Cartoon Network Goes MAD on Sept. 6

Cartoon Network is going MAD, staring Sept. 6 at 8:30 p.m. with the debut of a new animated series based on the classic humor magazine.

The new series is a fast-paced series of comedy sketches, ranging from mash-ups like CSiCarly, Avaturds and The Fantastic Megan Fox to commercial parodies like Toys4Brats and bits inspired by classic magazine features such as Spy vs. Spy and the art of Don Martin.

The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation, with Sam Register serving as executive producer, and Mark Marek and Kevin Shinick as producers.

MAD began life in 1952 as a comic book created by Harvey Kurtman and published by Bill Gaines’ EC Comics. The series converted to magazine format in 1955 to avoid the restrictions of the Comics Code Authority that prompted Gaines to drop EC’s Comics line. Gaines ran the magazine until his death in 1992. The magazine famously refused through 2001 to accept advertising, therefore ensuring its ability to skewer even the most sacred cows. MAD is now owned by Warner Bros.

The series has previously been adapted to TV in an animated pilot produced in 1974 that eventually aired as a special in syndication. Another animated version was developed in the mid 1980s but never aired. The magazine also lent its name to the Fox sketch comedy show MADtv, which ran 14 seasons from 1995-2009.