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128-488: Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man , commonly known simply as Duckman , is an American adult animated sitcom created and developed by Everett Peck , based on the characters he created in his 1990 one-shot comic book published by Dark Horse Comics . Duckman aired on the USA Network from March 5, 1994, through September 6, 1997, for 4 seasons and 70 episodes . It follows Eric Tiberius Duckman (voiced by Jason Alexander ),

256-402: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game was scheduled for USA Network due to NBC's commitments to the 2020 U.S. Open . Coverage of a primetime game against Clemson on November 7, 2020 , was also briefly moved from NBC to USA Network due to NBC News coverage of a victory speech by president-elect Joe Biden . With the shutdown of NBCSN at the end of 2021, USA Network once again became

384-491: A Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 1994, 1996, and 1997, respectively. Animated sitcom The Flintstones , which debuted in 1960, is considered the first example of the animated sitcom genre. A similar cartoon, The Jetsons , which took place in the future rather than the past, followed in 1962. Marc Blake argued it started the " science fiction sitcom sub genre". Animated sitcoms have been more controversial than traditional cartoons from

512-456: A "few cult hits and flops in the '90s", with almost nothing in the 2000s and more in the 2010s. Some critics called Duckman , based on a comic of the same, a "Simpsons-inspired sitcom" which had a pilot in 1991 and premiered in 1994 on the USA Network as part of the "network's Saturday night programming." The show features humans, animals, and hybrids of both intermingling, with "every design intentionally exaggerated and distorted", looking like

640-411: A "force for adult animation." In 1999, Family Guy debuted on Fox . The series was cancelled twice in the first three years, but became one of the network's longest-running series. It would later be praised for its humor, "cynical commentary, and sci-fi adventures" while having a sincere but tragic and real relationship between Brian and Pearl Burton. Beavis and Butt-Head , which began airing in

768-500: A 24-hour schedule, programming its new daytime block with the British soap opera Coronation Street , a health-oriented show named Alive and Well , and an afternoon movie. In fall 1982, the channel began running a mix of 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons each weekday evening from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. as part of the new USA Cartoon Express block, with sports programming airing after 7:00 p.m., which were rebroadcast during

896-531: A Baby . The tradition of game show reruns continued into the 1990s with the $ 25,000 and $ 100,000 Pyramids , the early 1990s revivals of The Joker's Wild and Tic-Tac-Dough , and other well-known shows such as Scrabble , Sale of the Century , Talk About , and Caesars Challenge . Additionally, two more original game shows were added in June 1994; these were Free 4 All and Quicksilver. In September 1991,

1024-535: A Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation , argued that culture and events of 1990s "can all be understood through a Simpsons prism." Some critics argued that The Simpsons was responsible for "popularizing adult animation" while influencing "satirical cartoons" like South Park and Family Guy . Others even said that The Simpsons opened the "door for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim" and praised it for being "extremely unique and ... constantly evolving." Andrew J. Crow of Time magazine noted

1152-406: A body; Bernice (voiced by Nancy Travis ), the identical twin of Duckman's presumed-dead wife Beatrice, a fanatical fitness buff who hates Duckman with a passion; and Grandma-ma (voiced by Travis), Duckman's comatose, immensely flatulent mother-in-law. Recurring characters include Agnes Delrooney (voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray ), Grandma-ma's doppelgänger who kidnaps her and poses as her until near

1280-447: A family, but it gives a "new take on the typical American family." Some described The Boondocks as profound, comedic, smart, silly, has social commentary on class relations, racism, and with a unique animation style. Some said that Apple TV+ 's Central Park was one of the best shows of 2020 and described it as the network's "first foray into adult animation." Certain comedians have created their own animated sitcoms. This includes

1408-575: A later date, when Shaw instead offered to carry the channel on the digital cable tiers of its Shaw Cable systems. In spite of this, the CRTC has since rejected the restructured proposal on the basis that USA's programming would be competitive with Mystery TV. Many of USA's original programs currently air on either Showcase or CTV Drama Channel . WWE programming that airs on USA also airs on Rogers Media -owned Sportsnet 360 . On October 17, 2024, NBCUniversal announced an agreement with Bell Canada to launch

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1536-553: A long-established partnership with WWF/ WWE and, for many years, limited sports programming. USA would increase its sports coverage significantly in 2022, after the shutdown of NBCSN , and now serves as the main cable component of NBC Sports . As of November 2023 , USA Network is available to approximately 70,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2011 peak of 100,000,000 households. USA Network originally launched on September 22, 1977, as

1664-535: A massive hit among American audiences. In response, ABC , CBS and NBC each developed animated series to air in prime time, but none of the shows were successful. One series, Capitol Critters , focused on subjects such as gun control, interracial violence and political corruption. In his review of the series, Variety critic Brian Lowry wrote that he felt that the series' approach was "muddled", and that "the bland central character and cartoonish elements ... will likely be off-putting to many adults, who won't find

1792-465: A multibillion-dollar purchase, renaming the merged company NBC Universal . GE retained an 80% ownership stake in the new company, while Vivendi retained a 20% stake. NBC Universal officially took over as owner of USA and its sibling cable channels (except for Newsworld International) in 2004. That year, USA premiered the sci-fi series The 4400 . In 2005, USA Network introduced a new logo and associated marketing campaign, "Characters Welcome". The slogan

1920-507: A parody of The Real World , which follows the misadventures of the housemates in the fictional show of the same name and uses a sitcom format with a reality TV show setting, was followed by a direct-to-video film and series finale titled The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! . Another antimated sitcom was Brickleberry which aired on Comedy Central from 2012 to 2015. It was created by Waco O'Guin and Roger Black , executive produced by O'Guin, Black, and comedian Daniel Tosh . It

2048-439: A popular streaming hub. Critics praised Tuca & Bertie and Solar Opposites for their take on humor and comedy . Shaurya Thapa of Screen Rant argued that Tuca & Bertie offered "a fresh and realistic take on the sitcom formula" while Rafael Motomoyer of Collider argued that Solar Opposites not only mixes "crude humor and knack for violence ... with a long-standing tradition of animated sitcoms" centered on

