023) and ''[[Eddsworld]]'' (2003 — present).

They can also be released on [[YouTube]], such as [[Asdfmovie]], which debuted in 2008.

{{portal|Animation|Cartoon}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Animation}}
{{Media series}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Animated series]]
[[Category:Television genres]]