AWN has an interesting article on what makes an animated show a hit. Some factors include good writing (The Simpsons), the show’s pedigree (“I’ll open Matt Groening or (The Family Guy’s) Seth MacFarlane or (King of the Hill’s) Mike Judge’s submission first”), already established characters (book-based Arthur created 25 years ago), having a creator with a vision driving the show (SpongeBob SquarePants), and an appeal to demographics across the board (Futurama’s problem). The writer concludes that “there probably isn’t a ‘secret ingredient’ that can guarantee, or increase the odds of a primetime animation hit, if there were, the networks would be wall to wall in them. Maybe it’s more of a secret formula, one that isn’t really all that secret: a creator with a vision instead of a knock-off… a network willing to give that vision time to realize itself and connect with its audience… and viewers who recognize a show they’ve never seen before as one they want to watch week after week”.