2176-544: A pre-beta to Adult Swim . In the United Kingdom , it aired on Sky 1 and BBC Two , and in Canada , it is a former program on MTV2 and Teletoon . The initial showrunners were Peck, Reno and Osborn, and the show was produced in association with Paramount Network Television . Klasky Csupo animated and produced the show; around the same time, they were also producing Aaahh!!! Real Monsters on Nickelodeon . In later years,

2304-407: A private detective who lives with his family. After airing in syndication, the series gained a cult following . Spin-off media include volume DVDs released from 2008 to 2009, a comic book collection released by Topps between 1994 and 1996, a Complete Series DVD set released in 2018, and a video game entitled Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick for Microsoft Windows . The series

2432-403: A programming block from Black Entertainment Television (which would eventually launch as its own network three years later, but now owned by Paramount as of 2001) and carried C-SPAN during the day. In 1981, ownership of the network changed. First, Time Inc. agreed to buy UA-Columbia's share of the network contingent upon Madison Square Garden owner Gulf + Western transferring its share of

2560-474: A question from a fan about the cliffhanger, "Was then (& now) an #XFiles fan (bride in ep was Dana Reynard, a Mulder-Scully hint) so involved gov't coverup of aliens". The series consists of 70 episodes that aired on Saturday nights from 1994 to 1997 on the USA Network . It later reran on Comedy Central from 1997 to 2008. In Spain , it aired on Canal+ in the 1990s and on Cartoon Network alongside The Critic from 2000 to 2001 on late-nights, vaguely as

2688-555: A revival of the mid-1970s game show Jackpot ; two more original game shows, Love Me, Love Me Not , and a revival of the short-lived 1980 series Chain Reaction , were added in September 1986. More shows were progressively added soon afterward such as The Joker's Wild , Tic-Tac-Dough , Press Your Luck , High Rollers , and Hollywood Squares (with John Davidson as its "Square-Master", or host), along with Wipeout , Face

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2816-474: A seven-disc set on January 6, 2009. Both DVD sets were released by CBS DVD / Paramount Home Entertainment . With the DVD releases, many episodes were edited to remove copyrighted music because of royalty issues, and as a result they differ somewhat from the aired TV episodes, though Everett Peck was involved in the process of the DVD releases and he felt the most important music was preserved. The Complete Series DVD

2944-509: A sneak peek on Cartoon Network on December 30, 2000, the series officially premiered on Adult Swim on September 2, 2001, the night the block launched. It ended on July 22, 2007, with a total of 39 episodes , over the course of four seasons. Later, in October 2018, a special , entitled Harvey Birdman: Attorney General , premiered, and a spin-off, Birdgirl , was ordered in May 2019. Some described

3072-574: A time, the block also included the 1989–1994 episodes of the Bob Saget run of America's Funniest Home Videos . "USAM" was discontinued in 2002; by that point, the only sitcoms airing on USA were daytime and late night reruns of Martin and overnight airings of Living Single , Cheers and Wings , with drama series and movies populating much of the channel's daytime and primetime schedule. In 2000, USA Networks bought Canadian media company North American Television, Inc. (a joint partnership between

3200-540: A unique style, and centered around "therapist discussions with real celebrities". In March 2000, the first few episodes of God, the Devil and Bob aired on NBC , with nine episodes unaired. The series didn't return until 2011, when the nine remaining episodes aired, from January to March 2011, on Adult Swim . Some said this was because Christian groups, like the American Family Association , had boycotted

3328-583: A viewership foothold with its original programming; this began in the 1990s with initial hits such as Silk Stalkings , Duckman and La Femme Nikita , which were gradually followed in the following two decades by series such as Monk , Psych , Shooter , White Collar , Mr. Robot , Suits , Burn Notice and Royal Pains . In addition to its original productions, the network airs syndicated reruns of current and former network series such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , Chicago P.D. , Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which spent

3456-455: Is a "veteran of adult animation" as he worked on Family Guy in the past. In June 2011, two scholars analyzed queer characters and themes in animated sitcoms, arguing that they create "space for queer resistance," analyzing themes, and text, in the animated series Family Guy . They also argued that analyzing the show using postmodern thematic analysis , it creates " deconstructionist instances" that, in their view, "expose and subvert

3584-415: Is also the home of the professional wrestling company WWE . WWE (formerly WWF) has had a longstanding relationship with USA Network going back to 1977 when broadcasts of Madison Square Garden events would air on USA Network. The first weekly WWE show on USA Network debuted on September 4, 1983, with WWF All American Wrestling . WWF Prime Time Wrestling broadcast on USA Network from 1985 to 1993 until it

3712-489: Is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast 's NBCUniversal . It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network , one of the first national sports cable television channels. It was relaunched under its current name on April 9, 1980, and in the years since then, USA steadily gained popularity through its original programming,

3840-404: Is changing, saying that it can be something that is "sophisticated, dramatic, beautiful and nuanced" rather than "crass and cruel." In January 2020, TZGZ , Syfy 's new adult animation block, ordered six 15-minute episodes of the series, which would later become Magical Girl Friendship Squad . At the same time, the short form version, Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins , began airing on

3968-467: Is not the only model for such animation, due to new shows coming to TV and streaming platforms like BoJack Horseman , Big Mouth , Rick and Morty and Undone , which some call a boom at the time that "high-quality adult animation shows" are being produced in France, Japan, and in other parts of the world, a new group of creators is pushing existing boundaries. Even so, fans of The Simpsons turned Hulu into

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4096-738: Is said that Jeremy is actually heterosexual but left his wife and children for Richard, who offered him an easy, no-maintenance life as his trophy husband. The following year, from January to December 2012, Unsupervised , an adult animated sitcom ran on FX . Although it was cancelled in November 2012 after one season, it was praised by critics as a coming-of-age story, with two clueless and ridiculous protagonists, while having "realistic looking backgrounds," contrasting with show's look in general. Jeff & Some Aliens , an animated sitcom aired on Comedy Central from January to March 2017. The plot surrounds three aliens who travel to Earth to find

