Animation Domination (2005-2014)

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Welcome to Attack the Block, series that looks at animated programing blocks of the past and present. As Fox is set to unveil it’s latest show: The Orville this weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to talk about FOX’s Animation Domination.

At its peak, it was a Sunday Night challenger to Adult Swim, a rival with original animated programming for an older audience. But it’s demise in 2014 was linked to a number of missteps and failed starts that doomed the once popular block. No, when FOX pulled the plug on Animation Domination, depending on who you talk to, it was rightfully deserved.

Before the Animation Domination, Fox was already using the Sunday night timeslot after NFL games for cartoons, including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Futurama. Fox’s 7:00 PM premiere time for Futurama would be met with spillover from NFL games, meaning episodes sometimes wouldn’t premiere at all. Additionally, network executives had reportedly begun to dislike the series, Futurama was cut in late 2003. At the same time, Variety was reporting Fox was asking for a pilot to an animated sitcom with political humor, titled American Dad!

A year and a half later, on May 1, 2005, Fox launched Animation Domination with an all new lineup, bundling the iconic King of the Hill and Simpsons, with an all new American Dad and revived Family Guy. Without Fox’s help, McFarlane’s now iconic series may not be around. Malcolm in the Middle also premiered it’s final season, and left the block in 2006.

From 2005-2008, ratings were solid along with the lineup, but 2008 was the first adjustment to Animation Domination, and the one that may have effectively doomed the block in the long term. King of the Hill, which had dipped around 2 million viewers since the block’s inception but had steadied around 5 and a half million viewers, was cancelled. In the same time-frame, Fox announced a Family Guy spin-off titled The Cleveland Show would replace it.

The following year was the full fledged force of Seth McFarlane, with Family Guy, American Dad, and the Cleveland Show dominating with high ratings. The Simpsons also remained, and a 2D animation/Live Action hybrid series titled “Shut Up and Sit Down,” lasted for a single season before being canned for low ratings.

For the next two years, Fox found success with The Simpsons and McFarlane’s sitcoms continuing to hold steady ratings, but in 2011, they attempted adding two new series into the mix. Allen Gregory tried and failed, being panned by critics as “barely funny” and never denting ratings in the short time of its lifespan, but Bob’s Burgers, found grand success, as some touted it as a spiritual successor to King of the Hill.

Napoleon Dynamite, which was expected to attract the cult following of the film, launched and burned out in 2012, with viewership no higher than McFarlane’s trio.

But the next year would put the block in a tight situation.

In 2013, McFarlane’s once high rated set of series were now seeing a drop-off, and ratings for the entire block were on the decline, leading to the cancellation of The Cleveland Show in the same year. FOX went even further and launched Animation Domination High-Def, meant to target the Adult Swim audience, and scout series that could land on the Sunday Night programming block.

But while the new spin off found viral success on YouTube, it failed on tv., presenting the Animation Domination brand irrelevant, and Fox on a new track to try something new.

On September 21, 2014, Animation Domination, lasting almost 10 years, ended with the series that started alongside it: American Dad.

Fox currently airs ‘Sunday-Funday’ a block meant to interlace live action and animated series together, but there just hasn’t been a solid programming fit.

The Simpsons has held steady, but the remaining Fox McFarlane series, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers, were declining year over year in viewers. The live-action lineup has failed to succeed either, as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Last Man on Earth are down as well.

This Block’s Verdict?

Animation Domination’s reliance on McFarlane cost Fox Futurama and King of the Hill, both of which still have somewhat huge followings through syndication. Fox’s situation also gives a solid understanding about the problem with programming blocks in the era of the dying living room: attempting to target the younger adult demographic is becoming more difficult, as staying on a channel for more than an hour just isn’t happening as often without massive shows like The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones.