Television series comprise a huge chunk of the schedule for San Diego Comic-Con — and every year it seems like they become a larger and larger piece of the pie. The lines for Ballroom 20 rival even those of Hall H, and they won’t be getting any shorter any time soon.
As the anticipation builds for the official announcements from networks and CCI as to which television shows will be on the panel schedule, we like to take time out earlier in the year to speculate which shows have the best chances of appearing at SDCC. We’ve broken up our picks into three segments, including the Broadcast Networks and Cable & Streaming Networks, and we’re wrapping up today with the family channels — Cartoon Network, Disney XD/The Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon.
As we’ve said in the other prediction posts, all of this really depends on the strike(s). Currently, just the WGA is striking, but signs are pointing to the DGA and SAG potentially joining them, which could make for a very light Hollywood year or a lot of prerecorded panels. Animation should be less affected at the con, though.
So what do we think you’ll be seeing at Comic-Con this summer? Let’s take a look:
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network tends to be very generous in their offerings at San Diego Comic-Con, and we bet this year is no different. While there’s no official release date yet for Summer Camp Island, it tends to both premiere in the summer (makes sense, doesn’t it?) and appear at SDCC — so we’re going to bet both of those things happen this summer as well for the series’ sixth season.
Likewise, there’s no release date for Craig of the Creek, but we bet you’ll be seeing the series back at the con come July. Their other currently running series, We Baby Bears may be less of a lock, as it aired episodes earlier this year and may be done for a few months, but never say never.
Last summer, the network went big for their preschool series Batwheels, giving it some outside promo on Petco Park even. This year, we bet that spot goes to Tiny Toons Looniversity, an upcoming reboot of Tiny Toons Adventures. It made an appearance last year on the Looney Tunes panel, and with it likely coming out around the con, it makes sense for it to invade both your TV and San Diego Comic-Con again.
For Cartoon Network’s two newest series, it’s very unclear where both are in production. There’s Battu, a musical series about a young group of misfit dreamers and dancers, from Oscar-winner Matthew A. Cherry; and there’s Invincible Fight Girl, about a young girl who dreams of becoming the greatest professional wrestler of all time. We’d definitely give the edge to the latter, as the con even has a long history with pro wrestling, but it will depend on how ready either is to being complete.
Disney XD / The Disney Channel
Similar to Cartoon Network, everything with Disney’s animated fare is just going to depend on where in production it is. Will we see the return of Hamster & Gretel? It aired episodes earlier this year, so it may be too soon. Same with Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur, Big City Greens, Kiff, and Chibiverse. For our money, The Ghost and Molly McGee feels like the most likely, as it will have also aired new episodes this year — but so far, only a few are slated for the spring.
We also think they’ll devote some time to Hailey’s On It!, a new series about a girl who must push past her fears and her comfort zone to discover greatness within and save the world. It starts airing in June, so should still have episodes on during and after the con. Of their upcoming animated fare, it’s the only one for sure coming in 2023, so it feels like a no-brainer.
There are several other series that could also make an appearance, including Cookies & Milk, Primos, and Zombies: The Re-Animated Series. It really just depends how close they are to airing.
Nickelodeon
Is it even Comic-Con without a panel for Nickelodeon’s longest-running series, SpongeBob SquarePants? We don’t think you’ll have to find out this year, as we’d be surprised if the beloved series skipped.
As we mentioned in the Cable & Streaming post, we also think you’re likely to see Star Trek: Prodigy, as parent company Paramount knows if there’s one place to go big on Star Trek, that’s San Diego Comic-Con. The animated series airs first on Paramount+, but it does eventually find its way to Nickelodeon, so we’re possibly cheating a bit by mentioning it in both places — but it’s our site, so our rules!
We also bet you’ll see something for Monster High, though it may not be a panel depending on where it is in production. The series has been airing episodes since the fall, but it’s been renewed for a second season. There’s also Transformers: EarthSpark, which will also likely depend on where it is in production. But at the very least, we’d be shocked if both weren’t represented at Nickelodeon’s booth.
For Nickelodeon’s newest series, there’s Max & The Midnights, based on the graphic novel series written and illustrated by Lincoln Pierce, about a girl dreaming of knighthood; Rock, Paper, Scissors which follows a group of roommates with a love for shenanigans; and Bossy Bear, a new preschool series. All three are slated to air in 2023, though there’s no official launch date for any at time of press. We would give the edge to the first two, with Max & The Midnights being the frontrunner thanks to its graphic novel pedigree.