4224-399: Is the case with Disenchantment , Final Space , Solar Opposites , Central Park , the short-lived series, Hoops , and Q-Force . This positioned Netflix as a leader of adult animation content. The creator of Bojack Horseman , Raphael Bob-Waksberg , said that the show is about "ourselves looking outwards" and argued that the voice actor for Bojack, Will Arnett , can find

4352-448: Is to help Duckman get rid of the impostor and reclaim his rightful place. A PlayStation port was planned for a release in the first quarter of 1997 but it was cancelled. The show was critically acclaimed. In January 2009, IGN listed Duckman as the 48th best in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows. Episodes "T.V. or Not to Be", "Noir Gang", and "Haunted Society Plumbers" were nominated for

4480-528: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Corporation of Canada ), owner of cable television channels Trio and Newsworld International (the CBC continued to handle programming responsibilities for NWI until 2005, when eventual USA owner Vivendi sold the channel to a group led by Al Gore , who relaunched it as Current TV ). One major shock happened when USA lost the broadcasting rights of

4608-748: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), to carry the USA Network in Canada as a foreign service that would be eligible for carriage by domestic cable and satellite providers (and to automatically allow all English-language general interest cable networks from the United States into Canada). However, because of programming rights issues with other Canadian specialty channels , certain programs would be subjected to blackout restrictions, including WWE Raw . In September 2007,

4736-514: The Madison Square Garden Network . The network carried Major League Baseball games on Thursday nights from 1979 to 1983, and the NHL on USA ran from 1979 to 1985. College Football on USA ran from 1980 to 1986, and its telecast of the 1981 Liberty Bowl was the first college bowl game to be exclusively broadcast on cable television. The NBA on USA also aired from 1979 to 1984,

4864-578: The Tennis Channel in 2009. The PGA Tour on USA covered the opening two rounds of the Masters Tournament from 1982 to 2007, Ryder Cup matches from 1989 to 2010, and various other events. The USA Network aired most games of the NFL-run World League of American Football (later NFL Europe/Europa) in its first two seasons of operation in 1991 and 1992; one innovation introduced for

4992-493: The hegemony of heteronormativity ." Allen Gregory had a short run in 2011 and was cancelled after the first season. This series featured Richard and Jeremy De Longpre, the fathers of the title character, Allen. Jeremy is a former social worker who had a loving wife and family, although this changed after Richard became one of his clients. Richard was attracted to Jeremy to the point where he started stalking him and his family until Jeremy finally agreed to be his husband. It

5120-407: The "Characters Welcome" tagline in the lead-up to the rebranding, whose associated programming shift was led by the premieres of Mr. Robot and Colony . Variety reported that the new programming strategy was designed to appeal to themes of "authenticity, resiliency, bravery and innovation". The Washington Post felt that the re-branding symbolically marked the end of USA's "blue sky" era, as

5248-452: The "foxhole humor" in Bob's Burgers has kept it going, and even argue that the humor in the children's animation, Animaniacs was "far more adult" than the original series in the 1990s . Later in 2020, the reboot of Animaniacs , an all-ages animation had an episode pulled which included a real sex hotline number, with the series no stranger to adult humor as the showrunner, Wellesley Wild,

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5376-419: The "most watched cable television series." In 2019, it was announced that a writer for Disenchantment , Shion Takeuchi, would be heading her own upcoming Netflix show titled Inside Job , with Alex Hirsch as an executive producer, With a woman named Alma as the protagonist, Takeuchi said she hoped it would "push the boundaries" of adult animation. Hirsch was also quoted as noting that adult animation

5504-432: The 1985–1986 season, the channel had four hours of original and exclusive shows. One original series from the 1985–1986 season was the comedy Check It Out! . USA, wanting to become the flagship cable channel and compete directly with the broadcast networks, committed to 26 half-hours of part exclusive off-broadcast network and part original programming for the 1986–1987 season at an increase of $ 30 million. In one case,

5632-593: The 2015–16 season. USA also participates in NBC Sports' broader effort of carrying all ten Survival Sunday matches across its numerous channels during the final matchday of the Premier League season. Starting in 2015, USA Network was similarly incorporated into NBC's coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs . In 2016, USA aired three NASCAR races as overflow during the 2016 Summer Olympics . In September 2020 ,

5760-484: The ANC connection, USA also aired the financial news program First Business (then produced by CONUS) at 6:30am weekday mornings for a time (the network had previously carried Wall Street Journal -produced financial news updates and a late-night report in the 1980s ). The ANC-produced updates continued through 2000 (ANC was suffering heavily around this time due to competition with other cable news channels such as CNN and

5888-490: The CRTC refused Shaw's request to carry USA Network in Canada on the basis that the channel carried too much programming that overlapped with the English language digital cable specialty channel Mystery TV (which is then owned by Canwest – later Shaw Media – and formerly, Groupe TVA ). However, on September 20, the CRTC stated that it would reconsider their denial of the eligible foreign carriage proposal for USA Network at

6016-470: The IDs showed people in the control room, while a studio that was being set-up by a crew was the backdrop for the "Tonight" menu that displayed the evening's schedule. Opening sequences leading into movie telecasts showed people running through the "USA Studios Film Vault". The new look coincided with a shift in focus, more towards off-network reruns and original programming; game shows and court shows were dropped from

6144-658: The Madison Square Garden Sports Network (not to be confused with the New York City -area regional sports network of the same name now simply known as the MSG Network). The network was founded by cable provider UA-Columbia Cablevision and the Madison Square Garden Corp. From its beginning (and for the next two decades) the network was run by chairwoman and CEO Kay Koplovitz . The channel

6272-670: The Music , and Name That Tune . In June 1987, the channel debuted another original game show, Bumper Stumpers (all four USA original game shows in this era were taped in Canada). When it began, the game-show block ran for an hour, but it expanded significantly the following year. By 1989, the network ran game shows Monday through Fridays from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. eastern. USA also aired late night reruns of Procter & Gamble soap operas The Edge Of Night from August 5, 1985, to January 19, 1989, along with Search For Tomorrow from 1987 until

