Cartoon Network�s Summer Hit Series Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends Greenlighted for 52 Episodes

Creator Craig McCracken to Executive Produce 26 Additional Episodes Covering Third and Fourth Seasons

Just six weeks following its spectacular premiere on Aug. 13, Cartoon Network�s Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends has been greenlighted for a full 52 episodes, it was announced today by Jim Samples, executive vice president and general manager, Cartoon Network Worldwide. The runaway summer hit from animator Craig McCracken, creator of the Emmy Award-winning The Powerpuff Girls, has topped the basic cable ratings and delivery charts among key kids demos during its time period every week since its launch. This order for an additional 26 episodes, combined with its original confirmation of 26 episodes, will see Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends through to a third and fourth season. Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends currently plays Fridays at 7 p.m. (ET, PT), with an encore at 10:30 p.m. (ET, PT).

�A critical sensation as well as an unqualified ratings hit, Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends is perhaps this summer�s best-received new series on any cable network,� said Samples. �I cannot think of another original animated series anywhere on television that has produced such dramatic results within such a short time. Craig and his team have created a truly marvelous program that has clearly resonated with kids and families. We�re delighted to give him and the show our full support with a complete order for 52 episodes, what�s traditionally recognized as a full-run for an animated series.�

In Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends, 8-year-old Mac reluctantly agrees to send his own imaginary friend, Blooregard, to a rather unique �orphanage� where others of his kind have been left by their original young owners. Mac convinces proprietress Madame Foster to let Blooregard move in, but worries that his pal will be adopted by another kid. After much cajoling and hijinks, and the home�s staff�a giant bunny-turned-house administrator Mr. Herriman and Frankie, Madame Foster�s sensible granddaughter�agree to let Mac visit often and keep Blooregard from being adopted by anyone else. There, Mac and Blooregard spend time with a particularly odd group of colorful residents: Wilt, the physically injured best friend for a sports-obsessed kid; Eduardo, fur-covered with horns and gruff voice, but more of a pussycat than monstruo; Coco, a scrambled creature that has spent too much time in the sun to be much of a conversationalist; and Duchess, everyone�s least favorite housemate with a designer pedigree and a snooty attitude.

McCracken�s first series for Cartoon Network was The Powerpuff Girls, which premiered in 1998. That Emmy Award-winning series was a worldwide hit that spawned a billion-dollar licensing business and a theatrical motion picture. McCracken, who attended the California Institute of the Arts, also worked as the art director for the four-time Emmy-nominated series Dexter�s Laboratory and served as art director on the first season of 2 Stupid Dogs.

Foster�s Home for Imaginary Friends is produced at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, Calif.

Cartoon Network, currently seen in 87.1 million U.S. homes and 160 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.�s 24-hour, ad-supported cable service offering the best in animated entertainment.