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Back in 2009, Cartoon Network decided to push the envelope and try a new slate of premium programming with Cartoon Network Real. The network primarily known for animated tv shows was dipping it's toes into live action with a series of shows trying to compete with the likes of MTV and Nickelodeon. Cartoon Network Real was almost doomed from the start, and never really caught on. But how did Cartoon Network Real even get it's start in the first place?
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2009 was a hell of a time
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You had a global swine flu spike, Barack Obama being inaugurated as the 44th president
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and Michael Jackson dying of mysterious circumstances. You also had Cartoon Network experimenting with their formula for success
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attempting to integrate live-action reality TV shows into their animation-based broadcasting schedule
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may I have a piece of your gum, please? Which, shock of all shocks
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crashed and burned harder than anything the network had tried previously. You might be wondering to yourself
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why would a network exclusively catering to animation fans and children attempt to pivot to live-action reality programming
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Well, there's two answers there. Coming off of the back of the 2007-2008 writer's strike
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networks and basic cable channels alike were looking for ways to continue putting out content during the prolonged negotiations with the Writers Guild
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of America. This spawned a massive uptick in reality TV programs making it to air
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The only thing I think where we can feel better is shopping. They were cheap to produce, didn't have writers, and could be churned out quickly for massive
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profits. Cartoon Network, who was struggling at the time, was attempting to re-cement their
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cultural identity as the go-to destination for exciting and innovative programming. However
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Warner Brothers' beleaguered animation network was trying and failing to capture the hearts and
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minds of the viewers. With shows like Class of 3000 and My Gym Partner's a Monkey, the network
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wasn't exactly cementing themselves as the go-to place to be for animation. Well, other than Ben 10
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and a few other exceptions. But there was change on the horizon for Cartoon Network, maybe change
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that no one asked for, but change nonetheless, and it would all be set into motion by an ostensibly
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harmless night bright. Enter the Mooninites. We do whatever we want to whomever we want
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at all times. Mooninites unite. Lock in. On January 31st, 2007, the Boston Police Department
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uncovered what they thought was an elaborate terrorist scheme. Large black LED panels with
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strange designs of obscure animated characters on them were uncovered all over the city
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The Mooninites. They were thought to be improvised explosive devices and caused mass panic The story was picked up by the Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle New York Times CNN and Boston Herald
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As it turns out, it was not an insurgent strike, but an art project or a viral marketing stunt
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depending on how charitable you're feeling. Artists Peter Zebler-Berdovsky and Sean Stevens
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were the key figures behind staging an attempt at a campaign to promote the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie
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Wait, we have a mother? Yes, Frylock, I am your mother. And I am a nine-layer bean burrito
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Obviously, it spiraled out of control with civilians and police officers alike
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thinking these small light-up installations were bombs. Ultimately, the Turner Broadcasting Company had to pay over $2 million
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in order to make the whole situation go away. Off the back of this whole kerfuffle, Cartoon Network's General Manager
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and executive vice president Jim Samples resigned from his role. He took responsibility saying that
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it was his hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our
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mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages
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Unfortunately, this bump in the road was about to directly impact the fate of original animated
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material on the network. Jim Samples was out, Stuart Snyder was in. Snyder's background was
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working at companies like Cinar, WWE, and GameTap. He was brash, wanted to shake things up, and had
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some interesting big ideas about what direction to take Cartoon Network. Thanks to the influx of
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slightly older viewers due to programs like Star Wars Clone Wars and Benton Alien Force
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the network slowly began incorporating the TVPG rating into their programming blocks
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something that would have been previously almost unthinkable as most of the programs were either
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rated TVG or TVY7. You might be wondering how Adult Swim fits into this conversation
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but keep in mind that yes, Adult Swim did service an older audience. They were a late night block
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that had only been around for about six years, mostly rerunning older programs. There's a big
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difference between that and pivoting the mainline content of the network to appeal to older audiences
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This soft ratings pivot manifested in animated shows like Total Drama and 16. They didn't last
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very long, but they weren't the end of attempting to make headways into older and different
