Top 10 Shows that Were More Popular in Reruns Than Their Original Airings

1. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

   

   Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of Hanna-Barbera's long-running Saturday morning cartoon franchise, Scooby-Doo. It originally aired on CBS from 1969 to 1970. The show follows a group of teenagers and their talking Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, as they solve mysteries involving supposedly... read more

   If you see a Scooby-Doo rerun while scrolling through channels, you're definitely not skipping. But back when the show first came out, it's likely you'd have kept going due to no knowledge of the show.

   I'm not sure what the word for it is, but Scooby-Doo is a franchise that just somehow seems to have never-ending associated content.

   The original run only had 25 episodes. Nowadays, that's about the number of movies per decade the show gets.

2. Super Mario World

   

   Super Mario World is an animated musical comedy television series based on the popular Super Nintendo video game of the same name. The show features characters such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi in various adventures. It blends musical numbers with lighthearted storylines aimed at... read more

   The show during its original run was barely advertised, often preempted by local news or Saved By The Bell reruns, and aired alongside the garbage known as Yo Yogi! on NBC's slowly dying cartoon block. But now, it's known around the world for its memes.

3. The Critic

   

   The first season on ABC got low ratings, and the second on FOX also got low ratings, even with The Simpsons crossover. But it got popular in the 2000s, mainly after the short-lived webisode reboot and its DVD release.

4. The Jetsons

   

   The Jetsons is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963. New episodes were later produced from 1985 to 1987 for first-run syndication.

   The show failed compared to its stone age counterpart during its original airings, lasting a mere one season. However, high fan demand via reruns in the 70s and 80s made it so two more seasons of the show were added, although most people prefer the 60s episodes.

5. Wacky Races

   

   Wacky Races is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in association with Heatter-Quigley Productions. The show centers on 11 zany race cars and their eccentric drivers as they compete in comical road rallies across North America. Each contestant aims to win the... read more

   Fun fact: this was originally supposed to be a children's game show, which is why Heatter-Quigley (the production company behind "Hollywood Squares") was involved and is still mentioned in the credits despite the game show aspects being scrapped before the show went to air.

   Another Hanna-Barbera failure, originally lasting 17 episodes on CBS, the show gained popularity via reruns on the Turner cable networks.

6. Invader Zim

   

   Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim from the planet Irk, who is determined to conquer Earth with the help of his malfunctioning robot assistant, GIR.... read more

   It ran for a meager two seasons, but in reruns, it became a favorite for its darker sense of humor than something else on Nickelodeon like SpongeBob or Rugrats.

7. Sailor Moon

   

   Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. The series was originally serialized in Nakayoshi magazine from 1991 to 1997. The story was collected into 18 tankōbon volumes containing 52 individual chapters.... read more

   So, we meet again, DiC. Not only were their changes significant, but the fact that the timeslots were rather poor also contributed to its initial struggles. The show became a hit in the west once it hit Toonami.

8. House of Mouse

   

   Literally no one watched it when it was on 1SM. Once it was dumped to Toon Disney, it gained its cult following.

9. Samurai Jack

   

   Samurai Jack is an American animated science-fantasy action-adventure series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series premiered on August 10, 2001, with a television movie titled The Premiere Movie, and its original run concluded with its fourth season on September 25, 2004, without... read more

10. VeggieTales

    

    VeggieTales is an American Christian computer-animated series and multimedia franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. It features anthropomorphic vegetables in stories that convey Christian moral themes and biblical lessons. The series debuted in 1993 and became widely known for its humorous... read more

    When the classic episodes of the show were being released, nobody touched it except for Christian churches and private schools. That was until college kids working at Christian bookstores filled with VeggieTales VHSs and display TVs found it wasn't that bad, and so, a revolution began.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated

    

    Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated is an American animated mystery, comedy, and drama television series. It is the eleventh television incarnation of the Scooby-Doo media franchise created by Hanna-Barbera. It was the first series in the franchise that did not traditionally air on Saturday mornings, and... read more

12. ?

    The Woody Woodpecker Show

The Contenders

13. Freakazoid!

    

    Freakazoid! is an American animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block on The WB. The series originally aired from September 9, 1995, to June 1, 1997. It is known for its blend of superhero action and surreal comedy.

    The show got overshadowed by the other Spielberg/WB collaborations, but due to reruns on Cartoon Network, it gained some traction. Now, it's seen as one of the best cult classic 90s cartoons.

14. Family Guy

    

    Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of Peter, Lois, their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic dog, Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog... read more

    Cancelled twice on Fox, but Adult Swim saved it twice.

15. Press Your Luck

    While it had its share of fans during its three-year tenure on CBS (in that "sweet spot" between "Pyramid" and "The Price Is Right"), the bulk of its popularity comes from when the USA cable network (now better known for "NCIS" and "Modern Family" reruns) reran it for ten years. If it weren't for that, we probably wouldn't have the current reboot with Elizabeth Banks.

16. Futurama

    

    Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy who's cryogenically frozen and wakes up 1,000 years in the future. It blends satire, science fiction, and social commentary.

17. Tom and Jerry Tales

    

    Tom and Jerry Tales is an American animated television series featuring the iconic cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. The show originally aired from 2006 to 2008 and continued the slapstick humor that made the original cartoons famous. It maintained the characters' classic dynamic while introducing new... read more

18. Rick and Morty

    

    Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Adult Swim. The series premiered in 2013 and follows the misadventures of an eccentric scientist, Rick Sanchez, and his good-hearted but easily influenced grandson Morty. The show is known... read more

19. Looney Tunes

    

    Looney Tunes is an American series of animated comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. from 1930 to 1969. It was released during what is often referred to as the Golden Age of American animation. The series was created alongside its sister series, Merrie Melodies, and introduced iconic characters... read more

20. Merrie Melodies

    

21. The Looney Tunes Show

    

    The Looney Tunes Show is an American animated television series that premiered in 2011. It offers a modern interpretation of classic Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who navigate contemporary suburban life.... read more

22. New Looney Tunes

    

23. The Road Runner Show

    

24. Tom and Jerry

    

    Tom and Jerry is an American animated series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is best known for its 161 theatrical shorts produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which feature the comedic rivalry between Tom, a cat, and Jerry, a mouse... read more

25. The Tom and Jerry Show

    

    The Tom and Jerry Show, also known as The New Tom and Jerry Show, is an animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Hanna-Barbera Productions in association with MGM Television. It premiered on ABC in 1975. The show is based on the classic theatrical shorts featuring Tom and Jerry.

26. Ben 10: Alien Force

    

    Ben 10: Alien Force is an American animated television series created by the team Man of Action. It originally aired from 2008 to 2010 as the direct sequel to Ben 10. The show follows a teenage Ben Tennyson as he resumes his role as a hero while facing new alien threats.

27. Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

    

    Ben 10: Ultimate Alien is an American animated television series. It is the third installment in Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise and was created by the team known as Man of Action. The show follows teenage hero Ben Tennyson as he gains access to the Ultimatrix, a device that allows him to evolve some... read more