Cartoon Network reports it is NOT shutting down amid rumors: 'Y'all we're not dead, we're just turning 30'
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Bethany Biron
Oct 17, 2022, 20:28 IST
A view of the cartoon backdrop at the Cartoon Network: "The Powerpuff Girls" signing at New York Comic Con in 2016.Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Turner
Cartoon Network said it is not shutting down, despite rumors circulating on social media this week.
Concerns arose after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced layoffs to animation teams.
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Cartoon Network is not going anywhere, despite rumors to the contrary.
The cable television channel took to Twitter on Friday to dispel concerns that it was shutting down, following reports on Tuesday that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery laid off 82 staffers in its scripted, unscripted, and animation departments.
"Y'all we're not dead, we're just turning 30," Cartoon Network wrote in a tweet. "To our fans: We're not going anywhere. We have been and will always be your home for beloved, innovative cartoons. More to come soon!"
The layoffs are part of ongoing $3 billion cost-cutting efforts after Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in April to form a new entertainment conglomerate, Variety reported. The reductions already had a notable impact on networks like HBO and HBO Max, which slashed jobs and began quietly removing programming in August.
In a memo to staffers reported by Variety, Warner Bros. TV Group chairman Channing Dungey wrote the company is "implementing a new streamlined structure" for animation, but did not announce any program cancellations.
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Still, rumors that Cartoon Network — best known for original series like "Powerpuff Girls," "Adventure Time," and "Dexter's Laboratory," and for airing classics like "Looney Toons" and "Scooby Doo" — was shutting down for good began circulating on social media earlier this week, alongside the hashtag #RIPCartoonNetwork.
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The network shared another tweet on Saturday poking fun at the misconceptions, including a tongue-in-cheek video featuring characters from the Cartoon Network series "The Amazing World of Gumball," alongside the caption "POV: When you find out about your death via Twitter."
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