Saturday morning preview specials were aired on television annually to present previews of each network's fall lineup of

Saturday-morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

children's programming. Like for their new prime time counterpart shows,

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

would film a preview special for the fall season. These would often air as part of the regular network schedule, or be made available to their affiliates for airing at any time, especially to fill timeslots which contained programming canceled months before.

Format

The Saturday morning previews were generally aired on the network in prime-time, usually the Friday night before the new schedule began. Specials were staggered between differing time slots and days in order to allow each network's show to stand out. The preview specials are usually hosted by stars of one or more of the network's popular series and feature an array of special guests, with the continuity between each program preview being fictionalized with a small plot or theme to keep viewers interested. The previews were for new and returning series, with each preview featuring the show's opening credits and a scene from that program. They also unveiled a network's new imaging for Saturday morning programming.

History

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

created a half-hour syndicated film called "Here Comes a Star" (1964) with Bill Hanna and

Joe Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian i ...

playing themselves promoting its newest series, ''The Magical Gorilla Show''. The program, hosted by ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

'' announcer

George Fenneman George Watt Fenneman (November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997) was an American radio and television announcer. Fenneman is best remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's '' You Bet Your Life''. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, ...

, offered an inside look at the animation studio and a peek at the upcoming feature, ''

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear ''Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!'' is a 1964 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released by Columbia Pictures. The film stars the voices of Daws Butler, Don Messick, Julie Bennett, Mel Blanc, and J. Pa ...

''. The first network preview special was ''The World of Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant'' (1965), a 60-minute special airing on NBC in primetime to celebrate Hanna-Barbera's first animated series made for Saturday morning television.

Decline

CBS, which had only irregularly carried preview specials, aired its last in 1985. The other two major networks continued near-annually. NBC's last was in 1991, as by 1992, the network had abandoned cartoons in favor of its teen sitcom block

TNBC TNBC (or Teen NBC) was an American teen-oriented television programming block that aired on NBC from September 12, 1992, to September 28, 2002. The Saturday morning block featured live-action series – primarily in the form of scripted teen si ...

. ABC continued an annual Saturday preview special as part of its TGIF block through the 1990s, finally ending the practice in 1999, TGIF's last year in its original form.

4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

aired preview specials sporadically for its two blocks, FoxBox and

The CW4Kids Toonzai (formerly known as The CW4Kids from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, or stylized as TOONZAi) was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was c ...

. Neither Fox Kids nor

Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming service and brand of The WB that aired on the network from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006. The block moved to The CW (a result of the merger of Time Warner's The W ...

continued the practice as an annual tradition, though both had aired one-off preview specials in the 1990s. Because the preview specials incorporated clips from a variety of sources with cross-platform licensing, it was legally impossible to sell them in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

packages or release them on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

or streaming services.

Year-by-year guide

Syndication

* 1964 - Here Comes a Star (hosted by George Fenneman) promoting The Magical Gorilla Show

ABC

* 1969 - Super Saturday Cartoon Preview (hosted by the cast of the Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Jonathan Frid from Dark Shadows) * 1971 - The Brady Bunch Visits ABC (hosted by The Brady Kids from The Brady Bunch) * 1972 - The Brady Bunch Meet ABC's Saturday Superstars (hosted by The Brady Kids from The Brady Bunch) * 1973 - Sneak Peek (hosted by Avery Schreiber and Jack Burns) * 1974 - Funshine Saturday (hosted by Lee Majors from The Six Million Dollar Man) * 1975 - Funshine Saturday (hosted by Jim Nabors and Ruth Buzzi from The Lost Saucer) * 1976 - Sneak Peek (hosted by Jimmy Osmond) * 1977 - All-Star Saturday (hosted by Kaptain Kool and the Kongs) * 1978 - All-Star Saturday (hosted by

Jimmy McNichol James Vincent McNichol III (born July 2, 1961), known professionally as Jimmy McNichol, is an American former child actor and singer who first gained fame as a teen idol in the late 1970s. At the beginning of his career his popularity quickly gr ...

and Kristy McNichol) * 1979 - Plastic Man and ABC Saturday Morning Sneak Peek (hosted by Michael Young) - Due to a cartoonists' strike delaying show premieres, this special aired over two weeks before the plugged season debuted, and a second preview special, The Plastic Man Preview Hour, aired on Saturday of the following week. * 1982 - Pac Preview Party (hosted by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

