Batman: The Animated Series is an American television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Originally, 85 episodes aired on Fox from 1992 to 1995. A further 24 episodes were aired under the title The New Batman Adventures after the show moved to The WB. Both series have since aired together on various other networks, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Jetix, and The Hub. Each episode is a TV half-hour (22 minutes plus commercials).

The series is part of what has become known as the DC Animated Universe, which consists of eight animated television shows and six animated films, largely surrounding DC Comics characters and their respective mythos.

Series overview

Episodes
Note: This article lists the episodes in their DVD release order, rather than by their original air dates, because the original air dates severely differed from production order.

Season 1 (1992–1993)
 65 episodes were produced for Season 1 because it is the minimum number of episodes necessary for a TV series to be successfully syndicated. 60 episodes were initially aired during the 1992–1993 television season from September 1992 to May 1993. The final five episodes of Season 1 were held back until September 17, 1993.
 Episodes 1 to 28 were released on DVD in the Batman: The Animated Series Volume One set, episodes 29 to 56 in the Volume Two set, and episodes 57 to 85 in the Volume Three set.

Season 2 (1994–1995)
Due to the show's success, the Fox network executives ordered a second season of 20 more episodes while the 65 episodes of the first season were still airing. Season 2 featured Robin more prominently; eleven of the 20 episodes were given the onscreen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin.

After airing five of the 20 episodes in May 1994, the network reduced the series to airing only weekly on Saturday mornings. Ten more episodes were broadcast in this format in September–November 1994 under the Adventures of Batman & Robin title. Once these fifteen episodes had premiered (the final five were held back until September 1995), the weekday slot was restored to include reruns of the entire series. All previous episodes were shown under the new title for all remaining airings on Fox, as well as several VHS releases.

The entirety of Season 2 was released on DVD as part of the Batman: The Animated Series Volume Three set alongside the final nine episodes of Season 1.

Season 3 (1997–1999)

Three years after the second season of Batman: The Animated Series ended production, the show was moved from Fox to The WB, which was airing and producing Superman: The Animated Series. These shows were merged into an hour-long segment called The New Batman/Superman Adventures. The WB wanted more episodes of Batman, so 24 new episodes were produced featuring a format that focused more on Batman's supporting cast.

In addition to the network's demands, the producers decided to make the show match the graphic style of Superman, so all the characters were redesigned to use fewer lines, usually referred to by the fans and creative staff as the "revamp" (or alternately, the "new look"). Later, a similar graphic style was used with further shows and films in the DC Animated Universe.

The entire series was released on DVD as Batman: The Animated Series Volume Four (From The New Batman Adventures).

Crossovers

Superman: The Animated Series

Static Shock

See also
 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
 Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

References

 Cinefantastique, Vol. 24, #6/Vol. 25, #1, February 1994 (special double-issue, with multiple articles on the Fox Network run).

External links
 

 
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series episodes
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman