Line #24 Creator/TBS


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tbs_logo.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Slogans}} We're comedy.]]]]
3
4	This UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}-based cable channel began as WTCG, (for '''T'''urner '''C'''ommunications '''G'''roup), an independent station owned by UsefulNotes/TedTurner. It then changed its call sign to WTBS (for '''T'''urner '''B'''roadcasting '''S'''ystem) as its U.S. cable coverage increased, mainly due to satellite coverage (hence why it used to be called ''TBS Superstation'', as a superstation was a term for a broadcast TV station carried in many markets; from the late 90s until the 2004 format change, it was branded mainly as "the Superstation"). Now known as TBS, and separate from the Atlanta station [[note]]now known as WPCH, "Peachtree TV" (and also now an affiliate of Creator/TheCW), which split in 2007 to allow TBS to carry Major League Baseball games involving teams other than the Braves. TBS doesn't even run it anymore, having leased its operations to Atlanta's Creator/{{CBS}} station WGCL 46 (now WANF); Turner finally sold it to them in 2017, breaking the final link to the superstation era[[/note]] it and the other Turner properties currently belong to Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery (also the owner of Creator/WarnerBros).
5
6	Its secret weapon was "Turner Time", scheduling programs 5 minutes after the top of the (half) hour in order to make sure viewers would miss the beginnings of other channels' fare and thus be resigned to stay with TBS for another show[[note]]HilariousInHindsight now that ''Series/{{Conan}}'' is the only late-night talk show to ''not'' regularly air 5 minutes after the (half) hour[[/note]]. It would also get its own listings in TV Guide back when that was still a big thing, hence attracting more attention. Up until the 2004 format change, it was, befitting the genesis of the network, a grab bag of older movies, off-network reruns, Turner-owned cartoons from Creator/HannaBarbera, Creator/{{MGM}} and WB, the occasional CNN-produced news update in between programs, Atlanta sportscasts, and the ''National Geographic Explorer'' series. Starting in the mid-80s, some low-budget original sitcoms, movies, and game shows like ''Series/{{Starcade}}'' began creeping their way in. Also during this time, the national feed carried one of the few American UsefulNotes/{{Teletext}} services, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_(teletext) Electra]]'', which was a joint venture between TBS, Zenith Electronics (who made Teletext-capable TV sets) and Taft Broadcasting (who programmed the service).
7
8	By the mid-90s, original programming had increased, with TV movies and new Hanna-Barbera output (specifically Ted Turner's own ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' (though the first couple of seasons were produced by [=DiC=]), as well as ''WesternAnimation/SwatKats'' and ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'') constituting the majority of the new stuff, alongside sportscasts, movie wraparounds (some of which lasted until 2011), and WCW wrestling (see below). 1998 saw the removal of kids' programming, as sister station Creator/CartoonNetwork took over that demographic.
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10	Back in the 1990s, most TV watchers [[FanNickname referred to TBS as "The Beastmaster Station"]] because of [[AdoredByTheNetwork its frequent showing]] of the film ''Film/TheBeastmaster''. The channel was "[[Wrestling/DustyRhodes the Mothership]]" of Wrestling/{{WCW}} and its antecedent promotions (GCW, CWG, Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett) from basically the national launch until the premiere of ''[[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro Monday Nitro]]'' in 1995. Afterwards, ''Thunder'', the B-show, aired on TBS.
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12	TBS was also known for many years (1973 to 2007, to be more precise) as the TV home of the [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball Atlanta Braves]]. Famously, at one point Ted Turner tried to get pitcher Andy Messersmith (who wore #17) to wear the name "CHANNEL" on the back of his jersey (CHANNEL 17, get it?) The league immediately put the kibosh on that. However, the national broadcasts on TBS helped the Braves build a considerable nationwide fan base, so much so that the franchise was nicknamed "America's Team". They also aired [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Atlanta Hawks]] basketball as well (Turner owned them and the Braves for a while).
13
14	In June 2004, in response to sibling Creator/{{TNT}}'s post-2001 focus on dramatic programming (and possibly Time Warner's divestiture of its stake in Creator/ComedyCentral to Viacom the previous year), it decided to situate itself into the genre of comedy, after years of not having a genre (the comedy focus is a little looser than TNT's on drama, though, as evidenced by the movies it tends to run). To that end, on April 12, 2010, Creator/ConanOBrien announced a five-year deal with TBS to do an [[Series/{{Conan}} 11 PM talk show]].
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16	On April 26, 2022, [[https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/tnt-tbs-scripted-programming-development-scrapped-warner-bros-discovery-1235241348/ Variety]] reported that TBS and Creator/{{TNT}} would cease their productions on original scripted shows for the foreseeable future. ''The Last O.G.'' by Creator/TracyMorgan was the first scripted show to be cancelled in light of the news.
17
18	Original content from the channel is available as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service Creator/HBOMax, debuting in 2020.
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20	Not to be confused with the Creator/TokyoBroadcastingSystem, which is known for airing many {{anime}} series.
21
22	!!First-run and Original programming seen on TBS include (ongoing shows marked in bold):
23
24	%%For shows without pages, please make one if you know anything about it. It's a great contribution to the wiki!