) * 1983 - Preview Special (hosted by Dick Clark) * 1984 - Saturday Morning Preview Park (hosted by "Weird Al" Yankovic) * 1985 - Saturday Sneak Peek & Fun Fit Test (hosted by Tony Danza) * 1988 - (hosted by cast of Mr. Belvedere) * 1989 - Perfectly Strange Saturday Morning Preview (hosted by cast of Perfect Strangers) * 1990 - ABC Saturday Morning Preview (hosted by Roseanne Barr and cast of Family Matters) * 1991 - (hosted by cast of Family Matters) * 1992 - ABC Sneak Peek with Step by Step (hosted by cast of Step by Step) * 1993 - ABC Saturday Morning Preview Special (hosted by cast of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) * 1994 - Whole New Level of Fun (hosted by cast of Boy Meets World) * 1995 - Saturday Morning Jam Preview Special (hosted by Gary Owens, Marquise Wilson, Raven-Symoné and Zachery Ty Bryan) * 1996 - Saturday Morning Preview Party (hosted by Melissa Joan Hart) * 1997 - One Saturday Morning (hosted by Charlie, played by Jessica Prunell) * 1998 - One Saturday Morning on Friday Night (hosted by Meme, played by Valarie Rae Miller and Salem of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) * 1999 - One Saturday Morning on Friday Night (hosted by Meme, played by Valarie Rae Miller)

CBS

*1969 - CBS Funtastic Preview (hosted by Sebastian Cabot,

Johnny Whitaker John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959) is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on ''Family Affair'' from 1966 to 1971. He also originated ...

and

Anissa Jones Mary Anissa Jones (March 11, 1958 – August 28, 1976) was an American child actress known for her role as Buffy Davis on the CBS sitcom ''Family Affair'', which ran from 1966 to 1971. She died from combined drug intoxication at the age of 1 ...

of ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

''; featuring Sebastian Cabot,

and

of ''

'') *1974 - Socko Saturday (hosted by cast of ''

The Hudson Brothers The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a rec ...

''; featuring cast of ''

'') *1975 - Dyn-o-mite Saturday (hosted by

Bern Nadette Stanis Bernnadette Stanis, also billed as Bern Nadette Stanis (born Bernadette Stanislaus, December 22, 1953), is an American actress and author. Stanis is best known for her role as Thelma Evans, the only daughter of Florida and James Evans Sr. on the ...

Jimmie Walker James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and comedian. Walker portrayed James Evans Jr. ("J.J."), the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series '' Good Times'', which ran from 1974 to 1979 ...

and

Ralph Carter Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

from '' Good Times''; featuring

and

from '' Good Times'') *1976 - Hey, Hey, Hey! It's the CBS Saturday Preview Special (hosted by ''

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert and himself. Film ...

'', guest starring ''

'' *1977 - The Wacko Saturday Morning Preview and Other Good Stuff Special (hosted by cast of '' Wacko''; featuring cast of '' Wacko'') *1983 - Preview Special (hosted by

Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...

; featuring the Krofft Puppets, and

) *1984 - Saturday's The Place (hosted by

Joyce DeWitt Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress and comedian known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' from 1977 to 1984. Early life Joyce DeWitt was born April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and g ...

; featuring

) *1985 - All-Star Rock 'N' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular (hosted by

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

, featuring

‘s clones)

NBC

*1965 - The World of Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant (

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

and Joseph Barbera introduce '' The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'') *1968 - Saturday Morning Preview Special (hosted by

The Banana Splits ''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...

also known as "Tonight's Special Guest Stars," The Amazing Flying Banana Boys *1972 - Howdy Doody and Friends (featuring the cast of

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

) *1973 - Starship Rescue (featuring

Kevin Tighe Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

and

Randolph Mantooth Randolph Mantooth (born Randy DeRoy Mantooth, September 19, 1945) is an American actor who has worked in television, documentaries, theater, and film for more than 40 years. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he was discovere ...

from ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

''; Billy Barty,

and

Scott Kolden Scott Cary Kolden (born February 11, 1962) is an American sound engineer and former child actor. Beginning his professional show business career at the age of eight, Kolden is perhaps best known for his Disney film roles; as Leonard in '' The M ...

from ''

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters ''Sigmund and the Sea Monsters'' is an American children's television series that ran from September 8, 1973 to October 18, 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings. It was syndicated by itself from December 1975 to ...

''; and characters from the world of Sid & Marty Krofft) *1974 - Preview Revue (hosted by

Jimmy Osmond James Arthur Osmond (born April 16, 1963), also known as Little Jimmy Osmond, is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds. As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six gold r ...

