While plans to revive the animated brand in its traditional TV form via genre specialist Seth MacFarlane fell flat, it appears as though The Flintstones will soon make its first non-live action appearance since 2001 with a feature film, reportedly being developed by Warner Bros.

The well-known movie studio are claimed by Variety to have recruited Chris Henchy as a writer on the script, whilst also bringing in Will Ferrell (who has plenty of recent experience in both voice acting and ‘business’ if needed) and Adam McKay from Henchy’s Gary Sanchez Productions stable to become executive producers.

While the franchise has been converted into two live-action films by Universal (in 1994 & 2000), the primary focus has been on animated content, starting with the main ABC series airing from 1960-1966 lasting 6 seasons and 166 episodes, alongside a range of special episodes, spin-offs, cross-overs, and other media dating through to the turn of the millennium.

A comeback to screens was set to occur on Fox through a 2011 deal made with MacFarlane, but after being indefinitely shelved due to his busy schedule, the only other option in sight had been a WWE-backed special going direct-to-DVD in early 2015. Until now.

Since 1996, it has been Warner Bros. that hold content rights to The Flintstones, after parent company Time Warner purchased Turner Broadcasting, and while a few specials have been made, it has mostly been tie-in product sales that have been the main source of income for them since that point. One such product tie-in that has not lasted to this day and age, though, will presumably be nowhere near this upcoming movie project for The Flintstones, even if it is its most (in)famous:

It was of course a different time, one that produced these more generic and timeless opening pieces (one being the start of the inaugural episode on ABC, the other a short pilot under the original guise of The Flagstones):

While to date, this remains the most recent content for viewing under The Flintstones name:

Adult Swim, a cable network known for being the late-night timeshare partner of Cartoon Network, have a wide range of experience in broadcasting non-live-action content in the manner of their host network, though one show that bucks the trend of while retaining the old ‘cartoon’ episode length is set to remain present for a while longer, as Rob Corddry’s Childrens Hospital was confirmed for a renewal by the network.

Corddry’s show-within-a-show-style creation (which he also stars in as ”Cutter/Rory Spindell’ as ‘Dr. Blake Downs” (pictured)) started life as a 10-episode web original on TheWB.com, before being picked up by Adult Swim in 2010, since spawning 5 seasons and 58 episodes of ‘spoof medical drama’.

Those episodes will be added to in 2015, though, with the renewal set to retain regular cast members including Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel and Henry Winkler, and a move of the overarching ‘story’ back to the USA after a number of recent 11-minute segments were based in Japan.

Announcing the news in an official press release, Corddry stated: “Fans can expect the kind of tomfoolery that endeared them to Childrens Hospital back when they were youngsters. Stuff like absurdity, flights of fancy, hard-hitting fake drama, soft-hitting fake drama, farcical door slamming, partial nudity, classical jazz, 70-yard field goals, moustache rides, backwards messages, grooming tips… the whole shebang.”

While it is unclear at present how much time this comedy has left after the next season of unspecified length, for the time being the bizarre comedy lives, with highlights of their previous exploits able to be seen below:

Latest TV searches:

Hulu have inked a deal that will make kids round the world happy, especially fans of Fraggle Rock. A spin-off from the popular puppet show called, The Doozers, is coming to Hulu April 25.

The Fraggles may be 30 years old but they still have an army of fans and The Doozers will reintroduce viewers to the world of Fraggle in 52 11-minute episodes. We will meet 4 kid Doozers called Spike, Molly Bolt, Flex and Daisy Wheel who build things for the Fraggles.

Speaking about the show, CEO of Jim Henson Productions Lisa Henson said, “Even when the Fraggle Rock series was made, the creator of the show was curious about the world of Doozers, and the possibility one day of giving Doozers their own show.”

The show has been aired in Europe on the Cartoon Network, but the Hulu release will be it’s first showing in the US. They also have the streaming rights for Fraggle Rock, so you can watch both to your hearts content.

Hulu have been on a roll with children’s content recently, also recently announced a deal to stream the Pokemon franchise.

Subscription streaming brand VuTV have completed a key step in their plans of roll-out in the UK, with the premium platform announced as officially launched on Freeview HD boxes (on EPG #238) for customers in the UK region.

The service (operated through co-owners Strategy & Technology and Simplestream with their joint venture ‘Synapse TV’) is offering viewers access to a selection of well-known American TV channels such as Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, History Channel, Cartoon Network, and CNN.