6400-516: The Sci-Fi Channel to Seagram for $ 1.7 billion. In turn, Seagram sold a controlling interest in the networks to Barry Diller – who was previously head of Paramount Pictures when the company owned part of the network in the early 1980s and who was also credited with putting together the 1981 agreement which resulted in joint Paramount-Time-MCA ownership of the network – in February 1998, which led to

6528-544: The TV series. These were largely written and drawn by others, including Jay Lynch , Scott Shaw! and Craig Yoe . Topps also reprinted Peck's original 1990 Duckman comic. In January 2008, TVShowsOnDVD.com reported that Duckman would be coming to region 1 DVD. Details followed in May, when it was announced that the first release in the series would be the first two seasons, 22 combined episodes on three discs, on September 16, 2008. The final two seasons, 48 episodes, were released on

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6656-510: The WWF to Viacom in June 2000; Raw (which had been retitled Raw is War ) was moved to TNN in September of that year. In May 2002, USA Networks sold its non-shopping television and film assets (including USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel, Trio, USA Films (which was rechristened as Focus Features ) and Studios USA ) to Vivendi Universal for $ 10.3 billion. USA and the other channels were folded into Vivendi's Universal Television Group. In July 2002,

6784-467: The actions of the characters, as well as removing all references to fire from the episodes. As Beavis and Butt-Head began entered its last season in 1997, a new adult animation began airing on MTV which was titled Daria . It would praised for its "progressive characters", sense of humor, and ability to capture absurdity of teen life in suburbs. Beginning around the same time was South Park . It became an "icon for anti-censorship and free speech" and

6912-477: The aforementioned MSG Network). The network quickly added a mix of college and less well-known professional sports held at other venues, similar to those found during the early years of ESPN . In 1978, children's programming was also added to the lineup. On April 9, 1980, the channel changed its name to USA Network. It also added a children's program called Calliope to its schedule and some talk shows in an effort to appeal to women. The new network also offered

7040-487: The block was reduced to three hours, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. However, an additional hour was added in March 1993. In November 1994, the game show block was cut back to only two hours, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. On September 24, 1992, USA launched a sister network, the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy ), focusing on science fiction series and films. In January 1993, the channel began showing WWF Monday Night Raw , which

7168-490: The business news channel Bloomberg Information TV Monday thru Saturday from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. Eastern; in 2004, the Bloomberg simulcast moved to E! , where it ran until 2007 (USA was actually the second television network to simulcast Bloomberg's programming, the now-defunct American Independent Network also carried a simulcast of the channel during the mid-1990s). Bloomberg purchased the airtime from USA. In October 1995,

7296-647: The channel debuted Monk , a comedy-drama police procedural that starred Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk , a former San Francisco police inspector-turned-consultant who suffers from various obsessive-compulsive behaviors that include the ability to pay attention to detail when solving crimes. It became one of USA Network's first breakout hit series, and ran for eight seasons until it ended on December 4, 2009. In 2003, General Electric (GE) agreed to merge NBC and its sibling companies with Vivendi Universal 's North American-based filmed entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and Universal Television Group in

7424-497: The channel had been increasingly producing more "intense" series with darker themes. NBCUniversal marketing executive Alexandra Shapiro explained that the "Characters Welcome" campaign and associated programming was reflective of the "weirdly optimistic" mood of the network's key demographic at the time. In August 2016, NBCUniversal acquired the television rights to the Harry Potter film franchise from 2018 through 2025, including

7552-431: The channel picked up Airwolf for 58 off-network episodes, while commissioning 24 new episodes without the original cast. One tradition on USA was an afternoon lineup of game show reruns mixed in with several original low-budget productions that aired over the years. It began in October 1984 with reruns of The Gong Show and Make Me Laugh . In September 1985, the network began airing its first original game show,

7680-422: The comedy in anything. Nasdaq argued that shows like Disenchantment were "original content" which had helped Netflix "dominate the online video streaming market," and said that demand for original content will allow Netflix to expand its base of subscribers. This allowed Netflix to gain allegiance of smaller, but more fervent, fanbases, which garnered a wide viewership. Some critics noted that The Simpsons

7808-469: The content but that ABC, and their corporate owner Disney Company , reneged on their promises, and called the show "dead" even though there were six episodes that had not aired. Six episodes of the show, based on Kevin Smith 's 1994 comedy of the same title , were produced, but only two episodes aired before the show was cancelled by ABC. While the pilot of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law first aired as

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7936-481: The creation of USA Networks, Inc. ; the company also merged the cable channels with Diller's existing television properties including the Home Shopping Network and its broadcasting unit Silver King Broadcasting (which was restructured as USA Broadcasting , and eventually sold its stations to Univision Communications in 2001 to form the nucleus of Telefutura/UniMás ). In July 1995, USA began simulcasting

8064-500: The deal was valued around $ 250 million over the length of the agreement, making it one of the highest-valued film franchise deals. To launch the new rights, Syfy and USA both aired Harry Potter marathons over the July 13–15, 2018 weekend, airing all eight films (including directors' cuts of the first six) with limited commercial interruption. Amid the growth of streaming services (including NBCUniversal's newly launched Peacock ) and

8192-434: The decline of traditional cable television, USA Network began to cut back on scripted programming, in favor of reality shows, television events (including scripted miniseries ), and live programming—the latter including WWE programs and sporting events. In 2020, the network cancelled Dare Me , The Purge , The Sinner , and Treadstone . With the announcement that NBCSN would shut down on December 31, 2021, it

8320-474: The drama's seventh season in the fall of 2007; episodes would then be re-aired later in the season on NBC, most likely to shore up any programming holes created by the cancellation of a failed new series. Although this is not the first time a broadcast series has moved to cable (USA had acquired first-run rights to the revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents from NBC in 1987 , while The Paper Chase had moved beforehand from CBS to Showtime in 1983), it marked

8448-449: The early 1990s, another sitcom, was also controversial. This was due to its portrayal of brief nudity, profanity and violence. Although the series was intended for adult audiences, it was shown in the afternoons, and multiple parents claimed that their children had imitated the show's characters. After an incident, MTV responded by moving the series to a later airtime and adding disclaimers to future episodes stating explicitly not to imitate

