Warner Bros. Television Studios

History

Beginning and saturation

The end of World War II led to the rise of television in the late 1940s and early 1950s which saw the eclipse of the Hollywood film studio system, upon the rise of television programming in the wake of the war, many of the film studio executives were in doubt, as they saw the rise of television destroying their film studio business, one of the first major American film studios to move into television was Columbia Pictures in 1947, soon other Hollywood studios such as Paramount Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios started following suit capitalising on the rise of television.

Warner Bros. originally planned to move into television back in 1949 as requested by the other Warners, but Jack L. Warner declined and turned down many proposals as he refused to give into the capitalization of TV thus the path to TV was slow, eventually the executives finally gave in and started establishing their television division.

The division was started on March 21, 1955, with its first head being Jack L. Warner's son-in-law William T. Orr. ABC had approached Warner Bros. initially with the idea of purchasing the studio's film library (Warner Bros. eventually sold the rights to the negatives of pre-1950 films and pre-1948 cartoons and shorts to Associated Artists Productions, or a.a.p., in 1956). Warner Bros. formally entered television production with the premiere of its self-titled anthology series Warner Bros. Presents on ABC. The one-hour weekly show featured rotating episodes of television series based on the Warner Bros. films Casablanca and Kings Row, as well as an original series titled Cheyenne with Clint Walker. The first one-hour television western, Cheyenne became a big hit for the network and the studio with the added advantage of featuring promotions for upcoming Warner Bros. cinema releases in the show's last ten minutes. One such segment for Rebel Without a Cause featured Gig Young notably talking about road safety with James Dean.

With only Cheyenne being a success, Warner Bros. ended the ten-minute promotions of new films and replaced Warner Bros. Presents with an anthology series titled Conflict. It was felt that "Conflict" was what the previous series lacked. Conflict showed the pilots for Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip.

The success of Cheyenne led Warner Bros. Television to produce many series for ABC such as Westerns (Maverick, Lawman, Colt .45, Bronco, a spin off of Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and The Alaskans), crime dramas (77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat, and Surfside 6), and other shows such as The Gallant Men and The Roaring Twenties using stock footage from Warner Bros. war films and gangster films respectively. Warner Bros. Television also produced Jack Webb's Red Nightmare starring Jack Kelly for the U.S. Department of Defense that was later shown on American television on Jack Webb's General Electric True.

From 1967 to 2000

For four years, from 1967 to 1971, Warner Bros. Television's sole output was the existing television series The F.B.I.. By 1970, several former personnel from 20th Century-Fox Television, as well as former agent-writers, had moved to Warner Bros., including Paul Monash, Rod Amateau, Bill Idelson and Harvey Miller, Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, Jerry Gardner and Dee Caruso, and Hal Kanter and A. J. Carothers. By 1971, Warner Bros. Television had returned to prime-time production after producing only one show for four years. Among its first shows upon returning were the NBC series Nichols and The Jimmy Stewart Show and the CBS series The Chicago Teddy Bears. That same year, animation studio Filmation and Warner Bros. entered into a deal to produce cartoons for film and television, with Warner Bros. Television holding global distribution rights.

In 1975, the stars of Lynda Carter, Warner Bros. and National Comics Publications produced the television series Wonder Woman. National Comics Publications was purchased by Kinney National Company in 1967 and remained the part of the company until Kinney bought Warner Bros. in 1969. Also that year, Warner Bros. Television secured a deal with Bill Carruthers and his production company to develop its game shows and other videotaped programming.

In 1976, Warner Bros. Television acquired The Wolper Organization, producer of Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter. In 1978, Stan Margulies, who produced Roots, signed a three-year exclusive contract with the studio. The following week, Warner had acquired contracts with big names like James Komack, Danny Arnold, the trio of Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West (NRW) and the duo of Alan Blye and Bob Einstein to distribute programs worldwide.

In 1979, Warner Bros. Television produced the television series The Dukes of Hazzard.

In 1980, Phillip Saltzman and his Woodruff Productions company signed a deal with the studio.

In 1982, Aaron Spelling and his production company had struck a deal with the studio to distribute the shows. The pact would continue until 1988.

On June 1, 1986, Alan Shayne has left as president of the studio after 10 years, to start out a new production company, Alan Shayne Productions, which will be affiliated in association with the studio, in order to develop four made-for-TV movies and miniseries projects, which was developed for the 1987–1988 season.

From 2001

In 2001, Warner Bros. Television fully took over distribution of Hanna-Barbera related properties produced by Warner Bros. Animation such as Scooby-Doo, producing a steady stream of Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films and two new series, 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 vast library of programs available for free viewing on the Internet (through sister company AOL's In2TV service), with Welcome Back, Kotter as its marquee offering. Some of these programs have not been seen publicly since their last syndicated release in the 1980s.

On June 11, 2012, Warner Bros. Television acquired Alloy Entertainment. On June 2, 2014, Warner Bros. Television Group purchased all of Eyeworks' companies outside of the United States, rebranding as Warner Bros. International Television Production. Eyeworks USA however, will remain independent.

In 2020, Warner Bros. Television was renamed Warner Bros. Television Studios as part of WarnerMedia's restructuring of its television divisions. The Warner Bros. Television name continues to be used on-screen, as well as the company's trade name.

On November 30, 2022, Warner Bros Television head Channing Dungey announced that they were in talks with Amazon to make animated DC content for its streaming service Amazon Prime Video. One of these projects was Batman: Caped Crusader, which premiered in 2024. It was followed by the Bat-Fam in 2025.

