Cartoon Network Issues Renewals

Cartoon Network is ordering new seasons of the much-loved and hugely successful Monday night animated comedy series Adventure Time, Regular Show and MAD; it was announced today by Cartoon Network chief content officer Rob Sorcher.

“Each of these shows bring a distinct comedic point of view and are led by a great new group of talented animators and storytellers,” said Sorcher. “It’s wonderful to see how quickly our audience has responded to these unique cartoons, and made Cartoon Network the place to be on Monday nights.”

The Emmy nominated Adventure Time (8:00 p.m. ET/PT) continues to build in popularity among kids. In its first two seasons the series ranked #1 in its timeslots on all of television – broadcast and cable – among kids and boys 2-11, 6-11, and 9-14.  Adventure Timehas also generated substantial growth versus same time period last year with K2-11 (+74%), K6-11 (+78%), K9-14 (+75%), B2-11 (+82%), B6-11 (+88%), and B9-14 (+85%) according to Nielsen Media Research.  Adventure Time introduced viewers to unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical Land of Ooo and encounter its colorful inhabitants including the Ice King, Princess Bubblegum and fan favorites Marceline the Vampire Queen and Lumpy Space Princess. Created by Pendleton Ward and executive produced by Fred Siebert, Adventure Time is currently in its second season and is now greenlit for a third.

Consistently winning its time slot with boys 6-11 and boys 9-14, Cartoon Network’s new original animated series Regular Show(8:15 p.m. ET/PT) dramatically increased both ratings and delivery among targeted kid and boy demos vs. the 2009 time period.  Since its premiere, average kids 6-11 ratings have grown by 52% and delivery by 53%, average kids 2-11 ratings have grown by 41% and delivery by 43%, and average kids 9-14 ratings have grown by 58% and delivery by 56%.  Regular Show features best friends Mordecai, a six-foot-tall blue jay and Rigby, a hyperactive raccoon, whose attempts to escape their everyday boredom take them to fantastical extremes. Created by J.G. Quintel, Regular Show debuted in September 2010 and has been greenlit for a second season.

Deemed a hit by the nearly 7 million kids (2-11) tuning in last month alone, MAD (8:30 p.m. ET/PT), the Warner Bros. Animation original series rooted in the eponymous magazine, will return for a highly-anticipated second season.  Following its premiere in September of this year, MAD has been steadily winning its time slot with boys 6-11 and boys 9-14.  MAD has also increased key kids and boys audience ratings and delivery, ranging between 31% and 71% across the board.  Since the very first issue of the DC Comics magazine was published in 1952, MAD has satirized and parodied the pop cultural landscape. In this MAD original animated series, this same sense of the ridiculous is delivered with fresh relevance with parodies including Trans-Bore-Mores, Fantastic Megan Fox, Uglee, CSI-Carly and Avaturds.  MAD is executive produced by Sam Register and produced by Kevin Shinick and Mark Marek.