8576-517: The end of the final season; Fluffy and Uranus (voiced by Musick), Duckman's two obsessively politically correct Care Bear –esque pink and blue teddy bear office assistants; George Herbert Walker "King" Chicken (voiced by Tim Curry ), a supervillain who schemes to ruin Duckman's life as retribution for ruining his high school tenure; Beverly (voiced by Travis), Beatrice and Bernice's long-lost sister; and Gecko, Duckman's pet dog (which he had stolen). In

8704-512: The episode "Bev Takes a Holiday") and works as a private detective. The tagline of the show, seen in the opening credits, is "Private Dick/Family Man". Main characters include Cornfed (voiced by Gregg Berger ), a pig who is Duckman's Joe Friday –esque business partner and best friend; Ajax (voiced by Dweezil Zappa ), Duckman's eldest, slow-witted teenage son; Charles (voiced by Dana Hill and later Pat Musick ) and Mambo (voiced by E. G. Daily ), Duckman's genius conjoined twins whose heads share

8832-555: The final episode, four couples (Dr. Stein/Dana Reynard, Duckman/Honey, King Chicken/Bernice, Cornfed/Beverly) get married – the last three in a joint ceremony. The kids, Fluffy and Uranus, and a number of characters from previous episodes are in attendance. As the ceremonies draw to a close, Beatrice (Duckman's supposedly deceased wife) appears and shocks the entire crowd. When Duckman asks how she can still be alive, Beatrice indicates Cornfed always knew. Cornfed says, "I can explain." The show then ends with "To be continued...?" superimposed on

8960-603: The final four seasons of its run as a first-run program on USA) and NCIS . The network also broadcasts a variety of films from the Universal Pictures library and select films from other movie studios (such as Sony Pictures Entertainment , Paramount Pictures , Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment ), airing primarily as part of its overnight and weekend schedule, and occasionally during primetime on nights when original programming or marathons of its acquired programs are not scheduled. USA Network

9088-536: The first part of season 2 of Disenchantment was released on Netflix . In February 2021, it was announced that Tyler, the Creator had teamed up with Lionel Boyce and Davon 'Jasper' Wilson to develop an animated comedy named Shell Beach . In March 2021 it was reported that King of the Hill would be revived, with characters aging 15 years from the end of the series. USA Network USA Network (or simply USA )

9216-455: The first time that a series which moved its first-run episodes from broadcast to cable television would continue to air episodes on a broadcast network while it was still a first-run program. On December 7, 2007, it was announced that USA Network would continue broadcasting first-run episodes of Raw through at least 2010. The June 1, 2008, premiere of In Plain Sight , starring Mary McCormack ,

9344-500: The first time that the NBA had a cable television partner. For 17 years from 1981 to 1998, USA aired a weekly boxing show, USA Tuesday Night Fights , which showcased bouts featuring up-and-coming boxers. Tennis on USA aired professional tournaments in the United States from 1984 to 2008, and was the longtime cable home of the US Open before its cable television rights moved to ESPN2 and

9472-610: The first-run teen sitcom USA High and reruns of Saved by the Bell: The New Class from 1997 to 2001, USA has not aired children's programming since that time), and replaced it with a block called "USAM", which advertised itself as "Primetime Comedy in the Morning". The block mainly featured sitcoms originally aired on network television that were cancelled before making it to 100 episodes (such as The Jeff Foxworthy Show , Hearts Afire and Something So Right ); however, for

9600-417: The growing relationship between Fry and Leela and an "alien relationship" (Kif and Amy). John Evershed, formerly showrunner on Happy Tree Friends and current founder of Mondo Media , argued that the "enduring popularity" of this genre is a result of The Simpsons , a massive "animation franchise," and said this proves "the time-tested formula" of the genre works, even though it was "controversial" when it

9728-404: The history of television," in terms of shows like Family Guy and South Park . These shows, and their subsequent franchises, were said to be part of a shift in the early 2010s toward adult animation , with darker and "more intricate animated comedies" such as Bojack Horseman and Rick and Morty released, with the latter reaching nine million viewers after the first season. Drawn Together ,

9856-526: The inaugural season of the revived USFL , and is one of the broadcast partners of the SuperMotocross World Championship and its Supercross and Motocross feeder series. High-definition simulcasts of USA Network sports coverage, and reruns of original programs produced in the format, were originally carried by Universal HD . In 2007, USA Network launched a HD feed. In February 2007, Shaw Communications submitted an application to

9984-704: The influence of The Simpsons on adult animation, with Family Guy , King of the Hill , and Bob's Burgers , among others, featuring some version of the same structure, while "non-family-based shows" have drawn from "Matt Groening's hyper-referential style, irreverence and slapstick humor." He quoted Alex Hirsch , creator of Gravity Falls , as describing adult animation as an "arms race of different ways to copy The Simpsons ." Two of Hirsch's friends from CalArts, Pendleton Ward (creator of Adventure Time ) and J. G. Quintel (creator of Regular Show ) were also inspired by The Simpsons. In 1989, The Simpsons began airing on Fox Broadcasting Company in prime time, becoming

10112-463: The introduction of a new logo (incorporating a star ridged into the "U" of the now-serifed "USA" logotype, replacing the Futura-typeface logo that had been in use since the network's start under the USA Network name in 1980), and a three-note jingle. Network IDs, feature presentation intros for movies and promo graphics were based around a behind-the-scenes look at the fictional "USA Studios"; some of

10240-453: The latter of whom had replaced original co-host Caroline Schlitt in 1991. Though this program was discontinued on March 7, 1998, late-night movie telecasts on USA continued to be branded under the "Up All Night" banner until 2002. Short news updates, branded as USA Updates, were broadcast early on, from 1989 until 2000. These segments were first produced out of KYW-TV in Philadelphia , as

10368-500: The main cable outlet of NBC Sports in 2022, with sports properties such as the Premier League, NASCAR, and the Olympics (including U.S. Olympic trials) moving to USA at this time. The U.S. Open , U.S. Women's Open , The Open Championship , and the Women's Open would move their early-round telecasts from Golf Channel to USA beginning in 2022. USA Network also carried eight games as part of