Representing the History Channel and Bio brands, A&E Networks UK vice-president Bakori Davis said of the new arrangement: “We are delighted to see the launch of another multi-channel platform in the U.K. that offers more viewers a chance to enjoy the great content on our portfolio of channels, including Lifetime, our newest entertainment brand which launched this month.”

Turner Broadcasting’s ‘vice-president & managing director’ Anthony Lukom, speaking for CNN and ‘CN’, added: “We demonstrate an ongoing commitment to be where our audiences are, and ensure multiple ways for them to engage with our channels and content.”

Arran Tindall, Viacom International‘s ‘senior vice-president of commercial & content distribution’, noted: “The VuTV service is an easy, affordable way for suitable Freeview households to sample some of the very best channels that subscription TV in the U.K. has to offer.”

Those ‘Freeview households’ are believed to total over 20 million in the region, making it the UK’s most prominent ‘digital TV platform’, with VuTV targeting the primary audience of internet-connected Freeview HD users that do not hold a pay-tv subscription.

VuTV director Dan Finch summarised: “Today is very exciting as it heralds the launch of VuTV on Freeview, giving consumers the choice of more channels through their existing Connected TV and remote control, all delivered over the Internet. VuTV will become the home of great value, premium channels on your TV set.”

The release of the service sees it available at a price of £6.99/month with a 14 day free sample period, as Samsung are recognised as is the ‘first major manufacturer’ that offers full support for the VuTV brand on their Freeview HD-applicable products. Other companies will follow suit in due course, but will VuTV get off to a strong enough start to be considered worth the effort?

Latest TV searches:

Whilst some animated TV shows look to expand themselves by launching an official video game, some video game properties head in the opposite direction, and quite quickly if that property is the iconic Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Japanese video game company have announced that their prize possession will be made into a TV series in the same animation style (CGI) as their current video game cutscenes, with the project taking on the working title of Sonic Boom.

It was announced by Sega in a press release that the show already has a host network in the form of Cartoon Network, who will premiere the series in the second half of 2013. Also having signed an instant contract for the rights to a first batch of 52 11-minute long episodes are Canal J and Gulli who will together hold the French broadcasting privileges, whilst Sega’s partners in other global markets will be announced closer to release.

Deviating a little from the ambitious serial shows previously made under the Sonic banner, Sonic Boom‘s format is described by Sega as that of a ‘character-driven comedy’, where leading characters Sonic and Tails search for adventures. They will be joined in the series by familiar characters Knuckles (who appears to have mysteriously ‘bulked up’ going by the picture), Amy Rose, and Dr. Eggman, the latter of whom will be amongst a ‘rogue’s gallery’ of ‘new and familiar enemies’.

Management of the format will come from Takashi Iizuka, (leader of game developers Sonic Team), whilst Sega of America and Genao Productions will animate and produce the series.

Hiroyuki Miyazaki, Sega’s ‘chief content officer for Sonic the Hedgehog‘, said of the new show: “Sonic is the star of the SEGA universe and the stage is now set for him to shine like never before. By teaming up with world-class partners in television animation like Cartoon Network, Genao Productions and GULLI, we’re ensuring that the Sonic legacy will be introduced to a new generation of children across the globe.”

Caroline Cochaux, the ‘head of programs (kids & family networks)’ at Lagardere Active (the parent company of French networks Canal J and Guilli), added: “We wanted to strengthen our TV channels’ editorial content with strong brands. This is our new objective. Sonic is an enormously popular and unique character with all the qualities of an animation series’ great hero – humor, bravery, loyalty, inventiveness. We are extremely proud to welcome him across our kids and family channels at Lagardère Active and will activate across these channels to raise awareness and excitement for the new series.”

Whilst the character of Sonic has more traditional appearances to keep up in 2013 (featuring in Wii U exclusive titles Sonic: Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, along with featuring as a playable guest character in Mario game Super Smash Bros.), will he be able to make as big an impact on the TV market after what will have been over 8 years away?

One important aspect to consider is that an animated show often becomes instantly identifiable and synonymous to the show through its opening credits, and will be a thing that Sonic Boom‘s producers will be aware they need to try and ‘get right’, as for a video game series often lauded for its background music, much of these previous TV efforts are not as popular:

Meanwhile, for an 80-minute example of what to expect from the show animation-wise, the entire storyline of cutscenes of 2008 video game Sonic Unleashed compiled into a ‘movie’ format:

Latest TV searches: