
Warner Bros. Television Studios

Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly Warner Bros. Television Division and Warner Bros. Television Productions) is the television production and distribution arm owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. Alongside ViacomCBS' television arm CBS Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW (in which WarnerMedia has a 50% ownership stake), though it also produces shows for other networks, such as "Shameless" on Showtime. As of 2015, it is one of the world's two largest television production companies measured by revenue and library (along with Sony Pictures Television).
History and production.
Beginning and saturation.
The division was started on March 21, 1955, with its first and most successful head being Jack L. Warner's son-in-law William T. Orr. ABC had major success against its competition with Walt Disney's "Disneyland" TV series and approached Warner Bros. initially with the idea of purchasing the studio's film library (WB eventually sold the rights to the negatives of pre-1950 films and pre-1948 cartoons and shorts to Associated Artists Productions, or a.a.p., in 1956). WB formally entered television production with the premiere of its self-titled anthology series "Warner Bros. Presents" on ABC. The one-hour weekly show featured rotating episodes of television series based on the WB films, "Casablanca" and "Kings Row", as well as an original series titled "Cheyenne" with Clint Walker. The first one-hour television western, "Cheyenne" became a big hit for the network and the studio with the added advantage of featuring promotions for upcoming Warner Bros. cinema releases in the show's last ten minutes. One such segment for "Rebel Without a Cause" featured Gig Young notably talking about road safety with James Dean.
With only "Cheyenne" being a success, WB ended the ten-minute promotions of new films and replaced "Warner Bros. Presents" with an anthology series titled "Conflict". It was felt that "Conflict" was what the previous series lacked. "Conflict" showed the pilots for "Maverick" and "77 Sunset Strip" .
The success of "Cheyenne" led WBTV to produce many series for ABC such as Westerns "(Maverick", "Lawman", "Colt .45", "Bronco," a spin off of "Cheyenne", "Sugarfoot", and "The Alaskans"), crime dramas ("77 Sunset Strip", "Hawaiian Eye", "Bourbon Street Beat", and "Surfside 6"), and other shows such as "The Gallant Men" and "The Roaring Twenties" using stock footage from WB war films and gangster films respectively. The company also produced Jack Webb's "Red Nightmare" starring Jack Kelly for the U.S. Department of Defense that was later shown on American television on Jack Webb's "General Electric True".
All shows were made in the manner of WB's B pictures in the 1930s and 1940s; fast-paced, much stock footage from other films, stock music from the Warners music library and contracted stars working long hours for comparatively small salaries with restrictions on their career.
During the 1960 Writers Guild of America strike, WB reused many plots from its films and other television shows under the nom de plume of "W. Hermanos". This was another example of imitating Warner Bros' B Pictures who would remake an "A" film and switch the setting.
Two of the most popular stars, James Garner and Clint Walker, quit over their conditions. Garner never returned to the Warner's fold during this period, instead moving forward into a major theatrical film career. Successful Warner's television stars found themselves in leading roles of many of the studio's theatrical films with no increase in salary. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was simultaneously the lead of "77 Sunset Strip" briefly overlapping with a recurring role as "Dandy Jim Buckley" on "Maverick", and also headlined several films until exhaustion forced the studio to give him a rest. Many other actors under contract to Warner's at the time, who despite their work conditions, did see their stars rise over time, albeit for most only briefly, included Jack Kelly, Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, Ty Hardin, Wayde Preston, John Russell, Donald May, Rex Reason, Richard Long, Van Williams, Roger Smith, Mike Road, Anthony Eisley, Robert Conrad, Robert McQueeney, Dorothy Provine, Diane McBain and Connie Stevens. Edd Byrnes and Troy Donahue would become teen heartthrobs. Another contract player, Englishman Roger Moore ("Maverick" and "The Alaskans"), was growing displeased with Warner as his contract was expiring and would relocate to Europe from Hollywood, becoming an international star on television, and eventually, in theatrical films, playing James Bond among other roles. Warners also contracted established stars such as Ray Danton, Peter Breck, Jeanne Cooper and Grant Williams. These stars often appeared as guest stars, sometimes reprising their series role in another TV series.
The stars appeared in WB cinema releases with no additional salary, with some such as Zimbalist, Walker, Garner (replacing Charlton Heston in "Darby's Rangers"), and Danton (replacing Robert Evans in "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond") playing the lead roles; many of the stars appeared in ensemble casts in such films as "The Chapman Report" and "Merill's Marauders". Some stars such as Connie Stevens, Edd Byrnes, Robert Conrad and Roger Smith made albums for Warner Bros. Records. One particular recording, a novelty tune titled "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" became a big hit for Edd Byrnes and Connie Stevens (1959). The following year, Connie Stevens had her own hit, with "Sixteen Reasons".
It was during this period that series, particularly Westerns like "Cheyenne" and "Maverick", and the crime dramas like "77 Sunset Strip", "Hawaiian Eye" and "Surfside 6" featured catchy theme songs that became just as much a part of the American pop culture landscape as the shows themselves. Depending on the particular series (in this case, the Westerns), William Lava or David Buttolph would compose the music, with lyrics by Stan Jones or Paul Francis Webster, among others. For the crime shows, it was up to the songwriting team of Jerry Livingston and Mack David, who also scored the themes for the sitcom "Room for One More", and "The Bugs Bunny Show".
In 1960, WBTV turned its attentions to the younger viewer as they brought Bugs Bunny and the other WB cartoon characters to prime time, with "The Bugs Bunny Show", which featured cartoons released after July 31, 1948 (which had not been sold to Associated Artists Productions.), combined with newly animated introductory material. Also, that year saw the debut of "The Roaring Twenties", which was thought to be a more benign alternative to Desilu's "The Untouchables". Whether or not that was actually the case, it was, in fact, much less successful.
WBTV expanded on its existing genre of Westerns and crime dramas, and in January 1962, produced its first sitcom, "Room For One More". Based on the memoirs of Anna Rose, which in 1952 WB made into a movie starring Cary Grant and his then-wife Betsy Drake (the only movie that they worked together in) about a married couple with two children of their own who went on to adopt at least two more. The TV series starred Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay as George and Anna Rose. Acting legend Mickey Rooney's son Tim, and Ahna Capri, who would continue to do episodic TV roles and feature films (arguably, her best-known movie was "Enter the Dragon" starring Bruce Lee) were cast as the Rose's natural children. The show only lasted for half a season. In the fall of that year, a WWII drama "The Gallant Men" debuted, but lasted for only one season.
WBTV exclusively produced shows for the ABC network until 1962, when "GE True" premiered on CBS.
In 1964, WBTV once again tried to turn a classic film comedy of its own into a sitcom, with "No Time for Sergeants". Both the sitcom and the 1958 movie were based on the 1955 Broadway play, which starred Andy Griffith (TV's "The United States Steel Hour" also adapted the stage play for TV in 1956). The sitcom starred Sammy Jackson as Will Stockdale, a naive Georgia farm boy drafted into the military. 1965 saw the debut of "F Troop", a Western spoof taking place at a U.S. Army post after the Civil War. Despite lasting only two seasons, it is still considered a classic of its type. Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, and Ken Berry led an ensemble cast featuring military misfits, and an Indian tribe, who, among other things, forgot how to do a rain dance.
The streak of identifiable series subsided in 1963 with a halt of using stock company contract players and Jack Webb taking over WBTV and not being particularly successful. However, many series were still filmed at Warner Bros. such as "F Troop" and "The F.B.I."
Later years.
In 1976, the company acquired The Wolper Organization, most notably for "Chico and the Man" and "Welcome Back, Kotter". In 1989, it acquired Lorimar-Telepictures. Telepictures was later folded into WBTV's distribution unit, and in 1990, came back as a television production company. In 1993, Lorimar Television was folded into WBTV.
In 2003, WBTV adopted a shortened version of "As Time Goes By" for its closing logo; it was first used as the opening theme to Warner Bros. movies in 1999.
In 2006, WBTV made its vast library of programs available for free viewing on the Internet (through sister company AOL's IN2TV service), with "Welcome Back, Kotter" as its marquee offering. Some of these programs have not been seen publicly since their last syndicated release in the 1980s.
WBTV has had a number of affiliated production houses that have co-produced many of their shows with WBTV. These include but are not limited to: Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions ("The People's Court") Harvey Levin Productions ("TMZ"), CBS Productions/CBS Paramount Television ("Cold Case"), NBC Studios/NBCUniversal Television ("The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", "Will & Grace"), Sony Pictures Television ("Coma"), Big Ticket Television ("The Jamie Kennedy Experiment"), AND Syndicated Productions ("Judge Mathis"), Bruce Helford's Mohawk Productions ("The Drew Carey Show", "The Norm Show", "The Oblongs", "George Lopez"), John Wells Productions ("ER", "The West Wing", "Third Watch"), Chuck Lorre Productions ("Two and a Half Men", "The Big Bang Theory", "Young Sheldon", "Mike & Molly", "Mom"), Fremantle ("The All-New Let's Make a Deal", "Second Chance"), Jerry Bruckheimer Television ("Without a Trace", "Cold Case"), Bad Robot Productions ("Fringe", "Person of Interest", "Revolution"), Rockne S. O'Bannon Television, Miller-Boyett Productions – which was inherited from Lorimar ("Full House", "Perfect Strangers", "Family Matters", "Step by Step"), Berlanti Productions ("Arrowverse") and in 2010, Conan O'Brien's production company Conaco switched its affiliation to WBTV from Universal Media Studios, coinciding with O'Brien's move to his new talk show, "Conan" at Time Warner-owned TBS.
In August 2009 in Australia, The Nine Network and WBTV launched digital free-to-air channel GO! with WBTV holding a 33% stake in the new joint venture with Sony Pictures (titles were later picked up by rival Seven in 2011). During that, the network signed 4 more years with the output between 2011 and 2015.
On June 11, 2012, WBTV acquired Alloy Entertainment. On June 2, 2014, Warner Bros. Television Group purchased all of Eyeworks' companies outside of the United States, rebranding as Warner Bros. International Television Production. Eyeworks USA however, will remain independent.
In 2020, Warner Bros. Television was renamed Warner Bros. Television Studios as part of WarnerMedia's restructuring of its television divisions. It was announced that recently that former Keshet Studios employee Rachel Kaplan and her Absecon Entertainment company signed a deal with the studio. Despite the name change, the company is still traded as Warner Bros. Television for on-screen.
Local operations.
In addition to the main Warner Bros. Television Studios label, the company also owns and operates the following production companies in the United States:
Alloy Entertainment.
Alloy Entertainment is a creative think tank that develops and produces original books, television series and feature films. The company, a division of Warner Bros. Television Group, generates unique commercial entertainment franchises and collaborates with authors, leading publishers, streaming services, television networks and movie studios to deliver its properties to the world. Notable series and films produced by Alloy include "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", "Gossip Girl", "The Vampire Diaries", "Pretty Little Liars", "The 100", "The Sun is Also a Star", "Everything, Everything" and "You".
Blue Ribbon Content.
Formed in 2014, Blue Ribbon Content (BRC) is Warner Bros. Television's digital series production unit, continuing the Television Group's commitment to create new and compelling programming for the digital marketplace. BRC is charged with developing and producing live-action series for digital platforms, tapping the creative talent already working at the Studio while also identifying opportunities for collaboration with new writers and producers. In addition to live-action programming, BRC produces animated programming as well as content for emerging platforms such as virtual reality.
BRC takes its name from the classic "Blue Ribbon" features that show up in select Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons.
BRC's slate includes original program concepts as well as new shows based on Warner Bros.’s wide-ranging collection of intellectual property.
Live-action BRC productions include series such as the horror/thriller ' for Shudder and horror/comedy "The Pledge" for CW Seed, as well as the following original films: "The Banana Splits Movie" and "Critters Attack!" for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Syfy, plus "Good Girls Get High" for AT&T's DirectTV Cinema. BRC also produces the upcoming mixed-media series "BizarroTV" for DC Universe, plus the animated series ' for CW Seed.
Telepictures.
Telepictures is a producer of innovative, multiplatform television series and digital content for the first-run syndication, cable, streaming and digital marketplace. Programs produced by Telepictures have won 93 Emmy Awards in the last 20 years, including Outstanding Talk Show or Outstanding Talk Show Host for 16 of the last 19 years. Telepictures series include the No. 1 entertainment talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", as well as "Extra", "Judge Mathis", "The People’s Court", "The Real" and "TMZ", in addition to the NBC primetime series "Ellen’s Game of Games" and "Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways" (both produced in association with Warner Horizon Unscripted Television). Telepictures is also producing the upcoming Elizabeth Smart-led series "Smart Justice" for Lifetime and the new HBO Max competition series "Ellen’s Next Great Designer".
Television distribution and broadcast syndication arm.
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (formerly Warner Bros. Television Distribution) is the television distribution and broadcast syndication arm of Warner Bros. Television Studios, itself is the television production and distribution arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a division of WarnerMedia, managed under its Sales & Distribution division.
Established in September 1972, the arm was originally known as Warner Bros. Television Distribution before taking on its current name in 1989 following the acquisition of Lorimar-Telepictures.
International operations.
Australia.
Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia (WBITPA) was founded in 2004 as Eyeworks Australia before being rebranded in 2014.
As Eyeworks Australia, shows produced include "Celebrity Splash", "Being Lara Bingle", "Gangs of Oz" and "Territory Cops". Following the rebrand, WBITPA began producing "The Bachelor Australia" from its fourth season, spin-offs "The Bachelorette Australia" from its second season & "Bachelor in Paradise", as well as "First Dates", the eighth season of "Who Do You Think You Are?", the sixteenth season of "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Masked Singer Australia".
Spain.
The Spanish subsidiary was acquired as part of the Eyeworks takeover in 2014. Eyeworks España was renamed Warner Bros. International Television Production España in December 2015.
Shows produced by WBITVP España include ', based on "Ellen's Game of Games"; ', based on the British show of the same name; ', based on "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares; ," based on the British "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"; and ', based on the British "Come Dine with Me". Along with Mediaset España and Netflix, the company also co-produced "Brigada Costa del Sol".
United Kingdom.
Established as Shed Productions in 1998, the company was acquired by Time Warner in 2010, before being rebranded as Warner Bros. Television Productions UK in 2015.