10496-604: The main film series and their spin-offs (with the first, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , to have its cable premiere in 2019), and other content. On cable, the films are to primarily be aired by USA Network and Syfy, and the deal also includes the ability for Universal Parks & Resorts to offer "exclusive content and events" related to the franchise (Universal Parks had already been involved in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attractions). The deal succeeded one with Freeform ; The Wall Street Journal reported

10624-494: The most average person to test and understand humans. Most episodes revolve around Jeff having a problem that the aliens can fix with a strange device. In December 2017, the series was canceled after one season. It was described as being "a witty and fun stoner alien romp" which is a comedy akin to Rick and Morty . Other animated sitcoms include Paradise PD , Tuca & Bertie , The Boondocks , and Momma Named Me Sheriff . Some series are on streaming platforms, as

10752-609: The most popular animated sitcoms in each U.S. state . They found that South Park is popular in Colorado , The Simpsons is popular in Oregon and Massachusetts , Family Guy popular in Connecticut , and King of the Hill popular in Kentucky and Tennessee. The report also stated The Simpsons and South Park are the two most popular animated sitcoms, while Rick and Morty is among

10880-415: The network dropped the entire game show block; it was replaced with a block called USA Live , which carried reruns of Love Connection and The People's Court , with live hosted wraparound segments between shows; that block was dropped by 1997 (some of the game shows that USA had aired can still be seen on GSN and Buzzr ). On June 17, 1996, the network unveiled a new on-air appearance, which included

11008-507: The network to its Paramount Pictures division. Shortly thereafter MCA Inc. also bought into the network with the three companies all owning equal shares. The three partners had a non-compete clause that would prevent them from owning other basic cable networks independently from the USA joint venture; however, it was acknowledged that Time also owned powerful USA Network rival Home Box Office . The said clause would cause Time Inc. to drop out of

11136-612: The network's WLAF telecasts was the in-helmet camera. Upon the 2004 purchase of Vivendi Universal by NBC, USA's sports division was immediately merged into NBC Sports . Since 2004 , the network has broadcast select events from the Olympic Games , as part of an expansion of NBCUniversal's broadcast rights to the Summer and Winter Olympics that allowed several of the company's cable channels rights to telecast Olympic events live (some of which are later re-aired on tape delay on NBC as part of

11264-524: The network's primetime and late night Olympic coverage). USA Network also carried games from the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2006 and 2010. During the 2014 Winter Olympics , USA aired Premier League soccer matches in lieu of sister channel NBCSN , due to that channel's full devotion to carrying coverage of Olympic events. After ratings success with those matches, USA began to air mid-afternoon Saturday games weekly during

11392-566: The network, and 17 NBC-affiliated stations agreed, leading to the show being stopped only after four episodes had aired. Even so, some religious leaders in the United Kingdom supported the show, and critics like Caryn James called it "a little risky" but "relatively benign" when compared to South Park , The Sopranos , and Sex and the City which aired at the time. In June 2000, Kevin Smith criticized ABC over its animated sitcom, Clerks: The Animated Series , telling EW that they delivered

11520-457: The ongoing series, Duncanville , is airing on FOX , co-created by Amy Poehler , Mike Scully , and Julie Thacker . Poehler said the series is inspired by The Simpsons . Another animated sitcom on Fox, Bless the Harts , starred Kristen Wiig , and was created by former Saturday Night Live staff writer, Emily Spivey . A September 2018 report by AT&T , using Google Trends , identified

11648-488: The onset. The Flintstones was originally oriented at parents, as an animated version of The Honeymooners , though it was primarily popular with children. David Bennett argued that when it was originally released, it was aimed at an adult audience, and called it the "direct ancestors" of current adult animation, because it covered adult subjects. Bennett stated that it specifically influenced The Simpsons , along with animations on Adult Swim and Netflix . His argument

11776-412: The original comics, with theme music from Frank Zappa and set its sights on "1990s incarnations of political correctness and censorship", making it, a critic argued, a precursor to Family Guy and BoJack Horseman . As for King of the Hill , some noted it had the a great example of "young, adolescent love" within adult animation, specifically between Bobby and Connie. The show was also described as

11904-544: The overnight hours. Weekends featured a mix of movies, some older drama series and talk shows during the morning hours, and sports during the afternoons and evenings. Overnights consisted of old low-budget films and film shorts, and music videos as part of a show called Night Flight . Between 1984 and 1986, USA's programming focus began shifting away from sports, and shifted towards general entertainment programs not found on broadcast stations, including some less common network drama series, situation comedies and cartoons. For

12032-510: The past few years. In April 2015, it was announced that WWE SmackDown would move to USA from sister network Syfy . In April 2016, USA Network unveiled a new branding campaign and slogan, "We the Bold". The campaign was designed to reflect the channel's current focus on "rich, captivating stories about unlikely heroes who defy the status quo, push boundaries and are willing to risk everything for what they believe in". USA had quietly discontinued

12160-567: The political satire biting enough to merit their continued attention. Similarly, kids probably won't be as smitten with the cartoon aspects or look". The series was cancelled after one month. The Critic was somewhat more successful, but achieved low ratings because of ABC's sporadic scheduling, and was cancelled by the network. Fox picked up the series, but cancelled it four months later. While Fox allowed The Simpsons to portray animated depictions of human buttocks, ABC would not allow similar scenes to appear on The Critic . Others stated that it

12288-502: The rights for SmackDown to Fox beginning in October 2019. In August 2019, WWE announced that its tertiary weekly program WWE NXT would return to USA Network on September 18, 2019, airing on Wednesday nights in a two-hour live format. From 1984 to 2016, USA Network was the longtime home of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show . USA Network has a longstanding history with sports, dating back to its existence as

12416-424: The same late-night programming block. In February 2020, Fox released an animated sitcom produced by Seungyong Ji and Jordan Grief titled Duncanville , focusing on the story of a kid who "daydreams of making it big without having to wear a suit and tie to do so." In September 2020, Magical Girl Friendship Squad began airing on SYFY. In interviews the same month, series creator Kelsey Stephanides hoped that

