CBS TV Studios Signs “Close Enough” Developer /FOX Toons Producer To Add To Animation Pipeline

In what could be a MAJOR coup in terms of talent for CBS TV Studios whom, off the back of the upcoming launch of affiliate network Showtime’s Our Cartoon President, the network could be looking to increase its output of quality animation, more specifically adult animation.

According to Variety, CBS has signed Katie Krentz as a new animation executive. Katie’s credentials are solid, she developed Close Enough for TBS which is coming later this year and also has FOX toon experience working on “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” “King of the Hill,” “Futurama,” and “Bob’s Burgers.” All this before she went to Cartoon Network to work on such popular names as Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, and a slew of others.

Our Take

CBS really hasn’t been a player in adult animation in decades. Last year they had the disastrous Michael Jackson prime-time special and that was the closest they got. Fortunately, Katie’s a heavy hitter in this arena and fans of her other works should be excited about this move. There have been rumors of a CBS/Viacom/Lionsgate merger coupled with CBS’ All Access streaming service, there’s a potential for a BUNCH of canvas in which to debut new series. Our Cartoon President for Showtime is already over 500k views at the time of this writing just for the first episode’s run on Youtube and that’s BEFORE the series premiere on February 11th @ 8 pm ET, 2018 could be the year when CBS becomes a MAJOR player in the animation space.