"ChalkZone" was the creation of Bill Burnett and Larry Huber, with Huber's idea of a boy with magic chalk and Burnett's idea of a world behind the chalkboard. The concept's origin dated back during the production of Hanna Barbera's "What a Cartoon!" where Seibert originally wanted Huber to develop a cartoon for the showcase and assigned him with Burnett, who was writing for "Cow and Chicken" at the time, to develop a pilot for a potential series. Development fell through at the last minute from the result of Warner Bros. Animation acquiring Hanna Barbera Cartoons. The concept came back when Seibert developed Frederator Studios and was pitched as a short on Nickelodeon's "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" before getting the greenlight in 1998. In 1999, "ChalkZone" became the first spin-off of "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" to enter production and be greenlit. Despite this, "ChalkZone" did not make it to the air until 2002, as the initial 13 green-light episodes were shortened to 6 due to executive reasons, all which were completed by 2000. The show's air-date was up for debate until the lack of new programming and America's critical situation at the time led the decision to air the series in 2002. Frederator Studios announced in 2005 that the series had been cancelled at 40 episodes.