Oh my glob, great news: Cartoon Network is renewing five of its animated series. On Friday, the network announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Adventure Time, Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa, Steven Universe and newcomer Clarence have all gotten additional episode orders. With the new orders in place, Adventure Time will be returning for a seventh season, Regular Show will be returning for a sixth season, Uncle Grandpa and Steven Universe are getting full second seasons and Clarence has landed 13 more episodes.
The fact that Adventure Time is getting a seventh season is actually an extremely exciting achievement for the channel. During Friday’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, it was announced that Adventure Time’s big renewal marks the first time that a Cartoon Network series has ever made it to a seventh season. It's a worthy honor though considering how sneaky impressive the show's ratings are. The last season of Adventure Time aired in an almost primetime slot on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. ET and still managed to average an impressive 3 million viewers or so per episode. With Adventure Time and Regular Show anchoring the network, there should be plenty of good things to come.
Animated programs have a lot of longevity, so it’s no real surprise that Cartoon Network and Adult Swim opted to renew some of its biggest hits. Still, I think many of us often have that nagging feeling in our stomachs when our favorite shows are existing in limbo somewhere between renewal and cancellation. Today’s news will should capably alleviate that feeling for fans.
Clarence fans should be especially relieved by the extra episode order. The show has been in an uncomfortable space since the beginning of the month when showrunner Skyler Page was taken off the series and then fired from network amid allegations of misconduct towards female Cartoon Network employees. At the time, social networking blew up with the story, and the network seemed to want to distance itself from the award winning animator and showrunner immediately. While losing a showrunner doesn’t automatically damn a show, Page also voiced Clarence, leaving even more logistical problems if the show was to move forward. Clearly, an additional 13 episodes doesn’t mean the show will continue down the road, but it does give fans something to look forward to.
We’ll let you know as soon as Cartoon network announces premiere dates for the brand new episodes.
