Warner Bros. Television Studios facts for kids
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Logo used since December 23, 2023
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Trade name
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Warner Bros. Television |
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Formerly
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List
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| Founded | March 21, 1955 |
| Founder | William T. Orr |
| Headquarters | 4000 Warner Boulevard,
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products | Television programs |
| Revenue |  US$5.62 billion (2015) |
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Operating income
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US$344 million (2015) |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Television Group |
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Warner Bros. Television Studios (also known as Warner Bros. Television or WBTV) is a big American company. It makes and shares TV shows. It's part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, which belongs to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Since 2006, WBTV has helped make shows for The CW network. It also creates shows for DC Comics and helps share shows from HBO, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim. Warner Bros. Television Studios has made many popular shows for other TV channels too. These include Blindspot and Found on NBC, Person of Interest on CBS, The Cleaning Lady on Fox, and Abbott Elementary on ABC.
They also create shows for streaming services. Some examples are The Sandman on Netflix, Ted Lasso on Apple TV+, The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video, and Mrs. Davis on Peacock.
In 2015, Warner Bros. Television Studios was one of the two biggest TV production companies in the world. They were measured by how much money they made and how many shows they had.
Contents
How Warner Bros. Television Started
Early Days of TV Shows
Warner Bros. Television started on March 21, 1955. William T. Orr, who was Jack L. Warner's son-in-law, was its first leader. The ABC network asked Warner Bros. to sell its old movies. Instead, Warner Bros. decided to start making TV shows.
Their first TV show was Warner Bros. Presents on ABC. This show had different episodes each week. Some were based on Warner Bros. movies like Casablanca. One original series was Cheyenne, a Western starring Clint Walker. Cheyenne was a big hit. It was the first hour-long TV Western. The show even promoted upcoming Warner Bros. movies in its last ten minutes. For example, a part for Rebel Without a Cause showed Gig Young talking about road safety with James Dean.
Since only Cheyenne was a success, Warner Bros. stopped promoting movies in the show. They replaced Warner Bros. Presents with a new show called Conflict. This show featured pilot episodes for future hits like Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip.
The success of Cheyenne led WBTV to make many more shows for ABC. These included Westerns like Maverick, Lawman, and Sugarfoot. They also made crime dramas such as 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye. Many of these shows used old film clips and music from Warner Bros.' library. Actors worked long hours for less pay.
During a writers' strike in 1960, WB reused many plots from its movies and other TV shows. They even used a fake name, "W. Hermanos," for the writers.
Two popular stars, James Garner and Clint Walker, left because of their working conditions. Garner went on to have a big movie career. Many successful Warner Bros. TV stars also got lead roles in the studio's movies. But they didn't get paid more for it. For example, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. starred in 77 Sunset Strip and several movies at the same time. Other actors like Jack Kelly, Will Hutchins, and Connie Stevens also became famous. Some, like Edd Byrnes and Connie Stevens, even made hit songs for Warner Records.
Many of the shows from this time had catchy theme songs. These songs became very popular. For Westerns, composers like William Lava wrote the music. For crime shows, Jerry Livingston and Mack David wrote the themes. They also wrote the theme for The Bugs Bunny Show.
In 1960, WBTV started making shows for younger audiences. They brought Bugs Bunny and other cartoon characters to prime time with The Bugs Bunny Show. This show had older cartoons mixed with new animated parts.
In 1962, WBTV made its first comedy show, Room For One More. It was based on a book and a movie about a couple who adopted children. The show only lasted half a season. Later that year, a World War II drama, The Gallant Men, also debuted but only lasted one season.
Until 1962, WBTV only made shows for ABC. Then, GE True premiered on CBS.
In 1964, WBTV tried to turn another classic film into a comedy show, No Time for Sergeants. In 1965, F Troop debuted. This was a funny Western show about a U.S. Army post. Even though it only lasted two seasons, it's still a classic.
Around 1963, the studio stopped using its group of contract actors. Jack Webb took over WBTV, but it wasn't a very successful time. However, shows like F Troop and The F.B.I. were still filmed at Warner Bros.
Later Years and New Shows
For four years, from 1967 to 1971, the only show the company made was The F.B.I.. By 1971, the company started making prime-time shows again. Some of the first new shows were Nichols and The Jimmy Stewart Show on NBC.
In 1975, Warner Bros. and DC Comics created the TV series Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter.
