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The Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The Flintstones, was the first successful primetime animated series in the United States, running from 1960-66 ( and in reruns since ).

While many networks followed the show's success by scheduling other cartoons in the early 1960s, including Scooby-Doo, Where Are You !, The Jetsons, Top Cat, and The Alvin Show, none of these programs survived more than a year ( save Scooby-Doo, which, despite not being a primetime cartoon, has managed to stay afloat for over four decades ).

However, networks found success by running these shows as Saturday morning cartoons, reaching smaller audiences with more demographic unity among children.

Television animation for children flourished on Saturday morning, on cable channels like Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, and in syndicated afternoon timeslots.