In the fifties, Popeye's cartoon catalog was sold by the Paramount studio to Associated Artists Productions for broadcast on television. Animated shows were also made for television in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
In 1960, the first "Popeye the Sailor" animated television series was produced for first-run syndication which proved successful. Like the earlier theatrical cartoon series, it would use many elements that were already well known, mostly the basic storyline of Popeye trying to keep his sweetheart Olive safe from the hands of other male suitors while using spinach to remain fit and healthy. Unlike the theatrical shorts however (especially the Famous Studios shorts), this TV series made a more prominent attempt to bring back characters and elements from "Thimble Theatre" back to Popeye's side, such as his old friend J. Wellington Wimpy, who had been considerably absent during the Famous era, and the show even included characters who never had the chance to appear in animation, such as Popeye's old lucky charm Bernice the Whiffle Hen and even Alice the Goon, King Blozo and Rough House (yet while bringing in more "Thimble Theatre" elements, very few episodes were a direct or accurate adaptations of the strips and had no real continuity between them). Notably, the only character that failed to return was Bluto himself, who was instead replaced by his lookalike/brother Brutus, due to King Features incorrectly thinking that the former was not originally a "Thimble Theatre" character. While the show did involve Popeye's love life, episodes actually focused more on his adventuring around the world (and beyond) not unlike the Fleischer and comic strip incarnation, and also brought back other "Thimble Theatre" antagonists rather than relying solely on Brutus, like the sinister Sea Hag and Toar the caveman, who proved to be a true challenge for Popeye. As in the final Fleischer cartoons and most Famous shorts, Popeye still wore his Navy uniform, an exception being the pilot episode "Barbecue for Two", where he did wear his original outfit.
In 1978, Hanna-Barbera Productions, with King Features Syndicate, would produce a new "Popeye" television series, "The All-New Popeye Hour". Unlike the previous show, this series had higher-quality animation and was more akin to Segar's work and Fleischer cartoons than other Popeye animations, with Popeye more regularly seen as an adventurous sailor. Popeye's look was once again changed for this series, this time it was a permanent return to his classic outfit, however he still wore his Navy hat, making it something of a combination of both styles. The series also gave characters such as Alice the Goon more prominence, having her co-star with Olive in their own segment, "Private Olive Oyl". This show focused more on adventure than past animations: there were entirely new segments dedicated to sailing the seas and searching for adventure, as in "Popeye's Treasure Hunt". Popeye and the Sea Hag's relationship was also more accurate to the strips than the previous series, with the Hag wanting to marry Popeye, much to the latter's disgust. Oddly enough, Popeye's signature spinach can would have special effects on other characters, such as Olive and Swee'Pea, who would unusually turn into actual superheroes.
In 1980, a theatrical live-action movie called "Popeye" was released, featuring an original story written by Jules Pfeiffer, directed by Robert Altman, and serving as a more faithful adaptation to Segar's "Thimble Theatre." It brought almost every friend of Popeye's to the silver screen, although it showed the well-known sailor (as whom Robin McLaurin Williams starred) as having an initial aversion to spinach, and the setting took place in a port town called Sweethaven, created on the island of Malta by Altman's set decorators. It eventually went on to gross $49,823,037; more than double the film's production budget.
"Popeye" was produced as a musical, with original songs whose music was composed and whose lyrics were written by Harry Nilsson; however, Sammy Lerner's familiar theme for the character, "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man," was retained in the final sequence.
In 1987, the latest animated series focusing on Popeye was produced, entitled "Popeye and Son". The series was unique in the Popeye franchise for taking place later in Popeye's life, where he had finally married Olive Oyl, settled down and had a son of his own (a notable change considering the rarity of having well-known cartoon characters actually move on with their lives). The series shared similarities with its predecessor, "The All-New Popeye Hour", having various references to "Thimble Theatre" and other media in Popeye's history such as the theatrical film, with the cartoon taking place in Sweethaven. However, the series didn't prove as popular as its predecessors and was eventually cancelled after 13 episodes. Being the last animated Popeye series on television, it can be considered somewhat fitting that it ended at a later and happier point in Popeye's life.
In 2001, Popeye received a tribute show on Cartoon Network titled "The Popeye Show", which only featured classic shorts but also adding trivia info and facts about Popeye as well as occasionally showing unaltered original versions of the shorts, with the series going on to have 45 episodes.
In 2004, a CGI-animated TV movie titled "Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy" was produced by Mainframe Entertainment for Lions Gate Entertainment and King Features Entertainment. An attempt at a full-fledged animated theatrical film was also made by Sony Pictures Animation for release in 2012, with test animation made by Genndy Tartakovsky, yet production on this film has apparently remained on an indefinite hiatus.
In 2012, IDW Publishing began a brand-new Popeye comic book that primarily stays faithful to the character's original comic strip incarnation by E. C. Segar and Bud Sagendorf, and features countless throwbacks and references to Popeye's old adventures and even features the return of many (if not all) of the characters from the classic era. As the series is more faithful to Segar and Sagendorf's work, the plots of each issue follow more closely to the original format of the older comics rather than the cartoons, and the art even replicates Segar's style flawlessly. In 2013, IDW held a special crossover event where they depicted many of the settings in their comics as being invaded by the Martians from the 1962 trading card game and 1996 film "Mars Attacks", with Popeye facing off against the 1962 incarnation of the Martians in the special "Mars Attacks Popeye".
Popeye's unique and commonly used design is one that is immediately recognizable, being always depicted as a gruff-looking yet skinny sailor with a large cleft chin, a single eye, a mostly bald head and very large forearms with anchor tattoos, while his outfit normally consists of a black dress shirt with a red neckline and sleeves with blue edges along with blue pants, brown shoes and a sailor's cap. During his first introduction in "Thimble Theatre", Popeye's appearance was not too different from his current one, the only difference being that his nose was noticeably larger, his chin was slimmer and his forearms were less round and more angular (and also a bit hairy), but as Segar's talent continued to grow, the design would change to match the well known sailor seen today. This design would be his most iconic and most used depiction used in many media, and most notably the first piece of Popeye animated media by Fleischer Studios.