Premiering September 23rd, 2000, Static Shock was a highly-rated, critically-acclaimed success out of the gate, and continued to grow in popularity during its second, third and fourth seasons. Featuring
a strong cast of characters and stories that ranged from real-life
issues to just general super-hero mayhem, Static Shock packed a lot into
its run of fifty-two episodes.
The
show was based on the Milestone (Published by DC Comics) comic book of the same
name. Created by Dwayne McDuffie, Static was retooled from his older
comic counterpart to a teenager. Characters from the comic regularly
appeared and throughout its four seasons, various DC super hero guest
stars, from Batman to Green Lantern, appeared on the show as well.
With it's many real-life guest stars (ranging from Shaq to Lil' Romeo),
Static Shock had a strong fan following. The fans continued to
watch the show, which was apparent; it had strong ratings on its original home of Kids WB! and again on
Cartoon Network, Static Shock has stuck around in popularity for the
half-a-decade it's been on-air.
Despite the shows continually high ratings, the show was kept alive for
only four seasons, eventually having production cease when funds were
depleted. With no income from licensing and marketing deals (Subway was the only
restaurant chain that carried a Static Shock promotion), the show
wouldn't outlast the usual run of fifty-two episodes, despite the
network being continually pleased with it's performance and doing all
they could to keep it alive as long as they did.
The show received six nominations, two of which it won in "Outstanding
Achievement in Music Direction and Composition" and the Humanitas Prize
for the "Children's Animation Category."