4 Years After HBO Max’s Controversial Removal, Looney Tunes is Officially Back on TV

It has been four years since Warner Bros. and HBO Max made one of the most controversial decisions for the streamer when they dropped the Looney Tunes cartoons. This was seen as terrible news for both fans of animation and television history, because it removed some of the most important and influential cartoons from fans. This also showed Warner Bros. complete disrespect for animated television, because HBO Max also removed several beloved cartoons it held the rights to, thanks to Cartoon Network. While cartoon fans were angry at losing Cartoon Network shows, it was a travesty for HBO Max to ditch Looney Tunes cartoons.

However, there is some great news for fans of the Looney Tunes cartoons. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Turner Classic Movies has licenced the rights to broadcast Looney Tunes shorts on linear TV. The deal is for six years, and TCM will be the “ongoing home” for the cartoons. Things start this month, with 45 Bugs Bunny cartoons hitting TCM. Bugs Bunny will be the “Star of the Month.”

This will then lead to new characters getting spotlights later, with Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Yosemite Sam. The idea is to have new blocks of programming each month for the next six years. “By making TCM an ongoing home for this iconic library, we’re able to present these cartoons with the care they deserve, alongside the classic films they helped influence,” said Charlie Tabesh, TCM senior VP programming and content strategy.

What is most interesting is that the cartoons are on a linear network and not available for instant streaming right away. This means specific cartoons will play before movies on TCM. An example is that Apes of Wrath (1959) will play before the airing of King Kong (1933). Buccaneer Bunny (1948) will play before Mutiny on the Bounty (1950). There are also some movies that will get multiple shorts before them, such as when A Night at the Opera (1935) will have Rabbit of Seville (1950) and What’s Opera Doc (1957) playing before it.

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This is great news because when HBO Max erased the Looney Tunes cartoons, it seemed like a slap in the face to people who love cartoons. Warner Bros. owns the cartoons, and it also owns HBO Max, but there is still licensing and curated exhibition that Warner Bros. has to pay for. In 2022, HBO Max dropped 256 Looney Tunes cartoons, and then in 2025, it dropped 255 more titles.

However, for people who want to see more Looney Tunes cartoons than what TCM is offering at any given time, there is also a chance to watch them for free on Tubi. That free-to-stream service has almost 800 classic Looney Tunes cartoons. This new deal with TCM is also interesting in its timing. With Warner Bros. selling to Netflix, there is no word on whether Netflix will also get Looney Tunes cartoons and rights in the purchase of the studio, although TCM is also under Warner Bros. Discovery’s umbrella for now.

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