In all the coverage we’ve been doing of the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger, there’s one element I’ve been wondering about but haven’t yet mentioned: where does the new deal leave Looney Tunes? As you’ll recall, WB CEO David “Dethpicable” Zaslav has not been a friend to the toons. Three years ago, Zaslav dropped an anvil on half the catalog (and the better half, at that, the work from 1950 on). By early 2025, Zaslav took the remaining shorts off HBO Max, despite having faced major backlash the previous time he threatened to do so. But Netflix loves having a backlog of “content” for viewers to scroll through for hours before usually settling on watching something they’ve already seen before (speaking for a friend) — so was there a glimmer of hope that our beloved toons could return? Well, they are returning, huzzah! Only it has nothing to do with the Netflix deal. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has just inked a new six-year deal to be “the ongoing television home” of Looney Tunes. They’ll be airing as soon as next week!

Big News just in from the folks at the Acme Corporation: TCM has become “the ongoing television home” of the iconic Looney Tunes library from Warner Bros.

In late 2022, HBO Max eliminated 256 Looney Tunes shorts from 1950-2004 when its license expired and the streaming arm of Warner Bros. Discovery chose not to renew it, Vulture reported. Last year, another 255 shorts produced from 1930-1949 were excised.

But on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. PT, the prized animated films — more than 750 in all — will begin running on WBD cable channel TCM as part of a new six-year deal. It all starts with the Oscar-nominated, Tex Avery-directed A Wild Hare (1940), the Merrie Melodies short that’s considered the first “official” Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Forty-five shorts featuring the rascally rabbit — TCM’s Star of the Month! — will screen through Feb. 7, and a curated selection of related full-length features will follow in yet another example of the thoughtful programming for which TCM is known.

So, Rabbit of Seville (1950) and What’s Opera Doc (1957) will set up A Night at the Opera (1935); Tortoise Beats Hare (1941), Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943) and Rabbit Transit (1947) will lead to Walk, Don’t Run (1966); Apes of Wrath (1959) will precede King Kong (1933); Buccaneer Bunny (1948) will set up Mutiny on the Bounty (1950); Captain Hareblower (1954) will lead to Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951); Bugsy and Mugsy (1957) and The Unmentionables (1963) will precede The Roaring Twenties (1939); and A Witch’s Tangled Hare (1959) will set up Hamlet (1948).

“By making TCM an ongoing home for this iconic library, we’re able to present these cartoons with the care they deserve, alongside the classic films they helped influence,” Charlie Tabesh, TCM senior vp programming and content strategy, said in a statement.

The shorts, also featuring Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote and other beloved characters, will continue to show up on the channel beyond February, with select titles branded as TCM Premieres.

The new deal “ensures these cartoons are celebrated, contextualized and accessible to audiences of all ages,” TCM notes.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Bugs Bunny is Star of the Month! I repeat: Bugs Bunny is Star of the Month!! Look, I realize this isn’t the most pressing issue of our time. But you gotta take the wins whenever they come, and getting to visit with these friends again feels like a BIG victory. My world already feels a little brighter just knowing these characters are about to be in our homes again. I also feel like a total knucklehead for not thinking of this inspired partnership before: TCM and Looney Tunes. Obviously, TCM’s whole mission is to preserve and present classic cinema, of which the Looney Tunes rightly belong. But from the business side, moving Looney Tunes to TCM also makes sense because the channel is under the WB umbrella; TCM has their own streaming app and also features on the HBO Max app. So the question is, why didn’t this happen sooner?! (But I’m NOT complaining!)

As for the plan to pair Looney Tunes shorts with related films, again, it’s a brilliant way to play it, and true to the original intent of many shorts that were clearly out to spoof certain films/genres. I’m also supremely jealous of whoever’s (paid!) job it was to brainstorm the pairings, and have taken a whack at it myself: Bully for Bugs with The Sun Also Rises; Robin Hood Daffy with The Adventures of Robin Hood; Ali Baba Bunny with The Thief of Bagdad; Hare-Way to the Stars with 2001: A Space Odyssey. I could do this ALL DAY.

So glad we finally get to say, “That’s NOT all, folks!”

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