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viewer bases for Cartoon Network They had their sights set on something else The network wanted the big money that Nickelodeon and Disney Channel were breaking in thanks to the cavalcade of successful live teen sitcoms Hannah Montana Zoey 101 Drake and Josh Wizards of Waverly Place
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and Suite Life of Zack and Cody were cleaning up. Cartoon Network, Stuart Snyder specifically
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were seeing green. They wanted in. See In Real premiered as a programming block on June 17
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2009. Thanks to the rise in popularity of reality TV due to
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the previously mentioned writer's strike, it only made sense for Cartoon Network
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to try and ride that wave. Snyder's big idea? Take the reality TV phenomenon and
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marry it with child and teen performers. If it worked, they'd be ahead of the curve
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They'd own the market on children's reality TV. What could go wrong? Man, I'm so nervous
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You nervous? Yeah. Well, you're gonna be even more nervous because right now you are a
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contestant on Brain Rush. Oh my god, really? Yes, yes, really. Well, for one, the network was named Cartoon Network
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So all of the initial branding efforts weren't even about the specifics of the show
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They were literally about the idea of live-action programming, which, you know, as a sea-changing initiative
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you kind of don't want to have to start on your back foot, so to speak. The shows that launched C and Real were not universe-shattering
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groundbreaking reality programs aimed at kids, unfortunately. They more had the vibe of bootlegged versions of existing shows
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just with kids predominantly featured. Bobby says the first CNREEL program out of the starting gate
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was just America's Funniest Home Videos, but with a kid hosting it
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Only six episodes were produced. Off to a great start. Dude, what would happen was just Mythbusters, but with kids
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The Other Siders was Ghost Hunters, but you guessed it, with kids. Brain Rush was Cash Cab on a roller coaster with kids
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And of course, the only one of these shows that's kind of remembered is Destroy Build Destroy, which was hosted by Andrew WK and starred kids destroying stuff and
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building stuff. Shockingly, the show was actually an original program. It wasn't a direct ripoff of
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something. It's not all that heavy on the actual competition. It's more just an excuse to watch
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stuff blow up and for little kids to cheer. Dude, What Would Happen and Destroy Build Destroy lasted
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three and four seasons respectively, but everything else in this block died a rapid death. Strangely
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if they had actually put any effort into this initiative the world of Cartoon Network programming could have been very different Ironically the network put so much time and effort into making these shows understandable and high concept enough to easily comprehend they forgot to make them good If they had made
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a slate of reality TV aimed at kids with original ideas, this might have succeeded. Cartoon Network
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flirted with some live-action programming for a while after CN Real died its quick death
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But ultimately, the arrival of the smash hit Steven Universe signaled that cartoons were what people wanted from Cartoon Network
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In hindsight, it all seems so obvious. A guy from the WWE who we all know isn't an animation fan, trying to pivot the channel devoted to cartoons into whatever the hell this was
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Feels his track! Just never had a snowball's chance in hell. Hey, experiments are good
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They're necessary for creative reinvention, cultural rejuvenation, and financial sustainability. But, you know, on a network that's exclusively dedicated to cartoons
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it's kind of rough to pivot away from that due to what are obviously the craven business impulses of a dude bro exec
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Stuart Snyder stayed on as the head of the network until 2014 when he was replaced by Christina Miller
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Was CN Real the reason that Snyder was invited to visit Greener Pastures
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Not directly, but it definitely didn't help. The real reason that Sea in Real failed is not the fact that live action programming was on Cartoon Network
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It's the fact that they all sucked and were obviously money grabs. They all had the feel that the people making them were just going through the motions
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Ghost hunters with little kids? Come on, guys. Come on. However, the Nickelodeon shows from a few years previous to this
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The Amanda Show, Drake and Josh, all that, and the various Disney sitcoms that were squarely aimed at children
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they were different. they were attempting to make a quality product for a younger audience
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They might not have succeeded, but they were attempting. In revisiting these CN Reel projects, aside from Andrew WK's unbridled enthusiasm
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It genuinely seems like everyone was asleep at the wheel
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The formula for CN Reel was broken before it even started. It's as transparent as you could possibly make something, to put the finest point on it
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If the early promos for your projects are literally just messaging about how
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we know this contradicts our established branding, but it's going to be really cool
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You might want to figure something else out
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