Mar 26, 2009 10:30 AM
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Tue Feb 9
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Is Cartoon Network about to head the way of the Sci Fi Channel? More than half of the shows for next season aren't cartoons... but that doesn't mean that they won't be awesome.
Cartoon Network has long been a home for the quietly wonderful, whether it's Powerpuff Girls or Batman: The Brave and The Bold, and amongst the various reality shows (No, really) and Scooby Doo reboots, there are three new series that have caught our sci-fi eye:
Ben 10: Evolutions continues CN's favorite superhero franchise into another series, as Teen Titans' Glen Murakami and Justice League's Dwayne McDuffie give us a world where Ben Tennyson is now 16 and an "international mega-star super-hero," according to the network. But that's just the excuse for generational clashes as the kids love him and the adults want to control him. It's just like your childhood... but with superpowers!
Generator Rex is also from Man of Action, the collective who created Ben 10, and stars a teenage boy who's become infected by "molecular-altering nanites" that let him grow machines out of his body, and his worldwide mission to track down others infected by the same nanites.
Sym-Bionic Titan is easily the most exciting show; the new series from Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, it's described as a mix of "high school drama and giant robot battles," and centers around three aliens who try and escape their wartorn planet, only to become stranded on Earth. I foresee well-animated carnage ahead.
It's not only new shows that'll fill the network come September; the network also announced new seasons of Clone Wars, The Secret Saturdays and, thankfully, Batman: The Brave and The Bold.
A full list of the shows announced can be found here. As for the increasing amount of non-cartoons on the network, Stuart Snyder, the COO of parent company Turner Broadcasting's kids division, explained in a very unconvincing manner:
Our voice is changing... This is an evolution of our brand.
Dear Cartoon Network: Your brand is cartoons. While you may be going through brand puberty, that doesn't change the fact that non-cartoons theoretically doesn't belong with your brand at all. Still, at least we'll have new Batman....
Cartoon Network: 'Our voice is changing' [Hollywood Reporter]
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
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