After years of running (duck) amok, WBD finally finds a place for Looney Tunes

It’s all a little strange how this came together. Back in 2022, HBO Max began allowing its licenses on the Looney Tunes shorts to lapse, cutting 256 cartoons from 1950 to 2004 from its offerings. Three years later, it cut the remaining 255, which were produced between 1930 and 1949. The company also dumped its already-complete Looney Tunes features, The Day The Earth Blew Up and Coyote Vs. Acme, leading many to wonder what Daffy had done to David Zaslav. While it seems like WBD canceled its own show only to sell it to another one of its entities years later, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Last year, WBD announced that it would be splitting into two companies: Streaming & Studios, which consists of WB Television, Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, and its film and TV library, and Global Networks, which consists primarily of its cable properties, CNN, TNT, and Discovery. When the split happened, the company didn’t indicate where TCM was falling. However, last week, Netflix disclosed that it would acquire Turner Classic Movies if it got the go-ahead to swallow WB. While it’s still unclear what would come of the cable station, it’s clear that Netflix would like any positive publicity that comes from portraying itself as a responsible and active steward of the beloved TCM and Looney Tunes brands.

But back on the cable network, TCM plans to start running a curated selection of 45 cartoons that are thematically linked to a main feature. For example, Rabbit Of Seville and What’s Opera Doc will air before A Night At The Opera, and Apes Of Wrath will lead into King Kong, as Chuck Jones intended.