Sam Register to Depart Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios Europe

Sam Register, longtime head of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, is departing Warner Bros. Discovery after his contract expires, with the company saying the move was mutually agreed. The announcement, coming from Warner Bros. TV Group chair Channing Dungey, notes that Register will exit next week, after an 18-year run leading WB Animation and a prior decade at Cartoon Network. His tenure included influential shifts such as expanding animation output across streaming platforms, broadening Cartoon Network’s scope, and oversaw popular titles and projects across the WB animation banner. Colleagues and executives described the departure as surprising, and a search for a successor is now underway while other leaders inside the studio will maintain operations. Register’s career began in 1994 at Cartoon Network, with a legacy that helped shape Toonami, Adult Swim, and landmark shows that defined modern western animation. The coverage across outlets, including Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Culture, Yahoo, and PressBee, confirms the scope of his influence and the implications for WB’s animation strategy going forward.