Amblin Television

Amblin Television is the television production division of Amblin Partners. It was established in 1984 by Amblin Entertainment as a small-screen production arm for Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories anthology for NBC.[1] The company has produced television series including Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, SeaQuest DSV, ER, Falling Skies, and The Americans.

This article is about the television production company. For the film production company, see Amblin Entertainment. For the parent company, see Amblin Partners.

Amblin Television

Type	Division
Industry	Television
Founded	July 31, 1984 (1984-07-31)
Founders	Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall
Headquarters	Universal City, California , United States
Key people	Justin Falvey (Co-President) Darryl Frank (Co-President)
Products	Television series
Parent	Amblin Partners

In 2012, DreamWorks Television, producer of such series as Spin City, Taken, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, United States of Tara, Smash, and the HBO film All the Way, was merged into Amblin Television.[2] Since then, the combined company has produced television shows including The Borgias, Under the Dome, The Haunting of Hill House and Roswell, New Mexico.

History

In the 1980s and 1990s, Amblin Television produced television series, specials, made-for-TV and cable films, and animated children's programming such as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs, along with television series adaptations based around Amblin's popular feature films such as Back to the Future, An American Tail, Casper, and Men in Black.[3] In the 1990s, they also ventured into live-action series production with Harry and the Hendersons, seaQuest DSV and Earth 2. The long-running cornerstone television series ER, produced by Amblin Television and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, first aired in 1994 and ran for 15 seasons until 2009.[4] The company also entered the streaming television market with specials and series including the documentary Five Came Back and The Haunting of Hill House, both for Netflix.

Merger with DreamWorks Television

In 2012, DreamWorks Television was merged into Amblin Television, the former having been founded by Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks SKG partners Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1996.[5] Soon after the DreamWorks merger, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey were named co-presidents of Amblin Television.[6] Under their leadership, the company would develop and produce several series including The Americans, The Haunting of Hill House, and Smash.

Current television series

Title	Years	Network	Notes
The Haunting	2018–present	Netflix	co-production with Paramount Television[7]
Roswell, New Mexico	2019–present	The CW	co-production with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios
Amazing Stories	2020–present	Apple TV+	co-production with ABC Studios, Kitsis/Horowitz and Universal Television
Brave New World		Peacock	co-production with Universal Content Productions

Future television series

Title	Years	Network	Notes
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous	2020	Netflix	co-production with DreamWorks Animation Television and Legendary Television[8]
Animaniacs		Hulu	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation[9]
Halo	TBA	Showtime	co-production with 343 Industries[10]
Resident Alien		Syfy	co-production with Universal Content Productions and Dark Horse Entertainment[11]
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai		HBO Max	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation[12]
Masters of the Air		Apple TV+	co-production with Playtone[13]
Spielberg's After Dark		Quibi

Former television series

Title	Years	Network	Notes
Amazing Stories	1985–1987	NBC	co-production with Universal Television
Tiny Toon Adventures	1990–1992	Fox Kids	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
Harry and the Hendersons	1991–1993	Syndication	distributed by MCA TV
Back to the Future: The Animated Series	1991–1992	CBS	co-production with Universal Cartoon Studios
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	1992–1993	ABC	co-production with Paramount Television and Lucasfilm
Fievel's American Tails	1992	CBS	co-production with Universal Cartoon Studios and Nelvana
The Plucky Duck Show	1992	Fox Kids	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
Family Dog	1993	CBS	co-production with Universal Television, Warner Bros Television, Tim Burton Productions and Nelvana
seaQuest DSV	1993–1996	NBC	co-production with Universal Television
Animaniacs	1993–1998	Fox Kids/Kids' WB	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
ER	1994–2009	NBC	co-production with Warner Bros. Television and Constant C Productions
Earth 2	1994–1995	NBC	co-production with Universal Television
Fudge	1995–1996	ABC/CBS	co-production with MTE, 1996–1997 as UTE
Freakazoid!	1995–1997	Kids' WB	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
Pinky and the Brain	1995–1998	Kids' WB	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
Casper	1996–1998	Fox Kids	co-production with Universal Cartoon Studios and The Harvey Entertainment Company
Men in Black: The Series	1997–2001	Kids' WB	co-production with Columbia TriStar Television and Adelaide Productions
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain	1998–1999	Kids' WB	co-production with Warner Bros. Animation
The Land Before Time	2007–2008	Cartoon Network	co-production with Universal Animation Studios
On the Lot	2007	Fox	co-production with DreamWorks Television and Mark Burnett Productions
Falling Skies	2011–2015	TNT	distributed by Warner Bros. Television; previously produced by DreamWorks Television in seasons 1–3
The Borgias	2011–2013	Showtime	produced by Showtime Networks, distributed by CBS (Season 2-3)
Terra Nova	2011	Fox	co-production with 20th Century Fox Television
The River	2012	ABC	co-production with DreamWorks Television, ABC Studios and Blumhouse Productions
The Americans	2013–2018	FX	co-production with Nemo Films, Fox 21 Television Studios and FXP; Amblin replaced DreamWorks Television in season 2 following the latter's dissolution
Under the Dome	2013–2015	CBS	co-production with CBS Television Studios and Baer Bones
Lucky 7	2013	ABC	co-production with ABC Studios
Extant	2014–2015	CBS	co-production with CBS Television Studios
Red Band Society	2014–2015	Fox	co-production with ABC Studios
The Whispers	2015	ABC	co-production with ABC Studios
Public Morals	2015	TNT	distributed by Warner Bros. Television; co-production with TNT
Minority Report	2015	Fox	co-production with Paramount Television and 20th Century Fox Television
American Gothic	2016	CBS	co-production with CBS Television Studios Full Fathom Five and Hyla Regilla Productions
Bull	2016–2019[14]	CBS	co-production with CBS Television Studios
Five Came Back	2017	Netflix
Reverie	2018	NBC	co-production with Universal Television
All About the Washingtons	2018	Netflix	Co-production with ABC Signature Studios
Why We Hate	2019	Discovery	co-production with Jigsaw Productions[15]
Tommy	2020	CBS	co-production with Atelier Paul Attanasio and CBS Television Studios
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind	2020	HBO	co-production with HBO Films[16]
Laurel Canyon	2020	Epix	co-production with Jigsaw Productions, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Warner Music Group and MGM Television