12544-529: The schedule, while cartoons were phased out. USA Studios also became the branding for USA-produced programming at this point. This logo was replaced in July 1999 in favor of a 'USA flag'-styled logo (whose design was slightly modified in 2002). In September 1996, USA replaced the USA Cartoon Express with the action-oriented children's block, USA Action Extreme Team ; the channel discontinued its animation block outright in September 1998 (other than airing

12672-411: The screen. In regards to this cliffhanger , Duckman writer Michael Markowitz offered the following shortly after the series came to an end: "We never formally planned Part II... and I'll never tell what I personally had in mind. I'm hoping to leave it to my heirs, for the inevitable day when Duckman is revived by future generations." On August 13, 2015, Markowitz posted on his Twitter page in response to

12800-532: The series as funny, entertaining, zany, and amusing. From August to October 2002, the final few episodes of The Oblongs , another adult animation, would air on Adult Swim after The WB did not air the last five episodes of the series. The latter, which some called a "stray gem in the early 2000s," was noted for the romance between a married couple, Bob and Pickles Oblong, who had a healthy relationship where both would "constantly support each other." In 2008, Usha M. Rodrigues and Belinda Smaill argued that bro'Town

12928-438: The series would expand the "types of new animated stories" with more variety in adult animation, allowing for "different ways" to do adult animation in the future. In December 2020, Hoops was cancelled by Netflix after its first season received low ratings and negative reviews. Hoops was described as "puerile comedy ... perfect for Trump 's America," not funny, and "crude, rude, and aimless." On January 15, 2021,

13056-515: The show running duties went to David Misch and Michael Markowitz. Creator and executive producer Everett Peck was with the show for its entire run. Producer Gene Laufenberg was with the show for most of its run. Scott Wilk and Todd Yvega created original music for the series, including the theme. The first season also featured music from Frank Zappa 's published catalog (Zappa died several months prior to this series' premiere). Between 1994 and 1996 various comic books were published by Topps based on

13184-905: The show utilized "subversive qualities of animation." From 1972 to 1974, Hanna-Barbera produced Wait Till Your Father Gets Home , an adult-oriented sitcom in the style of All in the Family . The series dealt with subjects such as feminism and the generation gap . In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of animated television programs appeared which challenged the Standards & Practices guidelines, including The Simpsons , Beavis and Butt-Head , The Critic , The Brothers Grunt , The Ren & Stimpy Show , Rocko's Modern Life , Cow and Chicken , I Am Weasel , SpongeBob SquarePants , Duckman , and All Grown Up! . In 1987, The Simpsons shorts debuted on Fox 's The Tracey Ullman Show . This show aired in prime time, meaning it

13312-532: The sole English-language mainstream adult-oriented animated sitcom until the 1990s, which saw the debuts of Beavis and Butt-Head , King of the Hill , South Park , Daria , Family Guy and Futurama . Some scholars argued that Matt Groening emulated the sci-fi genre shown in The Jetsons . Futurama would be complimented for its "intelligent, scientifically accurate, and humanized" approach to adventures, romances, and parodies of sci-fi. This included

13440-615: The station had already produced a number of syndicated news services (including the Group W Newsfeed) and Steve Bell , the former newsreader on Good Morning America , was employed as a primary anchor at the station. By 1993, production of USA Updates had been taken over by the All News Channel (operated as a joint venture of Hubbard Broadcasting 's and Viacom 's CONUS Communications); Bell had left KYW in 1992, when KYW's news operations were heavily revamped in response to falling ratings. Via

13568-439: The summer of 1989. In January 1989, USA debuted USA Up All Night , a showcase of low-budget feature films that aired as part of its weekend overnight schedule. Up All Night became a cult favorite among viewers for the comedic wraparound segments that were usually shown during breaks leading into (and sometimes, out of) commercials and between films that were hosted by comedian Gilbert Gottfried and model/actress Rhonda Shear ,

13696-546: The then-similarly formatted Headline News , and ended up shutting down in 2002); USA Network has not carried any news programming since the news updates were removed. USA was the first basic cable channel to pre-empt the syndicated television market by purchasing a package of 26 films from Disney 's Touchstone Pictures library in October 1989. To obtain the package, it spent an estimated $ 50 million to $ 60 million, with films including such box office hits as Dead Poets Society , Good Morning, Vietnam , and Three Men and

13824-414: The venture in 1987, as the company attempted (but failed) to buy CNN from Ted Turner and run it independently from USA. MCA and Paramount subsequently became the sole owners of the channel (being a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies). C-SPAN finally stopped sharing satellite space with USA on April 1, 1982, after having launched its own 24-hour feed two months earlier. USA began operating on

13952-638: Was USA's highest-rated series premiere since the 2006 debut of Psych , with 5.3 million viewers. In early 2009, USA Network acquired the network television rights for 24 recent and upcoming Universal Pictures films, including Duplicity , Funny People , Frost/Nixon , Land of the Lost , Milk , and State of Play . In 2011, control and majority ownership of then-parent NBC Universal passed from General Electric to Comcast . Comcast would buy out GE's remaining ownership in NBCU two years later. USA Network

14080-428: Was a "home grown animated sitcom" that is comparable to The Simpsons . Adult animation became more popular, premiering critically acclaimed shows such as Drawn Together , Family Guy , American Dad! , Archer , Bob's Burgers , Rick and Morty , BoJack Horseman , F Is for Family , and Big Mouth . Some argued that animated sitcoms have formed some of the "most enduring and valuable franchises in

14208-699: Was called "one of the most controversial shows on television." In May 1995, another adult animated sitcom began airing on Comedy Central . It was titled Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist , featured the voice talents of Jonathan Katz , Jon Benjamin , and Laura Silverman , won a Peabody Award in 1998. and was animated in a crude, easily recognizable style produced with the software Squigglevision in which all persons and animate objects are colored and have constantly squiggling outlines, while most other inanimate objects are static and usually gray in color. Some critics stated that this series offered "plenty of cleverness and humor for those who looked", with funny lines,

