Tooning in Saturday nights: “Sventoonie” renewed for a second season
Toony the Tuna is not only an A.M. hit, he’s a nighttime one too
Back in January 2021, this space heralded MeTV’s “Toon In With Me” as one of the ten things to watch in the new year ahead.
Well, the daily classic cartoon show strip is not only a hit with viewers, it actually spun off a show that’s now been renewed for a second season and is also a hit with viewers.
The Weigel-owned subchannel Tuesday announced a second season renewal for Sventoonie, a spin-off of not only Toon In With Me but also the show preceding it on Saturday nights, the long-running Svengoolie movie showcase (this has to be the first time in TV history a show spun off of not one shows but two.)
Sventoonie is basically Toon In’s Toony the Tuna puppet (voiced by Kevin Fleming) dressed up like Svengoolie, the horror movie host played by Rich Koz as he trains him on how to be a horror movie show host. Sventoonie features sketches, horror movie clips, and other comedy segments.
“We are so excited for the MeTV audience to see more of Sventoonie and friends hanging out in Svengoolie’s dungeon bringing mayhem, their favorite classic horror movies and one or two jokes your 14-year-old may have to explain,” said Donna D’Alessandro, executive VP and content for MeTV owner Weigel Broadcasting in a statement. “In the words of Sventoonie’s sidekick Blob E. Blob (horn blast sound effect), Yeah! We’ll be back!”
You can tell she’s really pumped up. And why not? The two-and-a-half hour block of fun comes as most networks abandoned original programming on Saturday nights long ago. Svengoolie technically isn’t “original programming” since much of the show is a classic horror (or comedy) film, but it’s close enough.
If you want to catch Sventoonie however, you have until July 16 as its first season concludes as there are no plans to air reruns this summer. Instead, Batman reruns fill the 9 p.m. Central slot in the interim until October 1, when the new season of Sventoonie premieres.
Meanwhile, Leila Gornstein announced last week she was departing Toon In to focus more on her improv work with Second City. With the show since day one, Gornstein had been a writer on Toon In and has appeared in sketches as numerous different characters as her final appearance was June 24. No word yet on a replacement.
Hello, Tooners! ?
— Toon In With Me (@tooninwithmetv) June 24, 2022
Thank you for watching today's farewell to Goldie and for your kind words! We know it's bittersweet but there's still a lot to come ☺️ Bill and Toony look forward to welcoming old and new friends to Toon In With Me! ?#tooninwithme #metv pic.twitter.com/EdZUpJxAYn