; featuring

) *1975 - Preview Revue (hosted by

The Lockers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

; featuring

) *1976 - Smilin' Saturday Morning Parade (hosted by

Freddie Prinze Frederick James Prinze Sr. (born Frederick Karl Pruetzel; June 22, 1954 – January 29, 1977) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Prinze was the star of the NBC-TV sitcom ''Chico and the Man'' from 1974 until his suicide in 1977. Prinze ...

; featuring

) *1977 - C'mon Saturday (hosted by

Andrea McArdle Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress best known for originating the role of Annie in the Broadway musical '' Annie''. Career McArdle was born in Philadelphia. While studying dance as a child, she was spotted by a talent agent who got ...

from ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''; featuring

from ''

'') *1978 - The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars (hosted by Bay City Rollers) *1979 - The Thing Meets Casper and the Shmoo (hosted by

Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid ...

) - Due to a cartoonists' strike delaying many season debuts, this special was cancelled and never aired. *1983 - The 1st Annual NBC Yummy Awards (hosted by

Ricky Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

and

Dwight Schultz William Dwight Schultz (born November 24, 1947) is an American television, film and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action series ''The A-Team'' and as Reginald Barclay in the ''Star Trek'' ...

) *1984 - Laugh Busters (featuring

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows: * ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series * ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon {{Disam ...

Kidd Video ''Kidd Video'' (originally in development as ''Hot Rocks'') is an American Saturday morning live action/cartoon created by DIC Enterprises in association with Saban Productions. The series originally ran on NBC from 1984 to 1985. Reruns conti ...

, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Snorks,

Pink Panther and Sons ''Pink Panther and Sons'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng. The series was originally broadcast on NBC from 1984 to 1985 and moved to ABC in 1986. Friz Freleng ...

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...

) and ( K.I.T.T.) from TV series "Knight Rider" *1985 - Back to Next Saturday (starring

Keshia Knight Pulliam Keshia Knight Pulliam (born April 9, 1979) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actor, and landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992), which earned her a nomination for ...

and

Lisa Whelchel Lisa Diane Whelchel (born May 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author, and life coach. She is known for her appearances as a Mouseketeer on ''The New Mickey Mouse Club'' and her nine-year role as the preppy and wealthy Blai ...

, guest starring

and

) *1986 - Alvin Goes Back to School *1987 - ALF Loves a Mystery (hosted by

Benji Gregory Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg (born May 26, 1978), known professionally as Benji Gregory is a former American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Brian Tanner on the sitcom '' ALF''. Life and career Gregory was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...

& ALF from '' ALF''; featuring

& ALF from '' ALF'') *1989 - Who Shrunk Saturday Morning? (hosted by cast of ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

''; featuring cast of ''

'') *1991 - NBC's World Premiere Cartoon Spectacular

FOX

*1991 - Fox Kids Preview (This special wasn't aired on television; instead it was discarded and shelved in order to cut costs.) *1999 - Fox Kids Sneak Preview (hosted by cast of '' Malcolm in the Middle''; featuring cast of '' Malcolm in the Middle'') *2002 - What's Inside the FoxBox? (hosted by cast of ''

Spy Kids ''Spy Kids'' is an American spy family action-adventure comedy franchise created by Robert Rodriguez. The plot follows adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage organization. The films i ...

''; featuring cast of ''

'') *2003 - Fight for the FoxBox

The WB

*1995 - ''Welcome Home, Animaniacs!'' -

Preview (hosted by

Harland Williams Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing starring roles in the short ...

; featuring

) *1996 - ''Kids' WB! Sneak Peek''

The CW

*2008 - ''

Brand Spankin' New Spectacular Sneak Peek Party'' (hosted by Hudson Horstachio from ''

Viva Piñata ''Viva Piñata'' is a video game franchise created and produced by Xbox Game Studios and Rare. The series' first game, '' Viva Piñata'' (2006), was conceived as a mobile gardening game before Rare was acquired by Microsoft. It was released on ...

; featuring Hudson Horstachio from ''

'') *2010 - ''The CW4Kids Toonzai Friday Fall Preview'' (hosted by Sonic the Hedgehog from

Sonic X is a Japanese anime television series based on Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. Produced by TMS Entertainment under partnership with Sega and Sonic Team, and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, ''Sonic X'' initially ran for 52 ...

; featuring Sonic the Hedgehog from

)

References

External links

TV: Preview of Saturday Cartoons (1983)
at the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' {{Kids' WB American television specials Children's television series Children's television in the United States Morning Preview special Lists of television series by genre