In 1976, the company bought The Wolper Organization, which made shows like Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter. In 1979, Warner Bros. Television produced the popular TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
In 1982, Aaron Spelling and his company made a deal with Warner Bros. to share their shows. This deal lasted until 1988.
In 1986, Ted Turner bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He later sold most of it, but kept MGM's old movies and TV shows. Warner Bros. Television has since made new shows based on these properties.
In 1989, Warner Communications bought Lorimar-Telepictures. Lorimar Television later joined WBTV in 1993. Telepictures then became a TV production company on its own.
In 1994, the writers and producers of Friends, Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane, made a special deal with Warner Bros.
In 2001, Warner Bros. Television took over sharing Hanna-Barbera shows made by Warner Bros. Animation, like Scooby-Doo. They made many new Scooby-Doo movies and TV shows, such as 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 old shows available for free online.
On June 11, 2012, WBTV bought Alloy Entertainment. In 2014, Warner Bros. Television Group bought most of Eyeworks' companies outside the U.S. These were renamed Warner Bros. International Television Production.
In 2020, Warner Bros. Television was renamed Warner Bros. Television Studios. This was part of a big change in WarnerMedia's TV groups. The name "Warner Bros. Television" is still used on screen and for business.
In 2022, WBTV announced they were talking with Amazon to make animated DC Comics shows for Amazon Prime Video.
What Warner Bros. Television Studios Makes
Besides the main Warner Bros. Television Studios, the company also owns and runs other production companies in the United States:
Warner Horizon Unscripted Television
Logo since 2024
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Formerly
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Warner Horizon Television |
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| Founded | 2006 |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Parent | Warner Bros. Television Studios |
Warner Horizon Unscripted Television makes reality TV shows and other non-scripted programs. It started in 2006. Some famous shows they've made include The Bachelor dating shows, The Voice, Ellen's Game of Games, and Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
In 2020, Warner Horizon split into two parts:
- Warner Horizon Scripted Television makes comedy and drama shows for cable and streaming.
- Warner Horizon Unscripted Television focuses on reality shows, documentaries, and other non-scripted formats.
Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment is a company that creates books and then turns them into TV shows and movies. It is part of Warner Bros. Television Studios. Some well-known shows and movies from Alloy include The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and You.
Blue Ribbon Content
Blue Ribbon Content (BRC) was formed in 2014. It is Warner Bros. Television Studios' unit for making digital series. Its name comes from the "Blue Ribbon" reissues of old Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons.
BRC has made live-action shows like the horror-comedy Critters: A New Binge. They also produced movies like The Banana Splits Movie and Critters Attack!. BRC also makes animated shows like Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons.
Telepictures
Telepictures is an American production company. Warner Communications bought it in 1988. It is still part of Warner Bros. Television Studios today. Telepictures has produced shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Extra, Judge Mathis, and The People's Court. They also made Ellen's Game of Games.
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American company that makes cartoons. It is the main animation studio for Cartoon Network. It started in 1994. The studio makes animated shows and shorts for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and HBO Max. They have only released one movie in theaters, The Powerpuff Girls Movie. After that movie didn't do well, they stopped releasing films in theaters.
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio. It is famous for characters like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. This studio is the new version of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. That studio made Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons from 1933 to 1969. Warner Bros. started its animation division again in 1980.
In recent years, Warner Bros. Animation mostly makes TV shows and direct-to-video cartoons. These feature characters from Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, and DC Comics characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Williams Street
Williams Street is an American studio that makes animated and live-action TV shows. It is the in-house production arm for Adult Swim and Toonami. It has produced two movies. The first was Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. The second was Mister America.
Sharing TV Shows
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
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Formerly
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Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1972–1989) |
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| Industry | Television distribution Broadcast syndication |
| Predecessor | Seven Arts Associated Corp. (1960–1967) |
| Founded | January 10, 1972 in Burbank, California |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Television Studios |
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution helps share Warner Bros. TV shows. It also helps sell shows to different TV channels. It started on January 10, 1972. It was first called Warner Bros. Television Distribution. It got its current name in 1989.
Popular Shows Produced
Warner Bros. Television has produced and shared many famous shows. Some of these include Wonder Woman, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, ER, Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, Growing Pains, Everybody Loves Raymond, The West Wing, Supernatural, Two and a Half Men, ALF, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, Living Single, The Drew Carey Show, Murphy Brown, Young Sheldon, Abbott Elementary, Ted Lasso, and Riverdale.
Images for kids
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Warner Bros. Television 2020 logo.png
Original logo of Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics.
See also
In Spanish: Warner Bros. Television Studios para niños
