# List of programs broadcast by Cartoon Network
[Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network)'s schedule was shaped by what its parent company owned. [Ted Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-turner) purchased the [Hanna-Barbera](https://www.edgepedia.org/hanna-barbera) library, adding it to a collection that already included the MGM library, the Tom and Jerry cartoons, and pre-1950 Warner Brothers' Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons.[2](https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-3/cartoon-network) A 1992 report in El País put the Hanna-Barbera purchase at about 320 million dollars and stated the new channel would broadcast those cartoon holdings.[3](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/02/21/radiotv/698626804_850215.html) In its first few years the network filled its schedule with programs from Turner's vintage cartoon library, and it invested the profits from that library programming into original production.[2](https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-3/cartoon-network)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Programming blocks | Cartoon Theater (later renamed Flicks) for feature films; Toonami for action animation; Adult Swim for mature audiences from 2001[1](https://time.com/6120831/cowboy-bebop-original-explained/) |
## Why the network was built on a library
**The first original program grew out of the library.** [Space Ghost Coast to Coast](https://www.edgepedia.org/space-ghost-coast-to-coast), which premiered April 15, 1994, was not a series built around original characters but a talk show hosted by a 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon superhero, modeled on the broadcast networks' late-night interview programs.[2](https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-3/cartoon-network) According to a media-production study of the series, Turner's instruction to Cartoon Network programmers to utilize the conglomerate's content library drove its creation: with no money to hire artists for new concept art, a small team of programmers remixed existing Hanna-Barbera footage into a new program.[4](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15274764241280636) The study describes the show as the template for [Adult Swim](https://www.edgepedia.org/adult-swim)'s later programming and production.[4](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15274764241280636)
## From reruns to originals
In 1995 the network began World Premiere Toons, a program of original cartoon shorts created as pilots for original series.[2](https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-3/cartoon-network) These shorts, broadcast under the title [What a Cartoon!](https://www.edgepedia.org/what-a-cartoon), produced many Cartoon Network original series that were collectively branded "Cartoon Cartoons." The pilot-driven model means several of the network's best-known series, including [Dexter's Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/dexters-laboratory) and [The Powerpuff Girls](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-powerpuff-girls), trace their origin to that development effort.[5](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/08/kids-tv-what-to-watch-sesame-street-pbs-funding-cut/683812/)
**Blocks organized the schedule.** The network has used themed blocks to divide the day. Toonami, a weekday action-animation block, premiered in March 1997.[6](https://cartoonnetwork.fandom.com/wiki/Checkerboard) [Boomerang](https://www.edgepedia.org/boomerang) began as a weekend programming block on Cartoon Network on December 8, 1992.[7](https://populartimelines.com/timeline/Cartoon-Network/full) Adult Swim, launched in 2001, took over late-night hours; [Cowboy Bebop](https://www.edgepedia.org/cowboy-bebop) was announced as part of Adult Swim's launch lineup, making it the first anime broadcast on that block.[1](https://time.com/6120831/cowboy-bebop-original-explained/)
## Programming categories
The list conventionally divides Cartoon Network programming into several categories:
- **Original programming**, series created and owned by the network, such as [Teen Titans Go!](https://www.edgepedia.org/teen-titans-go)
- **Repeats of original programming**, including [Adventure Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/adventure-time), Regular Show, and [The Amazing World of Gumball](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-amazing-world-of-gumball), which continue to air in reruns after their first runs ended.[8](https://warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_Cartoon_Network)
- **Repeats of acquired programming**, such as The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which aired 1972-1973 and 1994-2008 before returning in 2025.[8](https://warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_Cartoon_Network)
## Scheduling changes over time
The hours devoted to children's programming have contracted. A 2026 schedule guide describes the US channel's day as split into three blocks: Cartoonito for preschool viewers from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, Cartoon Network general programming from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Adult Swim from 5:00 pm to 6:00 am.[9](https://news.terabox.com/hub/how-to-find-the-cartoon-network-schedule-for-every-region-and-time-zone)
Ratings milestones mark the schedule's history. The network's first original live-action movie special, [Ben 10: Race Against Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-10-race-against-time), drew 3,987,000 viewers age 2 and older on November 21, 2007, at that point the most-watched telecast in Cartoon Network history.[10](https://brandedcontent.adage.com/pdf/Cartoon-Network-Turns-20.pdf) Adventure Time was the network's No. 1 original series across 2010 and closed the year at No. 1 in its time period across all television among kids and boys demos ages 2 to 11, 6 to 11, and 9 to 14.[10](https://brandedcontent.adage.com/pdf/Cartoon-Network-Turns-20.pdf)
## International versions
Cartoon Network operates feeds outside the United States with their own schedules. Cartoon Network Japan publishes a monthly program grid; its June 2026 schedule includes [Steven Universe Future](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-universe-future), Regular Show, Teen Titans Go!, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Codename: Kids Next Door, alongside a Cartoonito block with Tom & Jerry Kids and Batwheels.[11](https://files.microcms-assets.io/assets/9ec4dfe3f47b409aa5fea482e9d272af/0c68f771b3bd4e2388a55f67b9d7ccce/CN_2606_program_en_v2.pdf) The Canadian feed's schedule has included Adventure Time, Total Dramarama, Hotel Transylvania: The Series, and Grossology in overnight and morning slots.[12](https://www.cartoonnetwork.ca/schedule/) Localized production has also extended the list abroad: Warner Bros. Discovery announced in July 2023 its first localized Tom and Jerry series, set in Singapore, for the Asia Pacific feed.[13](https://press.wbd.com/na/brands/cartoon-network)
## References
1. [Everything to Know About the Original Cowboy Bebop, Time (2021)](https://time.com/6120831/cowboy-bebop-original-explained/)
2. [Cartoon Network, Encyclopedia of TV & Radio](https://www.tvencyclopedia.org/tv-encyclopedia-3/cartoon-network)
3. [Turner crea una emisora de dibujos animados, El País (1992)](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/02/21/radiotv/698626804_850215.html)
4. [Jacqueline Ristola (2024). "Every Time I Move My Arm, it Costs the Cartoon Network 42 Bucks": Remixing Limited Animation in Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. Television & New Media.](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15274764241280636)
5. [A Cheat Code for Parents Isn't Working Anymore, The Atlantic (2025)](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/08/kids-tv-what-to-watch-sesame-street-pbs-funding-cut/683812/)
6. [Checkerboard, The Cartoon Network Wiki](https://cartoonnetwork.fandom.com/wiki/Checkerboard)
7. [Full History of Cartoon Network, Popular Timelines](https://populartimelines.com/timeline/Cartoon-Network/full)
8. [List of programs broadcast by Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki](https://warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_Cartoon_Network)
9. [Cartoon Network Schedule and Live Grid, TeraBox News](https://news.terabox.com/hub/how-to-find-the-cartoon-network-schedule-for-every-region-and-time-zone)
10. [Cartoon Network Turns 20, Ad Age branded content](https://brandedcontent.adage.com/pdf/Cartoon-Network-Turns-20.pdf)
11. [Cartoon Network Japan Monthly Program June 2026](https://files.microcms-assets.io/assets/9ec4dfe3f47b409aa5fea482e9d272af/0c68f771b3bd4e2388a55f67b9d7ccce/CN_2606_program_en_v2.pdf)
12. [Schedule, Cartoon Network Canada](https://www.cartoonnetwork.ca/schedule/)
13. [Cartoon Network Pressroom, Warner Bros. Discovery](https://press.wbd.com/na/brands/cartoon-network)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcast networks and channel brands › Cable and satellite television networks › Children's and family channel-model topics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license