TCM Just Saved Bugs Bunny — Where Can You Watch All of the Looney Tunes?
What To Know
- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has become the new ongoing television home for over 750 classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts.
- This move follows the removal of hundreds of Looney Tunes shorts from HBO Max in 2022 and 2025.
- TCM will celebrate the new partnership by spotlighting 45 Bugs Bunny shorts and curating related feature films.
Good news, toon fans. Bugs Bunny and the rest of theLooney Tunes and Merry Melodies crew have officially found a new home. TCM has become “the ongoing television home” of Warner Bros.’ legendary library, giving the animated icons a stable place to be seen again.
Back in December 2022, Variety reported that HBO Max removed 256 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melody shorts spanning from 1950 through 2004 after the licensing deal expired and Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to renew it. Shorts that were removed were released from 1950 through 2004 and included iconic favorites “What’s Opera, Doc?”, “Feed the Kitty,” “Rabbit of Seville,” “Duck Amuck” and “One Froggy Evening,” (as noted by Vulture).
Then in 2025, another 255 shorts disappeared from the platform. Many of these cartoons held historic significance to both animation and pop culture, and their removal left fans concerned that one of the most influential bodies of American animation was quietly removed.
Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
A fair amount of the classic WB cartoons were moved to free ad-supported streaming services like Tubi, but their extraction caused immense backlash from creators and fans.
However, Bugs seems to have found new digs as a treasure trove of over 700 shorts move to TCM.
“TCM is excited to become the ongoing television home of the Looney Tunes library,” said Charlie Tabesh, SVP, Programming and Content Strategy at Turner Classic Movies. “By making TCM an ongoing home for this iconic library, we’re able to present these cartoons with the care and they deserve, alongside the classic films they helped influence.”
“Featuring beloved characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, and more, the Looney Tunes library represents one of the most influential bodies of work in animation history. Through this ongoing presentation, TCM ensures these cartoons are celebrated, contextualized, and accessible to audiences of all ages,” TCM noted in a statement.
Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Beginning February 2 at 11/10c, more than 750 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts will begin airing on TCM as part of a new six-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-nominated 1940 Tex Avery short “A Wild Hare“will launch the slate, as it is considered the first “official” Bugs Bunny cartoon.
To celebrate their new home — and their newly crowned star, Bugs Bunny — TCM will spotlight 45 shorts featuring the wascally wabbit through February 7, followed by a curated lineup of related feature films.
According to TMC, February’s programming will also include a “curated selection of feature films that complement the animated shorts, offering viewers broader cinematic context and reinforcing TCM’s tradition of thoughtful, historically grounded programming.”
Remind