14336-484: Was confirmed by the fact that The Huckleberry Hound Show , created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera , became a "surprise hit with adult audiences." Even though some argued that The Flintstones later influenced The Simpsons , other scholars said that although the show caused a boom in primetime animation and "subverted conventional TV", the result would be driving animation out of primetime "for almost three decades". Despite this, scholar John Libbey argued that

14464-562: Was considered the key piece of the NBC-Comcast merger; Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan projected that USA contributed $ 9.5 billion to NBCUniversal's $ 44.8 billion value, with NBC contributing only $ 408 million. In 2014, the channel had dropped 18% in viewership and out of first place among the major cable channels. USA has been a key NBCUniversal asset accounting for one-third of advertising revenue for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group and $ 1 billion in annual earnings over

14592-408: Was described as a welcome addition to the "Sunday lineup," with passionate relationship between Bob and Linda Belcher while maintaining a large audience. In November 2020, the show was approaching its 200th episode. and that Some reviewers called Drawn Together a "bizarre and highly entertaining series" which has a unique style of humor and "level of self-parody." Some reviewers would point to how

14720-404: Was designed to help emphasize the wide range of programming the network offered, and to help USA Network establish itself more prominently as a brand. The launch of the campaign featured promos themed around the daily lives of characters from the network's programs. To contrast itself from the "grittier" offerings of other mainstream cable networks, USA Network's original programming during this era

14848-477: Was later described as one of the "more vulgar adult-animation offerings" of the 2010s, with Kaitlin Olson only staying "for the first season as the female lead," voicing a "recently transferred Yellowstone ranger named Ethel." It was also said that show had a divided reception from critics but received favorably by audiences, who appreciated the show's "shameless sense of offensive humor and fast-paced writing." Archer

14976-519: Was listed among IGN ' s "Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows" in 2009 and received three nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards . In a universe where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, the series centers on Eric Tiberius Duckman (voiced by Jason Alexander ), a widowed, lewd, self-hating, egocentric anthropomorphic duck who lives with his family in Los Angeles (as mentioned in

15104-606: Was marked by a focus on comedic and "optimistic" action and drama series, referred to as a "blue sky" approach. Notable examples of this programming strategy included Psych (2006), Burn Notice (2007), and Royal Pains (2009). In October 2005, Raw returned to USA Network after Viacom did not renew its broadcasting agreement with the WWE. On May 13, 2007 (in advance of NBC's 2007–08 fall upfronts presentation), NBC Universal announced that new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent would be moved to USA Network beginning with

15232-464: Was not self-censored as much as programs intended to air on Saturday mornings. As such, the show would have brief nudity and mild language, while dealing with mature themes and subjects such as death, gambling addiction, religion, and suicide. The first full-length episode, " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ", debuted on December 17, 1989. It is the first American animated sitcom not to have a laugh track , unlike other animated sitcoms prior. It remained

15360-409: Was not until the early 1990s that "cartoons specifically for adults" rather than children, did not come to "mainstream prominence" until after the success of The Simpsons , with Fox later airing King of the Hill and Family Guy both of which "generated massive audiences." As animation critic Reuben Baron described it, for a long time, "adult action/drama cartoons" were scarce on television, with only

15488-429: Was one of the first national cable television channels, utilizing satellite delivery as opposed to the then-industry standard microwave relay to distribute its programming to cable systems. Unlike other cable networks at the time, it also was the first to rely greatly on advertising revenue. At launch the network mostly broadcast sporting events from Madison Square Garden to a national audience (sharing programming with

15616-414: Was released on February 6, 2018. In May 1997, a point-and-click adventure computer game, Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick , was released for Microsoft Windows . In it, Duckman has become a famous detective, and a television series based on him is about to debut, but someone is pushing Duckman out of his own life and replacing him with a bigger, better, heroic Duckman. The player's goal

15744-478: Was released. Evershed also said that the show made clear that animation is "more than just kids content ." Others also argued that the show marked a turning point in U.S. attitudes "toward cartoons written primarily for adult audiences" The Simpsons would later win the Guinness World Records award for "Longest-running animated sitcom (by episode count)." Chris Turner , author of Planet Simpson: How

15872-478: Was said to be a "standard bearer" for adult animation and an "eclectic comedy" and praised for its "tight, fast-paced, and ever impressively intelligent dialogue," with a "power couple": Sterling Archer and Lana Kane. American Dad! was praised for breaking away from the "cynicism and formulas of its adult animation contemporaries" with the romance between Stan Smith and Francine said to be a wonderful romantic pair akin to Archie and Edith Bunker . Bob's Burgers

16000-463: Was sold to the original iteration of Viacom ; the following year, MCA was acquired by Seagram . In April 1996, Viacom, which also owned MTV Networks , launched a new classic television network called TV Land . MCA subsequently sued Viacom for breach of contract , claiming that it had violated the non-compete clause in its joint venture agreement with MCA. A judge presiding over the case sided with MCA, and Viacom subsequently sold its stake in USA and

16128-429: Was subsequently revealed that USA and Peacock would collectively assume its remaining sports broadcasts. In December 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that USA Network was considering a return to original scripted series in the vein of the "blue sky" era, citing the recent resurgence in the popularity of Suits (which concluded in 2019) after the series was acquired by Netflix that year. USA Network has achieved

16256-597: Was superseded by WWE's flagship cable program Raw . The series originally aired on USA Network from its debut in January 1993 (when the promotion was known as the World Wrestling Federation) until the series moved to TNN in September 2000, before returning to USA Network in October 2005. On January 7, 2016, WWE's second flagship program SmackDown moved to USA Network from Syfy . In 2018, USA Network renewed its rights to Raw for five additional years, but lost

16384-445: Was the first weekly WWF program on USA to air in front of a live audience. In September 1993, USA adopted a new on-air look centering on the slogan "The Remote Stops Here", with flat graphics suggesting a television camera's in-lens symbols and music consisting of electric guitar and synthesized noises, though the movie presentation openers were retained from the previous design. In 1994, Paramount Pictures parent Paramount Communications

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