Divisions

In addition to the main Warner Bros. Television Studios label, the company also owns and operates the following production companies in the United States:

Current

Warner Horizon Unscripted Television is Warner Bros. Television Studios' alternative television, cable and streaming production unit; founded in April 2006, it originally operated as a singular label encompassing both scripted and unscripted productions. Notable series and films produced by the Warner Horizon units include The Bachelor dating show franchise, The Voice, Pretty Little Liars (and spin-offs Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists), Ellen's Game of Games, Fuller House, The Masked Dancer, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, You and the first season of Pennyworth.

On August 10, 2020, Warner Bros. Television Group separated the Warner Horizon label into two standalone companies maintaining individualized production focuses:

Warner Horizon Scripted Television—which combined its operations with those of Warner Bros. Television through the Warner Horizon split-up—focuses on production of scripted comedic and dramatic programs for cable networks and subscription-based streaming platforms.

Warner Horizon Unscripted Television—which was folded into Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television under the realignment—focuses on production of reality television programs, documentaries and other alternative programming formats for broadcast and cable networks, and subscription-based streaming platforms.

Alloy Entertainment is a book packaging and production company under Warner Bros. Television Studios. Notable series and films produced by Alloy include The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, The 100, The Sun Is Also a Star, Everything, Everything, and You.

Formed in 2014, Blue Ribbon Content (BRC) is Warner Bros. Television Studios' digital series production unit. The company takes its name from the "Blue Ribbon" reissues of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes animation shorts.

Live-action BRC productions include series such as the horror-comedy Critters: A New Binge for Shudder, comedy Play It Again, Dick and horror-comedy The Pledge for CW Seed, as well as the following original films: The Banana Splits Movie and Critters Attack! for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Syfy, plus Good Girls Get High for AT&T's DirectTV Cinema. BRC also produces the animated series Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons for CW Seed.

Former

Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics (KYAC; often known as Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics), formerly known as Warner Bros. Global Kids and Young Adults, was a division of Warner Bros. established on March 4, 2019, as part of a major reorganization of its former parent company, WarnerMedia, an existed until May 11, 2022.

On March 4, 2019, AT&T announced a major reorganization of WarnerMedia to effectively dissolve the Turner Broadcasting System division, which involved Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, its related production studios and international networks and digital media company Otter Media being transferred to Warner Bros. Entertainment. Aside from TCM and Otter – which was transferred over to WarnerMedia Entertainment on May 31, 2019, to oversee development on a then-upcoming over-the-top streaming service (which was later given the name HBO Max) from WarnerMedia – the newly transferred properties came under a newly formed Global Kids & Young Adults division.

The division was responsible for overseeing the parent company's family, kids, animation and young adult properties, its properties include the former Turner Broadcasting System cable television networks Cartoon Network (including the programming blocks Adult Swim, Toonami, Cartoonito and ACME Night), Boomerang, and Turner Classic Movies; and the animation studios Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Williams Street.

On April 7, 2020, Tom Ascheim was named president of the division, now renamed Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim, and adding Turner Classic Movies to his oversight.

On May 11, 2022, Tom Ascheim exited as President of KYAC due to Warner Bros. Discovery's leadership restructuring the organization and eliminating his role. The studios were moved under Warner Bros. Television while Kathleen Finch's U.S. Networks Group assumed oversight over the linear networks, effectively dissolving the unit.

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (formerly Warner Bros. Television Distribution) is the television distribution and broadcast syndication arm of the Warner Bros. Television Group.

Established in 1961, the arm was originally known as Warner Bros. Television Division before taking on its current name in 1989 with the acquisition of Lorimar-Telepictures. In 1991, Keith Samples, who was employee of the studio left Warner Bros., of which the employment staff inherited from Lorimar, who had joined it in 1985, to start out a TV syndication company Rysher Entertainment.

In 1999, it reached a deal with NBC Enterprises to pick up the off-net syndication rights to the sitcom Will & Grace.

International operations

Australia

Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia (WBITPA) was founded in 2004 as Eyeworks Australia before being rebranded in 2014.

As Eyeworks Australia, shows produced include Celebrity Splash, Being Lara Bingle, Gangs of Oz and Territory Cops. Following the rebrand, WBITPA began producing The Bachelor Australia from its fourth season, spin-offs The Bachelorette Australia from its second season & Bachelor in Paradise, as well as First Dates, the eighth season of Who Do You Think You Are?, the sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer Australia.

New Zealand

WBITVP New Zealand produces some of New Zealand's most successful entertainment shows including RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, The Bachelor NZ, The Bachelorette NZ, The Block NZ, Celebrity Treasure Island, Glow Up, House of Drag and The Great Kiwi Bake Off.

Spain

The Spanish subsidiary was acquired as part of the Eyeworks takeover in 2014. Eyeworks España was renamed Warner Bros. International Television Production España in December 2015.

Shows produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production España include Juego de juegos, based on Ellen's Game of Games; First Dates, based on the British show of the same name; Pesadilla en la Cocina, based on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares; ¿Quién quiere ser millonario? (España), based on the British Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?; and Ven a cenar conmigo, based on the British Come Dine with Me. Along with Mediaset España and Netflix, the company also co-produced Brigada Costa del Sol.

United Kingdom

Warner Bros. Television Studios UK

Shed Productions was established in 1998, was acquired by Time Warner in 2010, and later was rebranded as Warner Bros. Television Productions UK in 2015.

Filmography

Notable shows produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Television include Wonder Woman, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Two and a Half Men, Friends, The Middle, Ted Lasso, The Pitt, Abbott Elementary, Gilmore Girls, Shameless, The O.C., ER, and many others.