Television specials

Airdate	Title	Network	Notes
December 18, 1991	A Wish for Wings That Work	CBS	co-production with Universal Cartoon Studios

Television films

Airdate	Title	Network	Notes
August 24, 1992	The Water Engine	TNT	co-production with Brandman Productions, Majestic Films International and Planet Productions
January 26, 1993	Cooperstown	TNT	co-production with Brandman Productions
April 12, 1993	Class of '61	ABC	co-production with Universal Television
August 23, 1993	Arthur Miller's The American Clock	TNT	co-production with Brandman Productions
September 7, 1993	Percy & Thunder	TNT	co-production with Brandman Productions
October 15, 1994	Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies	The Family Channel	co-production with Lucasfilm and Paramount Television[17]
January 15, 1995	Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye	The Family Channel	co-production with Lucasfilm
October 8, 1995	Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen	The Family Channel	co-production with Lucasfilm
June 16, 1996	Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father	The Family Channel	co-production with Lucasfilm
May 21, 2016	All the Way	HBO	co-production with HBO Films, Moon Shot Entertainment and Tale Told Productions

References

1. Bennetts, Leslie (July 31, 1984). "Spielberg to Produce Adventure Series for Nbc". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
2. Littleton, Cynthia (June 19, 2013). "Steven Spielberg: Tackling TV on His Own Terms". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
3. "History of Amblin Entertainment – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
4. Bowes, Danny (April 15, 2013). "20 Years of TV: How 'ER' Was the Last Great Drama in Which the Show Itself Was the Star". IndieWire. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
5. Fabrikant, Geraldine (January 20, 1997). "Despite a Sluggish Beginning, Dreamworks Is Viewed as a Potential Hollywood Power". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
6. "Amblin TV Chiefs on Spielberg's 'Minority Report' Reboot, 'Extant' Changes and Their Message to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
7. "Everything You Should Know About 'The Haunting of Bly Manor'". The Hollywood Reporter.
8. "'Jurassic World' Animated Series Set at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter.
9. "'Animaniacs' Reboot Lands Two-Season Straight-to-Series Order at Hulu". Variety.
10. Tuttle, Will (June 28, 2018). "SHOWTIME, Amblin Television and 343 Industries Bring Halo to Television". Xbox Wire. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
11. Weiss, Josh (May 31, 2018). "Dark Horse's Resident Alien comic crash-lands a pilot order at SYFY". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
12. Otterson, Joe (February 25, 2019). "'Gremlins' Animated Series in the Works at WarnerMedia Streaming Service (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
13. Gonzalez, Sandra (October 11, 2019). "'Masters of the Air' from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks lands at Apple". CNN. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
14. Porter, Rick (May 9, 2019). "Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV Leaves CBS' 'Bull' Over Harassment Scandal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
15. "Steven Spielberg, Alex Gibney's Docuseries 'Why We Hate' Gets Premiere Date From Discovery (Exclusive)". TheWrap. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
16. "Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind | Documentaries". HBO. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
17. Sandler, Adam (October 14, 1994). "Young Indiana Jones & the Hollywood Follies". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

External links

• Amblin Television on IMDb