...hmmm. I've got to tell you, reading this report leaves me feeling conflicted and anxious.
If this is to be the end of
Foster's, fine; I've said my bit on that, and I stick by it. At this point, though, I can't pretend to be anything other than apprehensive about the possible implications of his new production and development role at CN. Certainly, I'm delighted for him personally; this sounds like a significant promotion, a genuinely important creative supervision role that will allow him to influence and improve Cartoon Network's future output as a whole, demonstrating the trust and faith the network have in his talents. My fear, however, is that Craig's involvement in this Cartoonstitute project (which, with its 20-month brief, is clearly a major undertaking) will pretty much put paid to the possibility of a
true Craig McCracken production emerging any time in the near future. Let's face it, we know that Craig isn't one of these "hands-off" creators; he directs every single episode of his shows, and gives every impression of being creatively involved at every level, and I can't see him being able to do that once he has 150 other shows to polish, inspect and rubber-stamp. If I'm honest, deep down I never really expected
Foster's to be renewed for a seventh season, but I was certainly hoping that we might get some inklings of a follow-up project; heck, in my more wildly optimistic, romantic moments I was hoping we might even see a
Powerpuff revival. Instead, it sounds to me more like we're about to enter an era where almost all of CN's output will have the McCracken branding upon them, but at the cost of having a show for Craig and his fans to really call their own...
We'll see how it goes, though. We still have at least one more full season of
Foster's left to go, and whatever happens, I'm sure that Craig and CN will have some treats in store, but the way it looks to me now, it seems as though the end of
Foster's might be the end of an era in more ways than one.
EDIT: Cassini, wouldn't that most likely refer to the upcoming airing of Season Six?
Foster's hasn't aired regularly for months now, so I would presume that that was why it was said to be "returning"...