Claim: The plot of Scooby-Doo involves gleaning knowledge.

Scooby-Doo is an American animated cartoon franchise , comprising several animated television series produced from 1969 to the present day . The original series , Scooby-Doo , Where Are You ! , was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969 . This Saturday-morning cartoon series featured four teenagers -- Fred Jones , Daphne Blake , Velma Dinkley , and Norville `` Shaggy '' Rogers -- and their talking brown Great Dane named Scooby-Doo , who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps .   Following the success of the original series , Hanna-Barbera and its successor Warner Bros. . Animation have produced numerous follow-up and spin-off animated series and several related works , including television specials and made-for-TV movies , a line of direct-to-video films , and two Warner Bros. -- produced theatrical feature films . Some versions of Scooby-Doo feature different variations on the show 's supernatural theme , and include characters such as Scooby 's cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo in addition to or instead of some of the original characters .   Scooby-Doo was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1975 , when it moved to ABC . ABC aired the show until canceling it in 1986 , and presented a spin-off featuring the characters as children , A Pup Named Scooby-Doo , from 1988 until 1991 . New Scooby-Doo series aired as part of Kids ' WB on The WB Network and its successor , The CW Network , from 2002 until 2008 . Scooby-Doo ! Mystery Incorporated aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2013 , and Be Cool , Scooby-Doo ! debuted on Cartoon Network in 2015 . Repeats of the various Scooby-Doo series are broadcast frequently on Cartoon Network and its sister channel Boomerang in the United States as well as other countries .   In 2013 , TV Guide ranked Scooby-Doo the fifth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time .