Cartoon Network To Run 'Boondocks'

By: Dave Astor "The Boondocks" TV series is slated to appear on the Cartoon Network, E&P has learned.

"We're excited, because he's a genius," a Cartoon Network spokesperson said today -- referring to Aaron McGruder, who pens the topical "Boondocks" comic strip for Universal Press Syndicate. The spokesperson added that the series will start no earlier than late 2005.

Fox reportedly had first dibs on the animated show, which is being produced by Sony Pictures Television. But the network passed on the pilot, and the Cartoon Network subsequently won the rights. It ordered 15 half-hour episodes, which will run as part of the cabler's "Adult Swim" lineup, which airs Saturday through Thursday nights from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. The spokesperson said "The Boondocks" series will occupy a "prime position" during the first half of that six-hour block.

There has been no announcement of the actors cast to voice McGruder's characters.

The Atlanta-based Cartoon Network is a division of Turner Broadcasting.