There’s nothing quite like being a kid and waking up early on a weekend or rushing home after school just in time to catch your favorite shows. Waiting the week itching to see what happens next or just to see what your favorite characters are up to was an exhilarating time. The best way to watch most of these series was during TV blocks featuring many shows back to back in one sitting. They’d often advertise the shows under an umbrella for these blocks and would celebrate each series in its lineup like they were all part of some grand event. Here’s a list of just some of the best blocks of kids’ entertainment ever to be on TV.

The Disney Afternoon

Disney fans had a lot to look forward to once they got home from school with the Disney Afternoon, which ran on Disney Channel and Toon Disney throughout most of the 90s. There may not have been as big of a variety of content as other TV blocks, but everything that aired during the Disney Afternoon was nothing short of iconic. 

Some beloved cartoons aired during the Disney Afternoon, including DuckTales, Goof Troop, Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck. It’s also worth noting that this also features some of the catchiest TV theme songs ever. 

Toonami

For those who were able to stay up late to watch TV, there was Toonami which aired on Cartoon Network. Toonami was responsible for getting a lot of folks interested in anime, with shows like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, YuYu Hakusho, Zatch Bell!, and much more. They even aired some non-anime content from time to time, like Transformers: Animated. 

It was all hosted by TOM, a smooth-talking space robot. Let’s face it, TOM should have gotten his very own full-length series.

4Kids TV

Originally called “FoxBox,” 4Kids TV aired on Fox on Saturday mornings during the early and mid 2000s. It was made to replace the former Fox Kids and compete with Kids’ WB. While not quite as great or memorable as those blocks, it still was chock full of fantastic entertainment. It aired a solid mixture of anime and western cartoons, including Shaman King, Cubix: Robots for Everyone, One Piece, and Winx Club. 

What made it truly stand out, though, was a large amount of well-made series based on existing IPs. For instance, 4Kids TV featured Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, Sonic X, F-Zero: GP Legend, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, and the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. It was worth flicking between 4Kids TV and Kids’ WB on Saturday mornings depending on which show was on at a given time.

Fox Kids

Fox Kids may have just been a Saturday morning block of programming on Fox, which otherwise didn’t air content aimed at kids, but that once-a-week block could contend with full networks for kids’ entertainment like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel. It was home to some of the biggest and best shows at the time, like the X-Men animated series, Batman: The Animated Series, Digimon, multiple series of Power Rangers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, and The Tick. 

This block featured so many action-packed and entertaining shows it was hard not to love. Even its commercial bumpers were memorable. 

Kids’ WB

There never has been and never will be a TV entertainment block as great as Kids’ WB. It aired on the WB every Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for over a decade in the 90s and 2000s. The only reason Kids’ WB is no longer around is because the WB became the CW. Some of the most recognizable kids’ TV series aired on this block, like Pokémon, Animaniacs, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. There were also some forgotten gems like ¡Mucha Lucha!, Xiaolin Showdown, and Freakazoid!. It was also the home to the likes of Static Shock, Jackie Chan Adventures, and What’s New Scooby-Doo?.

Not only did it have some of the best content, but it had a fun aesthetic. The commercial bumpers and advertisements made it feel like the cartoon characters were always partying in the WB backlot together. If there was ever a reason to get up early on the weekend, it was to catch the next installments of Kids’ WB shows. Every week was a long wait filled with anticipation.

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