25
26	[[index]]
27	* ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'' (1993-95)[[/index]]
28	* ''17 Update Early in the Morning'' (1976-79)[[note]]essentially a predecessor to ''Series/TheDailyShow'' and its' ilk, with the concept being a straight-laced anchor- Bill Tush, a major personality in the early days of WTCG/WTBS- reading the news with a comedic bent; it wasn't intended to be funny at first (Turner only started a newscast per FCC regulations, and he decided to air it at around 3:00 AM), but one day [[ThrowItIn someone decided to hurl a paper airplane from off-screen and it was kept in]] and from that point on Tush, co-anchor Tina Seldin, and the off-screen crew decided to add more and more comedy, including such things as "Rex the Wonder Dog" (a dog dressed up in a suit and with an off-screen VO to make it seem like he was reading the news) and the "Unknown Newsman" (a takeoff on the [[Series/TheGongShow Unknown Comic]]), and the show became an early cable legend, especially after the station went to satellite transmission; it ended in 1979 because Turner was about to launch CNN and a thing like this would present credibility issues; Tush and Seldin also anchored straight-laced news capsules during the day[[/note]][[index]]
29	* '''''[[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW Dynamite]]''''' (2022-present; [[ChannelHop Channel Hopped]] from Creator/{{TNT}})
30	* '''''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''''' (2014-present; performed a ChannelHop from Creator/{{Fox}})
31	* ''Series/AngieTribeca'' (2016-18)[[/index]]
32	* ''Series/TheBillEngvallShow'' (2007-09)[[index]]
33	* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' (1990-92)
34	* ''WesternAnimation/CartoonPlanet'' (1995)[[/index]]
35	* ''[[Music/CeeLoGreen CeeLo Green's]] The Good Life'' (2014)[[index]]
36	* ''[[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball College Football on TBS]]'' (1979; 1982-91; 2004-06) [[note]]WTBS, as it was then-known, aired the very first live cable college football broadcast of any kind, the 1979 Independence Bowl between Syracuse and [=McNeese=], and the first live regular season cable college football broadcast, the 1982 BYU at UNLV game. After Creator/{{ESPN}} entered the live football business in 1984, TBS focused on Southeastern Conference games until dropping the sport at the end of 1991. In 2004 they revived the brand for three more seasons, but subcontracted the production out to Creator/{{FOX}} Sports Net.[[/note]]
37	* ''Series/{{Conan}}'' (2010-21)
38	* ''Series/CougarTown'' (2013-15; [[ChannelHop Channel Hopped]] from Creator/{{ABC}})
39	* ''Series/TheCube'' (2021)
40	* ''Series/TheDetour'' (2016-19)[[/index]]
41	* ''[[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming eLeague]]'' (2016-18)[[index]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'' (2018-21) [[note]]From the second season, the show airs on Creator/AdultSwim first before airing on TBS a week later.[[/note]]
43	* ''Series/FullFrontalWithSamanthaBee'' (2016-22)
44	* ''Series/GroundFloor'' (2013-15)
45	* ''Series/TheGuestBook'' (2017-18)
46	* ''Series/TheJokersWild'' (2017-18; 2010s revival, [[http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/snoop-dogg-jokers-wild-1202429961/ produced and hosted by]] Music/SnoopDogg. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, this is real.]])
47	* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' (1996-97; also aired on TNT and Cartoon Network)
48	* ''Series/KingOfTheNerds'' (2013-15)
49	* ''[[Series/LeaveItToBeaver The New Leave it to Beaver]]'' (1986-89; previously aired on the Creator/DisneyChannel; also aired in syndication from 1988-89)
50	* ''Series/MenAtWork'' (2012-14)
51	* ''Series/MiracleWorkers'' (2019-21, 2023)
52	* '''''[[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB on TBS]]''''' (2007-present; prior to its current format, it exclusively aired Atlanta Braves games from 1973 to 2007)
53	* ''Series/MyBoys'' (2006-10)
54	* ''[[UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} NASCAR on TBS]]'' (1983-2000; moved to TNT)
55	* ''[[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA on TBS]]'' (1984-2002; NBA coverage became TNT exclusive)
56	* ''WesternAnimation/NeighborsFromHell'' (2010)
57	* ''Series/PeopleOfEarth'' (2016-17)[[/index]]
58	* ''The Creator/PeteHolmes Show'' (2013-14)[[index]]
59	* ''Franchise/RipleysBelieveItOrNot'' (2000-03 series)
60	* ''Series/SearchParty'' (2016-17; moved to Creator/HBOMax with season 3)
61	* ''Series/{{Starcade}}'' (1982-83)
62	* ''Series/SullivanAndSon'' (2012-14)
63	* ''WesternAnimation/SwatKats'' (1993-95)
64	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarantula}}'' (2017)
65	* ''Series/TrustMeImAGameShowHost'' (2013)[[/index]]
66	* ''Tush'' (1980-81) [[note]]Sketch comedy show, hosted by the aforementioned Bill Tush; RetroactiveRecognition came from [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Jan Hooks]] as a castmember, and [[Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun Bonnie &]] [[Series/That70sShow Terry Turner]], who wrote for the show[[/note]][[index]]
67	* ''[[Series/HouseOfPayne Tyler Perry's House of Payne]]'' (2007-12)
68	** ''Meet the Browns'' (2009-11)
69	** ''Series/ForBetterOrWorse'' (2011-12; Seasons 1 & 2)[[/index]]
70	* Wrestling/{{WCW}}:
71	** ''Best of World Championship Wrestling'' (1973-87)
72	** ''Georgia Championship Wrestling''/''[[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] World Championship Wrestling''/''WCW Saturday Night'' (1971-2000)
73	** ''Clash of the Champions'' (1988-97)
74	** ''WCW Thunder'' (1998-2001)
75	** ''NWA/WCW Main Event'' (1988-98)
76	** ''NWA/WCW Power Hour'' (1989-94)[[index]]
77	* '''''[[Series/{{Wipeout2008}} Wipeout]]''''' (2021-present; revival of 2008 show)
78	* ''Series/{{Wrecked}}'' (2016-18)
79	* ''Series/YourFamilyOrMine'' (2015)
80	[[/index]]

Context Creator / TBS